My 2.5g

[rleon3003]

i'm sorta mad. my dad comes home and says lets go to Karl's house to give him the things. we call Karl and he says he's leaving in a little while that tomorrow would be a good time. so i told my dad and he said that we'll go tomorrow. then, we go to the LFS so i could get me bulb for my light. i have a daylight but not a 50/50 and i need a 50/50 instead. and they dont carry that kind. it's a sunpaq that i need. so i have to order that online. so i thouhgt, hmmm..they dont have the bulb so i'll just get the moonlights. i wanted the r2 moonlights that my store does carry, but they were sold out. so i left the store with a mini mag float and some stuff for the 55g.

[rleon3003]

change of plans that i hope don't change anymore. like i said, i have a 27w ballast and bulb but the bulb is either an actinic bulb or daylight bulb. i went to find a 27w 50/50 bulb and could not find one anywhere that's square pin. they make 18w 50/50. they make 32w 50/50 but no 27w 50/50 or 27w bulbs period. so i started thinking, then i came upon halfpint's reply in Obsessed Reffers thread. he said that he plans on setting a 2.5g up also but having 3 screw in bulbs in his hood. and i thought thats a good idea. so im gonna have 3x10w 50/50 Mini Compact Flourescent bulbs. i think this way is better. it gives me more light in less space. i hope nothing changes.

[PhatSOB]

I hate you guys, I started modding a spare Aquaclear filter today and checked into the LFS for a 2.5, he won't have one until next week thank god. I have 2 spare 20w 50/50 screw in CFs sitting here not being used, I will build a custom hood and hopefully be able ot work my reflector into it some how. aaarrrgh I hate this hobby so much.

[rleon3003]

haha. yea i was thinking about 2x20w but thats 16 watts per gallon. and im not sure if thats over kill. and the bulbs are 9" long, am i right? i dont hink i can fit those in the hood. i was thinking of doing 3 of the 10w and instead of putting them from left to right, putting them from back to front. that gives me a lot more space but i dont think that its possible with the 20w. but good luck with your tank and post a thread once you get it.

[circusordie16]

if i remember right, when i was putting my tank together somebody said that the screw ins arent as powerful as they say so 2x20W might not be as much as it seems.

[rleon3003]

if i remember right, when i was putting my tank together somebody said that the screw ins arent as powerful as they say so 2x20W might not be as much as it seems.

o ok. i would like to go with that except i dont think that they fit in the hood. the tank is 12" long and the bulb is 9". i dont think i can find a way to make it fit. but if i do get the money i can fit 4 10w screw ins. but rite now i need about $55. i have about $15.

[circusordie16]

you could try to offset them so that they overlap about three inches in the middle but one is farther back than the other. i was gonna make a sweet drawing out of L's and dashes but it didnt work. basically you have a bulb close to the front of the hood and a bulb close to the back of the hood. one screws in on the left, the other on the right. can both fit that way?

[rleon3003]

no, i dont think they will fit because the tanks hood will be 9". unless the socket for the bulb is less then 3" then it will fit. i do understand what you're saying and if it does end up fitting, that will be the way to go for me.

[PhatSOB]

the coralife 20w screw in is 7.5" tip to tip. So there should be plenty of room on the end for a socket. My plan was to mount them from opposite ends like was already mentioned. As soon as I get the tank I will start building and will have another thread started.

[halfpint]

You guys are making me want to set mine up now. I just don't have the money at this time. Maybe after I get a couple onuses in (this month.).

 

How wide is a 2.5aga tank? There might be another way to get the lights to fit. External ballasts. Maybe doing the mod in my sig ($3.00 NC ballast) and re-wiring the bulbs back up in the hood. You would easily be ale to fit 4 in there. I think that's what I'm going to do. It will also keep the tank alot cooler since the ballasts are re-located.

[rleon3003]

the 20w are only 7.5"? i found one on ebay while looking for another light and it said it was 9" long. but thanx for that.

 

the tank is 12" from left to right, 8" high, and 6" from front to back. if i can fit 2 20w bulbs in the hood then i would like to mount them on opposite sides like said above. the reason that im going with 3 30w is cuz i thought the 20w's wouldnt fit and i can easily fit 3x30w but the 30w's would be more expensive. and i dont have any money right now cuz i bought some things for my 55g and all my money went there. so i too have to wait for some money untill i can get my lights.

[PhatSOB]

yeah, they (atleast mine) are only 7.5"

Coralife 20w 50/50

[rleon3003]

yeah, they (atleast mine) are only 7.5"

Coralife 20w 50/50

wow. thank you so much. now i just need to figure out how much the plug for it is. i asked someone else and im just waiting for a response. but if it does fit...i guess i changed my plans again.

[PhatSOB]

I picked up some sockets/wire/switch/plug tonight and threw it all together. It is all going to fit inside a 12" canopy. I hope it looks ok.

 

[irishtexan]

^Cool. Are ya'll putting the bulbs in a hood? I have my 2.5G setup with 1-20W bulb. It works out really well.

 

 

 

texx

[FryedFish]

phatSOB omg I love that idea! can you pm me some more info? thanks! how much did that cost you for everythign? (including reflector)

[PhatSOB]

yeah it is will be going in a hood for sure, going to need atleast one fan to keep them cool.

 

rleon3003 - sorry for hijacking your thread

[rleon3003]

WOW! thank you so much for those pix. thats excactly how i want to set mine up. where did you get your light bulb fixture things? how much were they? i either want to do this or just go with 2x18w. ill buy 2 18w sunpaq if i dont go with this. but thanx again for those pix, and it will fit in the hood, so thats a good thing.

 

rleon3003 - sorry for hijacking your thread

you didnt hijack it, you helped me A LOT! thanx

[PhatSOB]

I wired it all myself.

 

2 pigtail sockets - $3.69ea

2meters of 18g wire - $2.99/m

feed through switch - $5.79

2 prong plug - $2.99

 

14" PFO CF reflector cut in half - $13.99 ( already had this and the lights)

 

all prices are Canadian and all those electric parts are available at Home Depot, I got mine at Canadian Tire.

 

wires are held together by marrettes and then wrapped in electrical tape to seal them up as much as I can.

[rleon3003]

I wired it all myself.

 

2 pigtail sockets - $3.69ea

2meters of 18g wire - $2.99/m

feed through switch - $5.79

2 prong plug - $2.99

 

14" PFO CF reflector cut in half - $13.99 ( already had this and the lights)

 

all prices are Canadian and all those electric parts are available at Home Depot, I got mine at Canadian Tire.

 

wires are held together by marrettes and then wrapped in electrical tape to seal them up as much as I can.

thanks for the prices. You planing on putting this into your own 2.5g? Do you have know when the tank is coming in? Do you have pics of the canopy?

[PhatSOB]

it will be going over a 2.5g hopefully, the tank should be in this week, I will build the canopy when I have the tank. So many idea going through my head how to build this canopy, not sure if I will be able to do half of them, will have to wait and see how the saw and brad nailer are treating me on that day. I still have no idea where I am going to put the tank. It can't go here on my desk I have 4 PCs under it that I don't want to risk a spill near.

[rleon3003]

ok. well, i'll be on the lookout. Start a thread on it. That'd be cool. i got a question though. How are you gonna mount them to the refeltor then to the canopy. cuz i still don't know how i'm gonna do it if i end up doing this. Can you share your information with a fellow 2.5g reefer?

[PhatSOB]

that is still sort of up in the air but what I plan on is a small block of wood, one side curved concave to fit the socket snuggly into it and then a pair of zipties holding the socket against the block. The block will be screwed into the canopy. I'll try and make one up tonight to give a better idea.

 

here is one of the blocks I made up, it needs some finishing touches but I think you get an idea what I am after. The hole in the center is a countersunk screw hole to hold the block into the canopy. The zip ties go through 3/16" holes that I drilled through the block

 

[rleon3003]

thats a great idea. i understand what your talking about. idk if ill be able to do it like that but you gave me an idea on how to do it. I cant wait for your tank.

[PhatSOB]

the problem with my tank will be my very limited selection of what I can put in it. I need to order everything online basically so I am stuck with what is in my 10g.

 

thanks for not being upset with all my posts in your thread. I started my own tonight.