This Was A Fun Little Project. T5 Retrofit.

[Ty Hamatake]

For the year and a half or so that I've been reefing, I've been an LED guy all the way. A few months ago though I started to notice some shading issues. I wanted to keep my LEDs, but started to look around at other options. After a bit of searching I came across the LET T5 retrofit kit from BRS and instantly decided it was what I wanted to do! The parts came in last week, and after a few days of scratching my head over the wiring, I finally got it figured out. Here is what I ended up with

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Update pics! I raised the canopy to help the lights blend a little more evenly and to give myself more space to work in the tank.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Nice work. You are going to love it.

 

[pa1ntbru5h]

Wow it looks great!! Nice work! I want to do something like this now...

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Nice work. You are going to love it.

Thank you! I've only ever turned them on so far to make sure it worked and to take the picture and I already love the coverage. Only thing I'm a little unsure of is whether or not I like having two different types of bulbs. I got the ATI aqua blue and blue plus and didn't know the difference was going to be so drastic! I may learn to love it though

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Wow it looks great!! Nice work! I want to do something like this now...

Thank you! It was a good challenge for me.

 

[najer]

Your corals will love you for this!

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Your corals will love you for this!

I'm hoping so! Between my chronically low PH, non-existent nutrients, and less-than-adequate lighting they are champs for just still being alive.

 

[dbl]

Wow...really nice work.

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Wow...really nice work.

Thank you! I was really worried for most of the build that it was going to look terrible. Painting definitely helps.

 

[mannyhernz]

Any before and after shots?

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Any before and after shots?

Oh yeah! Fourth one down is T5s only and the last one is T5s and Hydra 26s running. I've realized that the canopy is too close to the top of the tank so my next project is fixing that. Right now the cables are attached to carabiners, so my fix is to drill some hooks through the top bar and attaching them pretty much directly to it. This will allow me to angle the cables in some too. If my guesstimations are right I should be able to raise it about three inches without stressing anything too much.

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[Kenfishy]

I did the same thing over my 210. I still haven't decided whether to use 2 blue plus bulbs or one of each like yours. I'm trying both to see what color combo grows and looks better.

 

[Tokash23]

How did you do the power source for the ballast? After reading this i have now added another option to lighting for my 40breeder that i am very undecided on for lights lol. I was originally going led myself, but this may be a cheaper alternative up front.

 

[Kenfishy]

Just to clarify, I have a led / t5 combo. I'm not sure what you're referring to about the power source. The retrofit comes with a ballast already. The wiring takes a little bit of time to figure out but it's pretty easy once you figure it out.

 

[Tokash23]

did you wire up a plug for it to plug into the wall or did it work in with your leds? Maybe i misunderstand the retrofit thing.

 

[revhtree]

Well done!

 

[Ty Hamatake]

I did the same thing over my 210. I still haven't decided whether to use 2 blue plus bulbs or one of each like yours. I'm trying both to see what color combo grows and looks better.

That's one thing I wish I would've researched more. The aqua blue and blue plus are different enough in color that there is a noticeable difference in the tank. I will be raising the canopy, soon hopefully, which should help. If there is still a problem after that, I'll probably just go with two blue+. The aqua blue (I may have it backwards) is a very soft, almost baby blue.

 

[Kenfishy]

did you wire up a plug for it to plug into the wall or did it work in with your leds? Maybe i misunderstand the retrofit thing.

There's a separate plug on its own timer. My hydra hds use their own power supply and have a built in timer program.

 

[Kenfishy]

That's one thing I wish I would've researched more. The aqua blue and blue plus are different enough in color that there is a noticeable difference in the tank. I will be raising the canopy, soon hopefully, which should help. If there is still a problem after that, I'll probably just go with two blue+. The aqua blue (I may have it backwards) is a very soft, almost baby blue.

I tried a coral plus with a blue plus and tried to compensate by turning up the blues on the hydras. But I found it works better to do 2 blue plus and turn up the whites on the hydras instead.

 

[Ty Hamatake]

did you wire up a plug for it to plug into the wall or did it work in with your leds? Maybe i misunderstand the retrofit thing.

The T5s are wired separately from the LEDs. The kit comes with a ballast and a three prong plug to plug in separately from your current light source.

This specific kit is an add-on (retrofit) to your current light source. If you don't have your lights yet there are much easier, and cheaper, options to go with.
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/sun-blaze-t5-ho-lighting-fixture-sunlight-supply.html is a good "budget" choice.

Also, seeing how easy T5s are you use, I would definitely suggest going with them. If you want more options a hybrid is a good choice, but the cost definitely goes up with that option.

The white box on the left is the T5 ballast. It's where the connections are. Basically the right side runs to the lights and the left side runs to your power source.