Installing a T5 RetroKit on my 55g Aquarium

My poor fish have been living alone in the black. The lighting ballast on my 55 gallon aquarium had died and the tank had sat in darkness for a few months while I tried to decide what I wanted to do and then earn enough money to do whatever I decided to do.

I researched lighting ballasts and learned about the new T5 bulbs that are in use now. My ballast had been a Icecap 480 which was driving two 48 T12 VHO bulbs. It was the sun in a box and my plants loved it. I was pushing 220 watts of high output light down into the water and when the algae wasn't in control the tank was wonderful. It was overkill but it worked.

Since I had no reflector on the bulbs but instead had them bare in the hood, held by an acrylic bulb rack, I could light the whole block when I opened the top of my tank. It could make for a fun surprise at parties. I am sure I looked like one of the Nazi's in Raiders of the Lost Ark when they opened the ark and peered inside.  Glad my face did not melt.

When I was heavily into the hobby years ago, T12 bulbs were the standard and thats what was used unless you went higher and got metal halide lighting. As I was researching lighting now, I found that many placed no longer sold T12 bulbs and instead sold the thinner lower wattage T5 bulbs. Having been taught that you needed 3-4 watts a gallon for a planted aquarium, I was dismayed that my only choice was a 54w per bulb T5 setup. That would not do!

But with a bit more research I began to realize the 4 watts a gallon rule was no longer considered valid and that many people were having great luck with the smaller bulbs. I also realized that I could use two T5 bulbs, which are much smaller (and cheaper) and much more efficient to achieve the same affect with less energy (which is greener! Yay!). 

After looking into the costs it would be more effective to buy a whole new setup with new bulbs and a new ballast instead of just getting another Icecap ballast. Ok I was sold on T5. Now what?

I found a T5 retro kit at my favorite local pet shop, Steve's Wet Pets in Norman, Ok ( Highly recommended for the Okie's the audience ) and after some research online decided that it was the way to go. I got the kit from Steve's and rushed home to check it out. Well, at least as well as I can rush from Norman to north west Oklahoma City, which took like 40 minutes.

I opened it immediately and spread all of the parts out on my living room floor and then looked at the pitiful instructions that were included. I was dismayed at first, when I saw things in the instructions that referenced electrical codes and vague guidelines, such as "now ground the black wire per national electric code". Um HUH? But a few moments with my pal google and I was able to find detailed instructions for the kit on the Sunlight website. Why they chose not to include them in the box is beyond me but at least I had them.

I spent one saturday recently taking the old lights out of my hood and installing the new lights into it. The new relfectors are a wonder to behold. Simple and clear,  they do an amazing job of focusing the light in the direction that it needs to go. I was able to use the acrylic bulb holders from my previous installation to hold the bulbs in the hood, but had to move them farther out from the center to make room for the new reflectors.

Once the wiring was done,  I was able to plug the kit in and test it out...

and nothing happened.

I went back and checked all of the wires and they looked good. So i looked at the bulbs themselves and checked that they were seated in the sockets properly and realized one of them had turned slightly during the final install and was not making a good connection. One small twist later and I was bathed in a brilliant white/blue aura!

I finished the wiring up and got the cords wrapped to look nice, then finally set the hood on my tank. It works wonderfully. It is just the right amount of bright and a good color for my plants. It is less than half the wattage of my previous install and yet looks just as bright. 

But the coolest unexpected benefit is that I can now open my tank hood without needing blast googles on!