Another Light Fixture??

[Hoppy]

Yes, I'm making another light fixture, this time for the 15H riparium that I'm now trying to set up. This is a minimum cost project, as usual for me. The tank cost me only $15 on Craigslist, and this light fixture will use the AH Supply 2 x 55 kit I had on my 45 gallon tank, but with only one 36 watt bulb in it. My goal is a good looking fixture, no dangling wires, no cables from the ceiling, no bent conduit pipes sticking out over the tank. And, it must be the same style as the LED fixture over the 45 gallon tank right beside this tank.

So, I either dredged up a memory of someone else's design or I created this new design, which will have a single 1/2" conduit poked into the back of the fixture to both support it and to carry the wiring. Here is how it looks so far:


The conduit is a pre-made elbow of bent conduit, which enters the back of the fixture, at the top, into a conduit coupling, which is attached to the top of the fixture. On the other side it looks like:


The little wood blocks will support the ballast:


And, on a couple more little wood blocks will be mounted a shortened AHS reflector:


I'm still debating whether to drill a lot of ventilating holes in the top, or rout a couple of grooves.

[chuukus]

Hoppy are you planning on cooling the fixture with a fan? I have the AH supply fixtures on my tanks also but my ballasts are under my stand and they get quite warm. I just think it might get too hot with the ballast above the bulb.

You probably have it all figured out all your diy projects are well thought out. Thats going to be a decent lookin light fixture.

Nice DIY!

[Hoppy]

This will be suspended about 4 inches above the top of the open top tank, so there will be plenty of room for air to rise into it, and if I provide good enough ventilating area at the top, it should stay reasonably cool naturally. But, there is no room in there for a fan, and just barely enough for the reflector.

I will be covering this with oak veneer, so I now plan to drill a grid of holes for the ventilation, after I veneer it. I figure if I clamp a board to the top, on the veneer, it should stop any splintering. And, if I drill from the inside out, through the top and into the backing board, using a small drill guide to accurately space the holes it should look ok.

I may be in for a surprise though.

Also, does anyone know if a Workhorse 5 ballast, designed to power 2 55 watt or 2 36 watt bulbs, and which has proven to power 1 55 watt bulb ok, will work for 1 36 watt bulb? Fulham doesn't recommend this one for single bulbs. If this doesn't work well I figure I can get the recommended Fulham ballast and use it. It would probably run cooler too.

[VisionQuest28]

I must say, i got excited when i saw this thread Hoppy. Didnt turn out like i thought, but still good to see you at it again! haha

Any reason you dont mount the ballast in the stand, or behind it or whatever, instead of under the bulb? I think Chuukus is right, its gonna be pretty hot under there. You're probably right too though, it will get decent airflow. But with being able to just run the wiring through the conduit, why not just play it safe?

As far as the WH 5 ballast, i know you're not SUPPOSED to run just one bulb with it, but i couldnt tell you why. With some creative wiring (which i know you can do! haha) you could probably make it work. I know you can wire this to over drive one bulb, and thats supposed to be ok and work, even though Fulham doesnt recommend that either.

Whatever you do, im sure it will be cool and look great. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

[Hoppy]

Now you have me thinking again. Is there any problem with having the ballast 3 feet away from the bulbs? If not, it would certainly solve some problems to move the ballast down to the cabinet. Then I could move the reflector back deeper into the fixture, where the spillover wouldn't be so bad.

Unless someone screams "You can't do that!!" I will make that change tomorrow.

EDIT: I figured it out myself. The AH Supply end cap has about a 3 foot wire, and the ballast comes with 3 feet of wire itself, so obviously you can use at least 3 feet of wire between the ballast and the light bulb. I think I can put the ballast on the back of the stand, so it will be out of sight, and where it is essentially in a chimney for air cooling. Now, I'm really glad I started this thread.

[deondrec]

I saw that ahsupply sold wooden light housing but I didnt really like those either. does anyone know a supplier who has pc style empty lighthouses that can fit 1 ahsupply
55wt ballast?

[Hoppy]

Originally Posted by deondrec

I saw that ahsupply sold wooden light housing but I didnt really like those either. does anyone know a supplier who has pc style empty lighthouses that can fit 1 ahsupply 55wt ballast?

I have never seen any of these, other than those AH Supply sells. Many times you can remove all of the guts from a standard strip light and fit one of the AHS kits in the room that opens up. My Craigslist tank came with a reptile light fixture, with a steel "reflector" housing, all rusted up, which I had planned to clean up and use. It would have worked ok, but I decided to reward my wife by making the light more attractive and to match the one alongside this tank. (And, of course, I enjoy making things like this.)

[Coltonorr]

Hoppy,
First, sweet project!
I was wondering, and maybe this isn't a big deal...but
If the ballast is mounted to the stand do you have to unscrew the ballast to remove the entire fixture?

[Hoppy]

Originally Posted by Coltonorr

Hoppy,
First, sweet project!
I was wondering, and maybe this isn't a big deal...but
If the ballast is mounted to the stand do you have to unscrew the ballast to remove the entire fixture?

Yes, but the fixture is suspended above the tank by the conduit that is attached to it, and I hope to be able to swivel it out of the way a bit for maintenance, so I shouldn't be removing the fixture at all. But, if I did have to I would be up a creek, since the tank would be too heavy on the stand to let me move it away from the wall to get to the screws.

The conduit elbow will attach with a conduit coupling to a straight section of conduit, which will be held against the back of the stand with two clamps, tight enough to keep it from slipping down, but not so tight I can't rotate it a little. If I need to raise the fixture, I should be able to twist it back and forth so it slips up in the clamps. And, all of the conduit will be painted white to blend in with the wall. The effect should be a fixture just floating unsupported above the tank.

[Coltonorr]

Thats a good explanation, I was having a hard time visualizing it.

[alan j t]

sounds like a cool magic trick. it looks like it will be a good conversation starter .
if someone visits and checks out your tanks and notices one of your lamps floating in mid air

[VisionQuest28]

Originally Posted by Hoppy

EDIT: I figured it out myself. The AH Supply end cap has about a 3 foot wire, and the ballast comes with 3 feet of wire itself, so obviously you can use at least 3 feet of wire between the ballast and the light bulb. I think I can put the ballast on the back of the stand, so it will be out of sight, and where it is essentially in a chimney for air cooling. Now, I'm really glad I started this thread.

I was gonna say....no reason that i know off that you couldnt mount remotely. Just because i didnt know doesnt mean much though. lol But as you said, it comes with 3 feet of wire, so why not? And my IceCap430 fluorescent ballast comes with a 6 foot wiring harness, and you can buy extensions to make it longer too.

Originally Posted by Coltonorr

Hoppy,
First, sweet project!
I was wondering, and maybe this isn't a big deal...but
If the ballast is mounted to the stand do you have to unscrew the ballast to remove the entire fixture?

Thats something that i didnt consider, and might not have until i got into actually mounting it or maybe even until it came time to remove the light fixture for tank maintenance or something! lol Sounds like you have it worked out Hoppy, but couldnt you wire in some kind of plug that snaps together, so you could seperate the wires from the ballast easily, and not have to worry about being tied to your stand? I cant really picture where you could do this, and have it easily accessible AND not be an eye sore... but it has to be possible, right? May not really be needed, but if its possible it seems like a good "just in case" thing to incorporate into your design.

[Hoppy]

Here is a sketch of the basic idea:



Maybe mounting the ballast on the back of the stand isn't such a great idea. If it is mounted inside the stand I can at least get to the mounting screws to remove it. But, then I would need a big enough hole in the back of the stand to poke the ballast back through to remove the light. But, that doesn't work either, since I couldn't reach the clamp screws to remove them so I could lift the whole thing off.

Looking ahead, about the only reason I can see for having to remove the light is if the ballast needs replacing. The only other thing involved is the light bulb, and how many aquatic plant growers does it take to replace a light bulb?

[chuukus]

Hoppy the workhorse 5 is made to power 2 55 watt CF bulbs. I have 4 of these setup on 4 different tanks using only one of the two bulbs. I have been running them like that for well over a year now with no problems at all. Every once in a while I will turn the timer off quick and plug the second bulb in and turn the timer back on so my tanks get a noon burst of light.

As far as running a single 36 watt bulb with a workhorse 5 ballast I would say it would be overdriven and wouldnt last long. I not positive but the workhorse 4 is what AH supply gives you with 2 36 watt kit.

[Hoppy]

Originally Posted by chuukus

Hoppy the workhorse 5 is made to power 2 55 watt CF bulbs. I have 4 of these setup on 4 different tanks using only one of the two bulbs. I have been running them like that for well over a year now with no problems at all. Every once in a while I will turn the timer off quick and plug the second bulb in and turn the timer back on so my tanks get a noon burst of light.

As far as running a single 36 watt bulb with a workhorse 5 ballast I would say it would be overdriven and wouldnt last long. I not positive but the workhorse 4 is what AH supply gives you with 2 36 watt kit.

I double checked the Fulham website and found
Note, it is for 2 x 36 watt bulbs. I figure if it can run a single 55 watt bulb, even though it is intended for 2 55 watt bulbs, it should be able to run a single 36 watt bulb too. The major advantage it offers me is that I have it and I don't have a 1 x 36 watt ballast.

Also note that for 36 watt bulbs only half of the ballast output wires are used.