diy guru's need help with t5 related.

so i have 2 nova units older 4 x54 with lunars and german parabolic. in great condition. so i got the idea this morning to gut the 2 fixtures, by some slr's and reassemble them in a diy hood.. i checked out there insides and they seem to have quick disconnects in most places i could see. so should be fairly easy to gut.

so just have a few questions.
its going to be on a 12" wide 60 gal. containing 6X54 using 6 aquactinic slr's.
and 3 fans.

what is a good material to use for such a enclosure. wood?, type? and do i need to coat it with anything or can i just stain the outside.? if wood is ok.

also if i get acrylic cut to size. for a splash guard, do i still need to get waterproof end caps.? i would not think so.?

if you can warn me on anything before i start please do!

going to order parts tonight!,and build the enclosure while it ships.

 

Most hoods are made of wood, and i think most of the those are patical board with thin oak covering. On the hood I am making its going to be plywood painted with marine paint. On the inside I was going to coat the wood with expoy resin. I am also going overboard because I work in a marine store and can get a hell of a deal on this type of stuff

Should have to. However if it was me I would ditch the acrylic and go with water proof caps. That way you dont lose in parm going through the acrylic

 

I would suggest using plywood, and then put lots of polyacrilic sealer on it inside and out to make sure it is well sealed, or even better, use the epoxy.

I would suggest using the acrylic splash guard. The lights and reflectors will stay cleaner and put out more light. As long as you keep the acrylic clean, you will only loose a few % of light. But moviing to water resistant endcaps is always a good idea splash shield or not.

Kim

 

thanks

i ordered aquactinics slr, icecap waterproof ends, and aquactinics stand offs.(made for ice cap ends.)

i am using ply wood for the top and select pine for the sides.

i already have all the pieces cut for the fixture.
and i drew out to size were the ballasts, fans, and reflectors are supposed to go.

i will have the ballasts mounted in the fixture with the smaller pc fans mounted above the ballasts blowing out. and ill have the 4 inch coralvue temp fan blowing across the bulbs from one side and out the other. (vents will be cut in.)

the fixture will be 48"Lx14.5"Wx3.5"H

the part that contains the bulbs and reflector will be only 11.2wide containing 6 54 watt bulbs. and slrs. my tank is only 12" wide so its the most possible t5s with reflectors that can fit on this tank.lol;D

it will also have 4 moon white leds. and 6 cords with switches, 3 that control 2 bulbs each, and both fans and leds will have separate plugs. and i will still use the thin acrylic shield for ease of cleaning.

so if you got this far then your interested maybe you can answer my only question. there is a green wire coming out the plug and is screwed to the inside of the current aluminum fixture. when i disconnect this wire to install everything in the new wooden fixture, were will i reattach this on the new wooden fixture??????

 

That is the ground wire, it pulls the stray electrity from metal unit to the gound in the outlet. I think that you will connect it to any metal in the system that does not have electricty running through it. I think, but not 100%, 90% sure

 

so do you think putting them under the screws that hold the aluminum stand offs down, would be ok? its that or the reflectors. do normal retro fits have this also?. i would imagine they do lol.

or would i need to put a metal plate in there some where and attach it to that.?


thanks for your help.

 

Another suggestion to you, mount the ballasts outside of the canopy not inside. They will last a lot longer if they are kept cool and out of the high humidity.

Kim