DIY "ATI" T-5 module

[cl0wn]

was looking for some previous pics for a planned diy t5 module and had a little trouble finding them, so have just copied and pasted the relevant posts and pics in here, just thought it might be handy (for myself also:))

credit to mr teee for the post below:
First of all , reflector side showing the individual reflectors and thee acrylic cover.







On the end opposite to the fan, we have the tube end cooling holes.



The single fan, is set to blow air into the unit, over the ballasts, and out the holes in the previous pics



Guts of the unit, showing the wiring and the 3 ballasts





The ballast themselves





Note that these ballasts are suitable for 24W and 39W tubes.
Fancy electronics sense the resistance offered by the bulb and drives it accordingly. these are NOT overdriven.

Yes you could copy the design if you had a cheap source for the ballasts. Dont know where to source the reflectors from though.

pics of gary smith's diy 10 tube t5 unit.

[cl0wn]

wiring diagram and pics by pinkfish

Lighting is an expensive part of this hobby so I thought that I post a thread on how to make your own set of T5 Lights.

Its not hard.

This comes about from me dropping my Arcadia Lumminare 4x39w T5 Light unit into my sump like a muppet and breaking the damm thing.
Mind you I did manage to salvage some of the parts and also the light enclosure.
The Light unit is now fully working and lighting my sump.

What you need :

T5 Ballasts - I used 2 Ballasts both for 2x39w bulbs. Cost £15 each.
T5 Endcaps x 8. Cost £1.20
Switches x 2 (Dont have but this way I can control each Ballast. i.e 2 bulbs on or all 4 on. Cost £3
Various wiring ie Livewire,Earth, Lighting wire (Plain white ine). Cost £7
3 Pin Plug with a 3amp fuse. Cost £1.25

Bulb clips - to attach bulbs to something like the housing

Right heres a wiring diagram (basic one)

The orange / green coloured bulb correspond to the orange / green ballast

When running the wires from the plug you will need to split the cables so that they can go to 2 different places ie to both ballasts



Below is a diagram for the light switches, note that all the wires are live wires, and that you will have to split the wire as well.

Below is a picture of the information contained on a T5 Ballast, It tells you all you need to know, like where the earth wire goes. ect.




So total cost of build without housing or bulbs is Around £45 - £50
Now considering that a Arcadia T5 4x39w lumminare costs around £200 thats a good saving to spend on coral instead.

You can do this for 6bulb T5 setup, just need another ballast, and for the 80w T5 bulbs again you need to get 80w Ballasts.


I hope that this is useful to you

Mike

[Tangman]

Hi Peter thats a good idea m8, i am sure there will be a lot of folk who want to build there own lights. I think we should point out that folk should seek some advice from a qualified Electrician to make sure its safe to use. I say this after seeing some wiring disasters in some reefers tanks which were lethal, and the owners were lucky not to electrocute themselves or others. I have an idea i will PM you and see what you think. Twiggy:D

[DC110770]

Great write up mate.

Want to take an order to build a 8x54w unit!

[cl0wn]

54w on a perc 90? i'll be doing a build on a 6 or 8 tube build on a perc 90 with 39w tubes. will be posting soon just need to source the ballasts.

[cl0wn]

john do you know of any cheap sources of 39w t5 ballasts?

[DC110770]

54w on a perc 90? i'll be doing a build on a 6 or 8 tube build on a perc 90 with 39w tubes. will be posting soon just need to source the ballasts.

No for a 4x2x2.

I can retrofit 6x54w and I think if I cut the reflectors I maybe can get 8 tubes in!

[Guest101]

john do you know of any cheap sources of 39w t5 ballasts?

How cheap is cheap ;) Ive used a company before that sell twin ballasts for 12quid each.

[cl0wn]

How cheap is cheap ;) Ive used a company before that sell twin ballasts for 12quid each.

if you could pm me the details please john:D

[Guest101]

PM sent :D