My Fluval Egde

[TheLearned]

Hi guys,

I'm not strictly new to keeping tropicals - I've had a few tanks in my time. I wanted a nice new one, but owing to space (and being over ruled by the missus) I ended up with the Fluval Edge.

This was set up about 2 months ago, cycled and I've added some fish. On roll we have one betta, three gold mountain minnows (donated), one red tailed shark, one peppered cory and a lovely dwarf african clawed frog. Stocking levels are just about right with nitrate at about 5ppm and nitrite at 0ppm.

Plant wise, I've added an annubis and one that I can't remember the name of! I've also got a hefty chunk of Java moss growing on a nice pieve of bogwood.

If you don't know, the Edge comes fitted with 10w MR11 halogen bulbs that get very very hot and can cause a 3-6[sup]o[/sup]C increase in temp - not good.

I decided last week to have a pop at changing the fittings from MR11 to MR16 (takes both MR16 & MR11 bulbs) and change to LED. I was going to go for the MR11 LEDs but there had been talk of corrosion and at £15-20 per bulb is was much more attractive to change the fittings and have a much wider range of lighting options. Also - there's barely any temp change - not one that will affect the water temp anyway!

For those who want to follow this, i'll put a step by step guide up in the next few days including photos but for now, here's photos of the lighting before and after.

I'll also post some pics of the Edge on the stand which I managed to track down - it cost £40 from Ikea and it's absolutely perfect!

 

[TheLearned]

Ok guys - no posts yet!

I've added a photo of the Edge on its stand and also popped in a link to my photobucket album gives a guide on the upgrade of the lighting. It's a really simple job but I thought you'd appreciate some photos to help you along!

Guide to upgrading the lights to MR16 sockets.

http/s896.photobucket.com/albums/ac169/TheLearned/Fluval%20Edge%20Lighting%20Upgrade/

 

[nurglespuss]

Hi there, amazing you've had no replies!

Great little guide to replacing the fittings, if i ever get around to forking out for one, I'll be doing the same!!

I notice that you have a red tail black shark as part of your stock (in your listed stock anyway).

this chap won't be happy in there for long, they get to be quite a chunky fish at 6-8 inches, and territorial too.

Might be a good idea to swap him out for a couple more cories instead?

 

[TheLearned]

yeah, i i'm popping down to the local now, i'll get him out and decide what to replace him with! They'll take him off my hands! I might go for a few shrimp rather than fish - also think some more plants are in order so there might be a few new pics up later!

 

[TheLearned]

So, I've been to the local after taking my Red Tail and the minnows back only to return with some gorgeous guppies and some new plants! I was having a chat to the owner about the lighting upgrade and how although it looks much better than the halogens, it's got nothing on T5s and I got thinking.........

I've got an old ballast and thought i'd rig it up on top to see what the Edge would look like - I was blown away!

I've since dismantled the ballast and I'm ready to pop down to Pets@Home to grab a 6" 4W blub!

I'm going to gut the existing lighting rig, extend the ballast wires and fit the G5 caps to the rig - it's 17cm and so should just fit!

The ballast itself will be stored inside the cabinet - i've not decided if i'm going to use the fluval's existing switch or have the T5 switch mounted in the cabinet.

Mu GF always moans at me for hoarding bits and bobs - she won't be complaining when she see's how stunning the tank will look! Well, that's the idea anyway!

Here's a pic of the tank under the T5 just so you get an idea of what it'll look like!

What do you guys think??

 

[TheLearned]

I realised last night when fiddling that my ballast is a T8 - you can't get a 6" T8 tube - so, i've ordered a lovely Arcadia Ultraseal 6w lighting controller and two 6"T5 tubes {4w} (cool white - around 4000-4500K). I'm thinking of totally removing the lighting rig and fixing the arcadia to the inside of the cover - I'll have to see how much room there is when they arrive.

What I was thinking however, is that if there IS enough room for both the Arcadia and the LEDs I'll get two MR16/MR11s to provide some nice moon lighting!

Come on you Edge freaks - someone must be interested out there!!!!

 

[OldMan47]

You might want to consider mounting the ballast on the back of your hood on the outside. It will be much cooler there and will not be exposed to the moisture typical inside an aquarium hood. Most upgrade lighting kits in the US suggest that as a mounting location for those very reasons.

 

[TheLearned]

I was going to have the ballast inside the cabinet. After some more research, i cancelled my orders yesterday as the 6" bulbs, along with the arcadia fittings were too big and would prevent the hood from fitting.

Instead, I've ordered three Coralife Colormax Mini Compact Fluorescent bulbs from the US. I really wish I could find them over here because paying £23 for delivery is shocking, hence ordering three - need to justify it some how!

There is a slight problem with this however - they're rated at 110-130v and obviously UK mains run at 230-240v. Also, the bulbs are E26 fitting not E27 (although the two are inter-changeable it still leaves the problem of the voltage). I've ordered two of these US standard lamp fitting and two of these US to UK step down transformers. I'm popping into town now to get some empty helium balloons (made out of mylar) so I can make some reflectors to go inside the hood. I'll post pics of these later!