PC lamp mounting questions.

[Wasabi]

I'm mounting 2 13 watt helios light PC's in an Eclipse 5 hex hood. I'd rather not screw the ballast/light socket combo or reflectors in. Is there a glue that would be safe in my nano? Also, any advice on wiring them? I'd like to have separate switches for a dusk/dawn effect. Is there some sort of plug/timer/switch thing made that I could wire these into to accomplish this in one piece or will I need separate plugs and timers. No instructions came with the lights on how to wire them. I just have a bare black and a bare white wire on each. Thanks for any input,

 

Scott

[Satchmo]

Not familiar with those lights, but if you only have one ballast/one power cord you probably won't be able to operate those bulbs independantly. You want to glue the fixture to your hood? I have visions of the glue coming loose and the whole lamp plopping down into the water. That would be bad.

 

If you can mount the ballast outside your hood, that would be best.

[Wasabi]

The ballast/plug/lamp assembly are all one piece with these. I have two independent ballasts. Here's a link:

http://www.hellolights.com/13watbalkit.html

 

I never got a power cord even though the pack says I should have. I'll email them to see if I can get them. Problem is I bought them over 2 months ago and never opened the package(lack of time). Big mistake I guess but two power cords can't be that expensive if they won't send me two. I'm thinking of just wiring them into the Eclipse plug/switch and skipping the dusk/dawn effect anyways. I want to keep this simple. So there's no kind of adhesive that would work here? I don't have much room for screws without them coming out of the hood on the other side.

[Satchmo]

Oh, OK... they didn't send you power cords? I've found hellolights service to be very good. Even though it's been two months, I would call them and explain your situation. I'm sure they'll correct their own mistake.

 

I've never heard of anyone gluing lights into a hood. You could just put a nut on the other end of each screw once they're through the top. May not be very aesthetic, but it's better than frying your tank and burning your house down... especially with the integrated ballasts those lights have. They're gonna heat up pretty good. I'd be too afraid of the adhesive weakening over time.

[Wasabi]

Thanks Satchmo,

 

Yeah, I'll give them a call and see if they'll send me a couple of cords. Their service was great when I first ordered. Good points on the adhesive part. I'll figure someway to get them in there with screws/nuts and make it look OK. Thanks again,

 

Scott

[Twins Guy]

a couple of ideas... i have the same exact light/ballast, same tank. i only have one 13 watter on their though (although as i said in another thread i'd go with two if i had to do it over). i rigged the front light by removing all the lighting guts of the eclipse, re-bending the reflector and holding the ballast in place behind the screw mounted reflecter. i had to cut a little bit of the plastic hood (and the reflector) but nothing that is even nearly visible outside. other than the fan i installed on the side, my tank looks stock. i think the simplest way to do this and still have it look good though is to pick up some white nylon hardware at ace or tru-value or whatever your local hardware shop is. get you some 8-32 flat head machine screws (4/ballast) and the matching locknuts. by simply drilling the hood in the corners of the ballast-alligned with its holes you should be easily able to mount the ballasts. screw head on the outside, nuts inside with ballast. the white nylon is tough, doesn't corrode when exposed to saltwater, and actually looks really good against the black tank hood. if you can't find the hardware i'm talkin about shoot me a message and i'll pick some up fer ya (and mail em). not sure if i can manage to take a picture of the hood with my POS webcam but i'll try. might be an hour or two though. best of luck! be warned that you'll prolly need to install a fan or some other way of discipating heat in the hood. hello lights will almost certainly send those cords you need and you could pick up simple lamp switches (just like the one thats built into the eclipse hood) at the hardware store, a couple wire nuts, maybe some electrical tape, and you're money! perhaps this is getting a little to complex for your liking, but if you're anything like me, this is the best part.

rich, i mean Twins Guy

[cjm033]

hey i have the 13 watt pc's from hello lights i just mounted the ballast outside of the hood it works fine ,Chris

[Wasabi]

Thanks for the input everyone,

 

How did you mount the ballast outside of the hood? Twins Guy, those are some good tips for mounting the ballasts. What did you use to cut the plastic of the hood? Just a hacksaw? I like tweaking stuff too, I'm just limited on time usually to do everything I want to this setup at once.

 

Scott

[Twins Guy]

because the angles are bad and i wanted to keep the exterior of the hood looking nice i used a razor blade utility knife and a small wire cutter. if you can get it in there its sharp enough to cut through the plastic usually. and cjm, i'd be interested to see how you mounted the ballast outside the hood, sure you're thinking of the same lights, check the link?

[cjm033]

oops sory mine has a different ballast hehe but all i did was screwed the ballast to the back of my hood. but my tank also has a piece of glass separating the lights from the tank,Chris

[Twins Guy]

the truth comes out.