LED suplemental lighting DIY VHO T12

[Alabamareef]

Decided to supplement my vertex illumina LED fixture and decided to go with T12 VHO's. I know the T 5's are what's hot but I've found a lot of great results from T12's and this DIY project will work for either fixture. I'm placing this in a canopy and wanted it to hang just a little below my current fixture. Most just place there supplimantal lighting to the canopy but i felt it better to have it just below my current lamp. So the T12's I bought are super actinic's with a built in reflector. This is another reason I went with that lighting, no additional reflector, and they run pretty cool. So here are a few photos of my progress.



Also went with the icecap 660 ballast. Making it out of PVC.

And this is my canopy I'm putting it in.

 

[Alabamareef]

PVC is very easy to use. This is the frame.

 

[Alabamareef]

Making sure I've got the correct length with a blub in the End Caps.

 

[Alabamareef]

 

[Alabamareef]

Getting the End Caps Secured.





Notice the rubber washers. This helps to keep a little movement.

 

[Alabamareef]

Time to get the ballest out. Went with an icecap 660. Heard a lot of great things about icecap. Hate they are out of business.

 

[Alabamareef]

One of the reasons I used PVC was to hide the wires. First thing I did was steppe rate all the wires and lay out where they need to go. I screwed this up the first go around but got it right the second time.

 

[Alabamareef]

An example of where the wire is going to come out at, the bigger hole

 

[Alabamareef]

So here it is all wired up, almost ready to go



A verry clean look

 

[Alabamareef]

Now off to the paint booth



And this is finished and ready to be placed in the canopy. Did not use PVC glue. With the paint it seems really secure

 

[Alabamareef]

So I'm getting the frame in the canopy.

 

[Alabamareef]

A little more difficult to than I thought

 

[Alabamareef]

Mounted the ballest to the back of the canopy.

 

[Alabamareef]

So here is the finished product minus the bulbs. It's gonna make it a little harder when cleaning but I think I can work around them. A little concerned that the lights will be to close to the water. They will be about 3" off the surface.not worried bout them getting wet just to much for the coral. I'll just have to acclimate slowly.

 

[Fin]

Very nice DIY! Nothing wrong with using old school VHO bulbs. I used them for years with good results, along with metal halide lighting. Switched over to LED with T5 supplemental lighting and the tank just hasn't been the same. I guess the only issue would be availability, but looks like you found everything you need. They just aren't in style anymore, so the bulbs are a little more difficult to find.

 

[Alabamareef]

You can find them. May take a little time. I actually bought 10 for that reason. Curious to see the results from the LED/VHO combo.

 

[Alabamareef]

This is the LED fixture that I have right now. Vertex illumina. About 210 diodes

 

[Reefing Madness]

Only thing I've found worth a T12 was the VHO Actinics, they still can't be outdone.

 

[Alabamareef]

That's really good to hear. Can't wait to see the results. I'm using the super actinics .

Only thing I've found worth a T12 was the VHO Actinics, they still can't be outdone.

 

[Reefing Madness]

You'll love them!!! Nothing can touch their color or intensity.