New Lighting

[Ri-Za]

Hi all

I have a fluval roma 125 running at the moment with the following standard lights;

One Power-Glo Fluorescent Aquarium Tube 20W 60.96cm (24in) T8
One Aqua-Glo Fluorescent Aquarium Tube 20W 60.96 cm (24in) T8

I have done some research and as well as my own experience I do have some problem keeping some plants alive...even my java fern isn't exactly flourishing as much as I thought or wanted it to. I am running co2 and dosing ferts on a weekly basis but even then my plants don't seem to be growing, in some cases dying.

I currently have the following plants;

Vallis
Java Fern
Anubis
As well as a carpet plant I am attempting but I can't remember the name of it right now.

I was wondering if anyone else had similar problems and what they did to overcome it? Also if anyone else has some suggestions it would be much appreciated. I no that T5 lights would be better than the current T8 lights on my tank but unfortunately the roma 125 doesn't exactly make things easy to change things...I am not very good at electrical things so not looking for a diy project...more of a new hood/lighting system perhaps?

 

[justin85]

I have the Fluval roma 200, and I had the same problem! Fluval put T8's in the hood which is not any good for growing most plants at the height of the tank.

There are a few options you can do, some of which I have tried and did help loads! And some of which I didn’t because of the risks involved.

Firstly, purchase yourself some better light reflectors, the white plastic one’s that come with the hood are not good. They just clip on to your tubes and reflect the light much better.

The next bit is totally up to you, You could take the hood apart and replace the T8 unit/ballast/tubes/wires with a T5 HO Starter unit which would give you a much better chance of growing plants, This is the option I didn’t take because of the risks involved in ripping out your light unit and putting in a different one and making it all water tight. So what I did was brought a T5 HO starter unit and fitted it alongside the T8 lights, it was not the tidiest of jobs but the results were great! so I had the new T5 ballast fitted to the back of the cabinet and the wires ran up the back of the tank and the new tubes were fitted to the metal reflector, But some people just cable tie them to the T8 tubes.

I am not the best DIY'er myself and what i did does not require you to be so if you decide to do the upgrade let me know and I will try my best to run you through how I did mine and what i purchased to do it.


Hope this help's.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

If you want an upgrade I'm currently building lighting units for people who want to upgrade.

 

[Ri-Za]

Yeah, from what I have read it does seem to be a bit of a common theme amongst people wanting to change from T8's to T5's for better plant growth but struggle due to the nature of the hood on the roma tanks. I struggle to grow pretty much anything to be honest, I can keep most of my plants alive but that's the extent of it to be honest.

I have read that people have completely done a DIY makeover of there hood and I can't say that I am 100% confident on doing that due to my lack of knowledge and experience in the sector.

Do you have any links to better light reflectors that I should use at all? I assume that I can just buy a general size and cut it to fit, seems easy enough.

That does sound interesting Justin, I am not keen on taking apart the current set up, hood etc but am open to the option of modifying it. I did see someone else add a T5 HO starter unit and fit it alongside the T8 lights (http/tank125.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/day-14-let-there-be-light.html) but didn't really explain it too well for a novice like myself. Do you have any pictures Justin on what your light unit looks like now its all complete so that I can see how easy it would be to do - it seems like quite a relatively easy solution since the old lights would still be there.

Steveo - I saw your recent thread on lighting upgrades and I was impressed with what you had come up with...very interesting the roma has quite a big lid in terms of height and isn't probably the easiest thing to make something for, have you done one before for a roma? I quite liked the ones that came from behind the tank and bent over the front but I have to be honest and say that I no pretty much nothing in terms of lighting requirements etc. Would something like that work better despite what looks to be a lot of spotlights? Also, how easy is it to manoeuvre to gain access to the tank for maintenance?

Sorry for the mass amount of questions...cheers guys

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Its very simple to do maintenance as you can remove the lighting bars as easily as they go in, the LED's are the way forward in aquarium lighting, I'm not just saying that either lol, they're cheaper to run, use less electricity and have higher out output of light while giving a beautiful shimmer to the tank bottom and its surroundings. The great thing about my lighting is it doesn't cost an arm and a leg like the big manufacturers.

 

[Ri-Za]

That sounds very handy Steveo, to be honest, the current set up isn't exactly great for doing major maintenance as the main middle lid is quite wide! I have seen that LED's seem to be the new thing at the moment although not seen much apart from pictures.

What kind of output do they give or would they give on a tank like mine? Apparently with my current set up it is about 1.2 watts per gallon is it? Which isn't great for plant growth...need something more like double perhaps?

Haha that's always a big bonus! I might try to take some pics tonight/tomorrow of the hood for you to look at if its easier? Pictures tell 1000 words

 

[RossC]

Interesting thread here, quick relevant question. How do the holding clips for the lights actually attach to things? Screws, glue, ect?

 

[justin85]

Unfortunately I have change my setup now and removed the T5 lights, but if I have time tomorrow I will quickly add the lights to the unit take a photo and upload it, it really is simple. I will try and do a step by step post on here so people can follow it. All in all it will cost about £80. In the link you put up, that's the same starter unit iv got, but mine is for longer tubes giving out more watts. But the process will be the same.

I will send you a link for the reflectors tomorrow just need to check what ones I brought. There is no cutting involved they come with clips that simply clip on to your T8 tubes no screwing !

 

[Ps3Steveo]

PM me if your interested and we can go from there Ri-Za.

 

[justin85]

I have done a step by step guide on how i upgraded my lights.

Here

Hope this helps.

 

[Ri-Za]

Many thanks Justin, very useful and informative guide! I can't decide what to do now with two options, looking through the Internet before making this thread I didn't mind much so am a little surprised that I have options but can't make up my mind...typical! What sort of kw per gallon do you get with that Justin?

Steveo, I may PM you tomorrow once I have taken some pictures, I can't really decide what kind of thing I want though to be honest. The fluval has a bit of a thick lid unlike your arcadia which I had before...I much prefer the lid set up on the arcadia than my current fluval!

 

[Ri-Za]

So I have done a bit of research on other options and have potentially come up with one; the OT2 Over-Tank Luminaire by Arcadia. The Arcadia light units do look really impressive apart from the fact that the model that would fit my tank costs between 300 and 400 pounds...in some cases higher which is double for what I paid for the tank! Any thoughts?

 

[delta]

Very interesting thread as I'm planning on upgrading my own Roma 200 to T5 lights and have just ordered the HO ballast kit, waiting for it to arrive. Wish me luck .

 

[justin85]

Very interesting thread as I'm planning on upgrading my own Roma 200 to T5 lights and have just ordered the HO ballast kit, waiting for it to arrive. Wish me luck .

I have put up a post that you might want to check out.

Fluval Roma 200 lighting upgrade

Good luck

 

[delta]

Thanks, I had a look and will definitely be referencing it when I start the upgrade. I'll let you know how I get on