Everything you ever wanted to know about DIY lighting, but were afraid to ask

[bigredspecial]

Alot of people have been asking for instructions on upgrading lighting lately; seeing as I'm upgrading mine currently, I decided to post step-by-step instructions. There will be two entries; the first for installing Compact Flourescent (CF), which is the cheapest, and arguably, easiest method; the second post will be for normal flourescent tubes/overdriven flourescent.

I'm in the process of doing it right now, so the instructions will be here in a hour or so.

[bigredspecial]

1. First thing's first: gather all your supplies. I got mine at Home Depot and Canadian Tire; any hardware store should be fine. This includes (Fig. 1):

• Bulbs(Duh), I got 6 for $20 at home depot
• bulb sockets(2)
• something to hold the sockets to the hood. I used PVC U clamps used for holding plumbing, You'll probably need to find something different; step 4 will show why.
• Electrical cord: I used a cheap extension cord and cut the female end off
• A couple feet of wire. I used 16ga. speaker wire, Because I had some lying around.

Figure 1: Everything ready to go.

There are other odds and ends too; screws to hold the U clamps, something to use as a reflector(I used aluminum foil), solder(Not mandatory), and Heat shrink tubing. Heat shrink goes over the wire, and when heat is applied(From a cigarrett lighter, etc.) it rapidly shrinks, forming a watertight seal around the wire. It isn't absolutely necessary, but It's great stuff; IMHO, it ranks up there with Bungee cords and Vice Grips as mankind's greatest accomplishments.


2. Prep the old hood. My origional hood was a incandescent unit, so there was nothing to pull out (Fig. 2). Newer hoods will have to be completely gutted; this means the flourescent tube, the plastic(usually white) behind it, and anything under that. The tube can be removed by simply rotating 90 degrees and pulling; the white plastic is help on by screws, which you'll see when the tube is removed.


Figure 2: My hood. Although it isn't completely gutted, the light sockets in the center will be remaining; for this article I'll be installing two additional sockets on the sides. Ignore the wireing and endcaps for a flourescent tube; it is irrelevant to this post.

3. Wireing. This is usually the most time consuming step, but it's straight foreward. First, cut the extra wire into two equal lengths(So they can reach opposite sides of the hood). Then, all the wires need to have their ends stripped. I used a pocket knife, but wire strippers would be quicker.


Figure 3: The female end of the cord cut off, and all the ends stripped.


Here you can see both positive wires soldered to the positive end of the electrical cord. Soldiering isn't absolutely necessary either, but it's a good idea. NOTE: if you intend to use heatshrink, make sure you put it over the wires before you connect them!


Here we have both the positive and negative ends connected to the power cord, and the heatshrink done. Not that there are two wires coming off, each with a positive and negative.


Closeup of the heatshrink. Amazing stuff!

Next, if there isn't one there already, Drill a hole in the hood for the wires to pass through. Once that is done, pass the power cord through the hole, and join the individual wires with the sockets. Some sockets require you screw the wires into them; mine had about 4" of wire already, so I soldered it to the speakerwire.


The bulb sockets, wired and ready to go

4. Mount the sockets. One of the big things with DIY, is that small things often go wrong. Case in point: I had bought U clamps to hold the sockets in place; These proved to be too large! I will have to find another method. However, I suspect that most people will find another way to do the mounting, so I'll continue. For the time being, I'll use another great invention - Two sided tape. No one said I was a professional.

[bigredspecial]

So, once it is all put together, it's simply a matter of putting the hood back on top, and turning it on.


Lights in, everything done.

Here's what it looks like when turned on, along with my overdriven floursecent tube:


With camera set on night exposure:


Here's what happens when you accidentially touch the soldering iron



Finally, a pic of my tank with everything up and running:

It's a bit blurry, but my camera is on the fritz for some reason.


So there it is, all that is required for DIY lighting. I still need to find something to hold the sockets/bulbs, but untill then, the lights will stay off.

If there is anything I should add, or anything that isn't clear, just mention it and I will edit the post.

[love_fish]

So no guide today?

[bigredspecial]

Reserved, I'll post this set when I'm not swamped with work

[love_fish]

Wow, nice job. I know exactly what to do now, thanks so much.

Although, i do have a few questions:

Should you have 4 or 2 CFs, i noticed you have 2. Also, my hood already has the outlet cords built in, can i just leave them and build off of that? Also, how do i incorporate the switch my hood already has into this? All i see is the method of getting the power, not how to turn it on and off.

[hyunelan2]

Looks good, but I am questioning the use of the speaker wire? I don't think the insulation is rated to carry a 120v current? Maybe it is, dunno. Probably won't hurt anything, but if anyone is picking up supplies at home depot, might as well get some regular household wire for the project.

[love_fish]

Oh, i thought id add another question. How do i know which end is positive and negative on the wire? Isnt black negative?

Another question, you said cut the wire into 2 pieces, it looks like there's 4 wires there though. Or is that one wire with a positive and negative side to it? I'm talking about the photo from number 3, the second pic.

[zoo minsi]

theres not really a positive and a negative with AC, but black is usually your hot or power wire and white is your neutral and green if you have one is your ground. nice step by step bigred im sure it will help alot of people out.

[bigredspecial]

Should you have 4 or 2 CFs, i noticed you have 2. Also, my hood already has the outlet cords built in, can i just leave them and build off of that? Also, how do i incorporate the switch my hood already has into this? All i see is the method of getting the power, not how to turn it on and off.

Yes, I do have 4; 2 were installed previously. You can go 2 or 4, it all depends on the wattage you are aiming for.

You shouldn't have any problems working from the power cord that is already there, just make sure you wire everything up to it correctly. As long as you connect the wores after(As opposed to before) the switch, it should still work.

Looks good, but I am questioning the use of the speaker wire? I don't think the insulation is rated to carry a 120v current? Maybe it is, dunno. Probably won't hurt anything, but if anyone is picking up supplies at home depot, might as well get some regular household wire for the project.

Voltage doesn't have an impact, it's amperage that determines the wire. I agree, anyone who is going to buy wire should get normal electrical wire(of sufficient thickness); I just used what I had lying around(I have over 60 meters of the stuff).

Oh, i thought id add another question. How do i know which end is positive and negative on the wire? Isnt black negative?

What Zoo said is right, positive and negative technically isn't important with AC, but for all intensive purposes consider black negative, white positive. You can sometimes tell which end is which by the plug - if it's a polarized plug(One side is wider than the other), the wider side is positive.

Another question, you said cut the wire into 2 pieces, it looks like there's 4 wires there though. Or is that one wire with a positive and negative side to it? I'm talking about the photo from number 3, the second pic.

You're right, it is speaker wire with a positive and negative side which are seperately insulated. If you buy single sided wire, you'll need four equal length pieces. I said two pieces but I really had four.