DIY Lighting Very Easy

[GIS Guy]

Originally Posted by tropicalfish

Hi, I am new here.
Do you keep the vents blocked off with the tape? or are you going to cut one in the side or something, where the fan goes,?

I have blocked the vents.
The fans were placed on the sides to create a lateral suction.
1 fan pushes air in and the other pulls air out.
This has drastically cut the heat down and I no longer need the vents.
As such, I am no longer losing light out the top.


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And now the fixture is complete.
I have converted a 19w fixture into a 65w (2x20w & 1x25w) and could go 75w (3x25w).
This conversion was extremely inexpensive for the wattage gained.
The fans are eBay purchased for $4.40 w/ shipping (I got 3 fans on 1 auction).
Total cost of this project...maybe somewhere around $20?
The bulbs were by far the most costly.
.
My next project is to build a completely custom light.
Since this is on a 20g, I am not planning on building a canopy, just the light housing.
The same "tunnel" cooling method will be applied in order to maximized light into the tank.

[tropicalfish]

oh, looks really nice!

[GIS Guy]

I purchased a 24" square by 1/4" think piece of oak plywood.
The cost for this was something like $3.00.
The plan is to build a box shaped light housing.
I have played w/ the idea of replicating the shape of the original.
I don't believe I'll be heading in that direction.

[tropicalfish]

another question... about how long is the bulb from base to tip?

[GIS Guy]

The 25w bulb is about 6" when installed into the socket.
The 20w bulb is about 5.5" when installed into the socket.

You could probably subtract 0.25" to .5" from those lengths to get the bulb length.

[MrBungle]

Hey GIS, think you, or anyone else, can help me with the wiring? I have the fixture completely disassembled right now and all that is there is the power cable sticking through. The switch that was there was shot so I got a 125V SPST rocker switch. I'm just a bit confused as to where everything goes. Here are some pics of the new switch.

[Guysy1110]

Is the switch illuminated? I.e, it has a light on when its switched on ?

You should probably see a + or a - on the back on 2 of the poles. thats your positive and negative to connect the main wires to and if its illuminated, the other one is to supply a current for the led.

(i think thats right, because i use the illuminated rocker switches for my computer lights)

[GIS Guy]

So all the existing wiring remains?

First install the switch.
It will have to be connected to the incoming hot wire, usually black.
The other wire is the neutral, usually white.
In the light fixture, you may actually have a smooth wire and a grooved wire (power cord).
My switch is connected to the grooved wire.

Then you will need to connect a black wire to the "on" side of the switch.
This is the wire where all of the sockets will connect their black wires to.

The sockets will have white wires and those will all be connected to the smooth wire on the power cord.

That should get you going.

[MrBungle]

definitely getting a better picture in my head! thanks guys. and yes guysy, its illuminated.

[GIS Guy]

Here's a crude picture but it does get the point across.