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The Edge - 6G

14K views 63 replies 12 participants last post by  toofazt 
#1 · (Edited)
Getting back into the hobby after a couple year hiatus. Wanted to try something different so I picked up a Fluval Edge 6 gallon aquarium. There's a couple of flaws with the design of the tank but all in all, I'm happy with it. The stock halogen lights aren't that great so I'm going to replace them with two MR16 LED lamps. I've added a 13W compact florescent to the end of the stock light bar. I'm also waiting on a new immersible heater so I can clean it up a bit inside.

I used Aqua Soil Amazonia for the substrate and lace rock for the hard scape. Right now I only have Blyxa Japonica (background), a stem of Staurogyne Repens (front left), and a couple currently melted Cryptocoryne Parva (front right). I'm not set on what plants or how I'm going to arrange them yet. I want to keep it relatively low-tech, only dosing Flourish and Excel for now. The tank has been setup for about a week and I'm just waiting for it to cycle. I've got some more plants coming next week and I'm planning on adding a couple Rummy Nose Tetras down the road...

Current Flora:
Dwarf Sagittaria Subulata
[STRIKE]Nymphoides Taiwan[/STRIKE]
Subwassertang
Needle Leaf Java Fern
Cryptocoryne Parva
Blyxa Japonica
Staurogyne Repens
[STRIKE]Myrio Mattogrossense[/STRIKE]
Hygrophila Polysperma
Fissidens Fontanus

Current Fauna:
2 Rummynose Tetra (Hemigrammus Rhodostomus)
[STRIKE]1 White Cloud (Tanichthys Albonubes)[/STRIKE]
1 Oto (Otocinclus)
1 Crystal Red Shrimp (Caridina sp)
1 Ghost Shrimp (Palaemonetes sp)
5 Assassin Snail (Clea Helena)

3/16/11


3/2/11


2/18/11


2/9/11


1/27/11
 
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#2 ·
It's pretty much impossible to light this tank evenly due to the aesthetic design of the hood. I would like to add another compact fluorescent but they don't have the directional ability of the LED's...

I found this 13W CFL at Walmart for $10. I couldn't find it on their website but here it is on Northern Tool: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200309807_200309807

It comes apart easily and includes a 6500K bulb. You can use the clear plastic tube to protect the bulb and it even comes with a cap you can flip around and use to seal the tube from accidental splashes. There's also a decent reflector in there. This is an economical option you can purchase locally!

 
#6 ·
i must be old or the coffee didn't take...what's SMD?

If SMD means the MR16s with embedded LEDs, it may give off a bit better light but the spread is still poor ( corners are dark, and the spectrum is not what i was looking for ), also they are very close to the water and i never trusted 2 pins to hold up this light for a very long time.

the build was $120 ish, and took about 48 hours from start to finish. It was fun as i wanted to keep it as stock as possible, and wanted the proper light spectrum for reefing, so 3 watt crees was considered due to lots of reefers using those and having success with different types of coral.

thanks btw :)
 
#11 · (Edited)
Thanks for that--yes, that is where I got the idea about the lighting mod to start with. :icon_smil

My question is about how the flashlight mod mentioned in this thread works--I don't understand whether the OP is taking part of the flashlight off or just mounting the whole thing.

I am very electrically inexperienced, so it may be a rather dumb question...:help:

ETA: To clarify my question, is the OP taking off the bottom flashlight part and just using the flashlight bulb, casing, and top cap thing on a conventional bulb socket/cord fixture?
 
#12 ·
Oops didn't read the question too well.:redface:
That's what being online and checking posts in the early morning does.:hihi:

That probably is the way to go with that light, taking the bottom part off.
But will it fit the front arm of the edge? The casing seems to be a bit big to be accomodated under the hood.

Maybe toofazt can post pics of how it looks like.:icon_smil
 
#13 ·
Right now I have the bulb just zip tied to the end of the stock light bar. I'm not using the light tube it came with because it's literally 1/8" too big and the hood will not close the last 1/4". If you were to get rid of the stock light bar you could easily fit a couple of these 13W lights with the clear tubes protecting them. I'll get some pictures up later...
 
#15 ·
2 CFL's was what I did with my edge before
I don't like those type of bulbs because instead of one fluorescent loop there's two and the one on top is blocked by the one on the bottom. They're made to disperse light 360° to light up a room. The bulb I used only loops once and there's a reflector to help direct the light into the tank.
 
#16 ·
Thanks jeffvmd and toofazt. Toofazt, if I am understanding correctly--you took the bottom flashlight casing off, but the bulb and its socket from inside the flashlight casing are zip-tie mounted on the stock bar as per the edge thread's double-tubed aquarium cfl?

If it's easier if I just wait to see the pic, I understand! :)
 
#18 ·
Thanks, toofazt! That is much clearer for me to understand. But you cannot put the square screened top on over that, correct? The 1/8" too much?

Now I will ask you and jeffvmd another hapless electrical question. This is something I asked on the edge thread but it got lost in the beautiful tank pictures. :)

If I do the original light mod shown there (with the 10 watt cfl), can I just use a prefab socket/cord to power it? If so, is there a special kind I would need? I ask because the op for that mod describes purchasing a socket and then wiring it with an extension cord. I wasn't sure if he did that to economize, or whether there was something special about that way of powering the bulb that was necessary.

Thanks again for all your guidance! I have ordered the led's and will do the fluorescent part upon the receipt of your advice...:bounce::icon_bigg
 
#19 ·
Thanks, toofazt! That is much clearer for me to understand. But you cannot put the square screened top on over that, correct? The 1/8" too much?
You CAN put the top over my setup. If you were to add the clear protective tube from the work light then the top wont fit unless you modify the stock light bar. How it's setup now you just remove the top and flip the light bar up like normal to gain access to the tank as seen in the pics above.

Everything is pre-wired, even comes with a on-off switch. The only thing I modified was extending the wires about 6" so I could hide the transformer in the back cover.
 
#22 ·
+1 on toofazt's advice.

You can also get the heavy duty socket from homedepot which is around 4bucks and a 6foot extension cord. You must solder the extension cord's wires to the bulb sockets wires.
Using shrink wraps will protect the soldered parts.

When you solder the ends of 2 wires, make sure that the wires are of uneven length (one long and short) to avoid shorting out In case the insulation wears off and prevent the 2 wires from touching.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Here's the two week update, sorry for the horrible tank picture! I've added some more plants: Myrio Mattogrossense, Dwarf Sagittaria Subulata, Nymphoides Taiwan, Subwassertang, Needle Leaf Java Fern, Hygrophila Polysperma, and one of my melted Cryptocoryne Parva has sprouted two new leafes! Not sure how long I'm going to keep the stem plants, they grow too fast for such a small tank! I've also added my first lonely fish; a White Cloud (Tanichthys Albonubes). Got a couple good shots of him but unfortunately he wasn't flaring his fins all the way...



 
#24 · (Edited)
Added an S+ Tiger Tooth CRS yesterday and this morning he was laying on his side on the bottom of the tank. Guess the trace amount of ammonia is too high for him. I stuck him in a cup of RO water and after a couple hours he came to and is currently swimming around perfectly happy. So he's staying in the cup until the ammonia in the tank is absolutely zero; lesson learned. :)



 
#30 · (Edited)
My tank finished cycling so I put the CRS back in. Whizzle from this site gave me three Rummynose Tetras (thanks!) and they're doing well. My WC thinks he's a RM now and schools with them :hihi:

I also gave the stem plants a trimming. I'll try to get some better pics of the RM soon...

 
#36 · (Edited)
I'm done with the stock lighting on the Fluval Edge! I got my 48 LED M16 bulbs to replace the factory halogen aaaaaand they suck. I'm going to modify it to fit two 13W CFL that swing out of the way like stock. I'll post step-by-step photos of my progress and try to explain it as I go. :)

Bayco fluorescent work light. 6ft - 18/2 cord, 13 watt 6500K bulb with a decent reflector. Cost $10.22 from Walmart, UPC code 017398345910, model number BA-506-01.


Remove the five Phillips head screws on the yellow handle and pop out the two rivets on each side with your finger nails.


The yellow handle can now be separated in half and the clear plastic tube can be slid off the bulb. The bulb assembly, on/off rocker switch and transformer are easily removed from the handle. Slide the black hanger clip off the clear plastic tube. Pull the yellow rubber sleeve off the end of the clear tube, remove the white rubber collar and the clear cap.


Flip the white rubber sleeve around and slide it over the bulb. It will fit perfectly over the base to help protect if from water. Now slide the clear tube over the bulb making sure the reflector is centered.


Take the clear plastic cap and tape it to the end of the tube to help protect the bulb from water. The cap is recessed on one side and will seat itself on the tube. Make sure the tape covers the two holes from the rivets we removed earlier.


The handle, yellow protective sleeve, and hanging clip can thrown out or saved for future projects. ;)


I cut off the box that housed the stock MR11 bulbs to make room for the two CFL. There's two screws on each arm and two screws on each MR11 light socket you need to remove to be able to separate the lighting arm. Once you have the arm apart, remove the stock lighting and screw the fixture back together to give it some stability. Stick it in a vise and use a hacksaw to evenly cut off the arms. Now I drilled holes in the top and bottom of the arms near the tip so I could route a zip tie through to hold the first CFL. I also drilled a hole in the side to route the CFL wires. If you want to hide the transformers in the rear compartment like I did you're going to need to extend the wires by about 16 inches. It's easy, just snip and solder or crimp in some 18ga or 16ga wire. Make sure you use stranded wire (not solid) because it has better flexibility. I removed the on/off rocker switches because I have my lights on a timer and don't need them. You'll also want to snip off about 6" of the CFL power cord because it has a molded in swivel attachment that can get in the way later.

You can see where I drilled a hole on the side of the support arm to route the wires through and out the bottom. I wrapped the bare wires in wire loom to keep the rear compartment a little more organized. You can also see where I drilled a hole in the end of the support arm to mount the first CFL with a zip tie. Then I used another zip tie to attach the second CFL to the first. I attached the lights opposite each other since there will be a little more light emitted from the tip of the bulb than the base.


Front view. The zip ties work perfectly and the light sits nice and even.


Side view. Again, nice and even.
 
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