# Dkbmxr18's 6g Fluval EDGE Journal.



## dkbmxr18 (Oct 25, 2009)

Had a great go-around with the edge once already. I pulled out my entire low tech setup and moved it over to a 10g my sister gave me. Everything is much happier there. Now it's time to start fresh!!


*Tank*- Fluval Edge 6g

*Substrate*- Black Flourite

*Equipment*- Gutted 27w Hampton bay light mounted in stock hood, Hydor 50w heater, Stock aquaclear 20 filter, digital temp gauge mounted inside filter (for a clean look).

*CO2*-diy airstone underneath the aquaclear media basket. Tube goes into the hole behind the inlet pipe. 

*Plants*-Haven't got them yet. Planning on DWG & HM. 

*Hard scape*- Manzanita


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## dkbmxr18 (Oct 25, 2009)

Here is how I set up the lighting. I gutted a Hampton Bay 27w light. 

Getting it all pulled apart..








Mounting the 27w..








All ready to go..








The finished product!









Man o man is it nice and bright in there! 20x better than the stock lighting


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## volatile (Feb 13, 2007)

Nice mod! Was it hard to do? What plants are you going to try?


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## dkbmxr18 (Oct 25, 2009)

volatile said:


> Nice mod! Was it hard to do? What plants are you going to try?


Thanks!

The only hard part was the scavenger hunt to find all the screws to take the light apart.

I think that Dwarf Hairgrass, and HM or HC are on the agenda. I've only used Anubius, Java Fern, and Java Moss so the high tech tank is still new to me. I still have some research to do before I start planting. Can you recommend any other cool plants for these conditions? Thanks!


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

Wow. Great job. That light should be able to grow anything.

Do you have a web link to the light fixture? Also, how did you mount it to the arm?


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## dkbmxr18 (Oct 25, 2009)

TLE041 said:


> Wow. Great job. That light should be able to grow anything.
> 
> Do you have a web link to the light fixture? Also, how did you mount it to the arm?


I took out the internals of a Hampton Bay light I got at Home Depot for $19.99. I used two zip ties to connect it to the original arm that the edge comes with. I hope it doesn't grow too much algae!


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

u muct have read my mind. i saw this tank the other day and i saw you do this and you blew my mind!!! i so need to know more clearly how to do this! oh and plants... maybe some downoi


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## pandapr (Nov 10, 2008)

I just can't believe that having both, the fluval and a hampton bay light, I didn't think of this modification:iamwithst:iamwithst

but you'll have to cut down the light period a lot! I use this light on a 5.5g and it's an algae farm...and keep the CO2 stable
good luck, will try it shortly


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## TeaQue (Jan 26, 2010)

Wow thats a helluva idea for the lighting! I'm curious to see how much algae you grow.


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## dkbmxr18 (Oct 25, 2009)

pandapr said:


> I just can't believe that having both, the fluval and a hampton bay light, I didn't think of this modification:iamwithst:iamwithst
> 
> but you'll have to cut down the light period a lot! I use this light on a 5.5g and it's an algae farm...and keep the CO2 stable
> good luck, will try it shortly


If the light ends up being a bit too much I'm going to fold of a piece of sheet metal or aluminum foil over one of the 4 tubes which should technically take away about 6watts. 

I'll probably start getting some plants next weekend after I research this week roud: Can't wait!


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## TeaQue (Jan 26, 2010)

Does this light seem to do a better job of getting to the edges of the tank?

I wonder if you could wire it to a dimmer switch somehow....


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## dkbmxr18 (Oct 25, 2009)

TeaQue said:


> Does this light seem to do a better job of getting to the edges of the tank?
> 
> I wonder if you could wire it to a dimmer switch somehow....


It does a much better job of getting the edges of the tank. I'm keeping all lower height plants so nothing is going to block the edges like in my other scape.

Dimmer switch is a real good idea but I'm sure if you can use one with lights on a ballast? Correct me if I'm wrong because I know nothing about lights on a ballast:hihi:


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## ES4 (Jun 9, 2009)

A dimmer would not be able to be used on the light fixture. I myself have taken apart this particular fixture and modified it to fit into a home made wood canopy on a 2.5 gallon tank for my daughter. Not a very difficult mod, but as mentioned, finding the screws are key.


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## dkbmxr18 (Oct 25, 2009)

ES4 said:


> A dimmer would not be able to be used on the light fixture. I myself have taken apart this particular fixture and modified it to fit into a home made wood canopy on a 2.5 gallon tank for my daughter. Not a very difficult mod, but as mentioned, finding the screws are key.


That's what I figured about the dimmer. 

I ordered my high tech pfertz kit today! It Should be here Friday. When it comes in I'm going to head to the LFS and get some HC if they have any left and start the emersed growth. I can't wait! Next up, Paintball co2.


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

Very nice idea man l got the same light fixture myself but i never came across the idea +1 for originality. One thing that i am curious about is the zip ties holding the bulbs. How do you know the bulbs aren't going to someday wear/burn the zip ties out if that's even possible with these lights. Other than that great job. maybe someday i'll steal your idea and claim is as my own


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## dkbmxr18 (Oct 25, 2009)

!shadow! said:


> Very nice idea man l got the same light fixture myself but i never came across the idea +1 for originality. One thing that i am curious about is the zip ties holding the bulbs. How do you know the bulbs aren't going to someday wear/burn the zip ties out if that's even possible with these lights. Other than that great job. maybe someday i'll steal your idea and claim is as my own


The bulb gets pretty warm but not enough to melt the zip tie. I figure if I can touch the bulb after it's been on for a few hours and not get burnt then a zip tie can handle it. 

You're more than welcome to steal my idea! Just remember Dkbmxr18 from theplantedtank.net roud:


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## Fat Guy (Nov 19, 2003)

nice work man!! this is exciting. Can't wait to see how the plants grow...it's nice to know that this option is out there for those harder to light plants. Stoked for your tank. It's awesome that it fits so nicely under the canopy. time to build yourself a reflector..

-el g.


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## dkbmxr18 (Oct 25, 2009)

Fat Guy said:


> nice work man!! this is exciting. Can't wait to see how the plants grow...it's nice to know that this option is out there for those harder to light plants. Stoked for your tank. It's awesome that it fits so nicely under the canopy. time to build yourself a reflector..
> 
> -el g.


The reflector that came with the light is mounted between the bulb and the stock lighting arm. It fits perfect!


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## Fat Guy (Nov 19, 2003)

dkbmxr18 said:


> The reflector that came with the light is mounted between the bulb and the stock lighting arm. It fits perfect!


that's very awesome


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## TeaQue (Jan 26, 2010)

Screw it, I'm doing this as well so I don't have to buy another timer for the spare CFL


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

TeaQue said:


> Screw it, I'm doing this as well so I don't have to buy another timer for the spare CFL


lol aaaah yes. gotta love temptation


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## gcpenn (Jan 6, 2010)

As soon as I saw this, I ran out to Home Depot to switch out my replacement LED plus extra CFL setup.

Everything was put together in 20 minutes. Super simple and much better coverage over the whole tank. Great idea!


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

i'm tempted to get a fluval but they're pricey. l think i'd rather get me a ada cube


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

This light must be sold in the US only. I can't find it at any of the Home Depots up here in the frigid north (ie. Canada). They do carry Hampton Bay light fixtures, just not this one. $20 is a great price for it. I'd pay that much just for the bulb alone. 

I would use aluminum foil to cover one of the four tubes though. Either that or I'd use a dimmer if it'll work with it. Otherwise, you'll have an algae farm on your hands.


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## dkbmxr18 (Oct 25, 2009)

No HC at the LFS. Bummer!!! Anyone want to sell me some?


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## dkbmxr18 (Oct 25, 2009)

Just a little update...

The manzanita is going to one day lay on a bed of HC w/ maybe a little bit of moss on it. Only been able to find east coast aquarium mail order places one the East Coast that have HC and the weather is below freezing out there! Looks like I have to wait a bit longer to get some in the tank :-( At least the pfertz came in!

I'm getting a paintball co2 tank from somebody at work and will soon order a regulator. I'm not sure if I want to spend the money on a regulator with a solenoid yet. 

This is all the updates I have for now! At least I have my 10g to keep me busy while the wait continues!

Photo:


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

you know i was wanting to get the same exact fertilizers are they all look uniform and proffesional in my opinion.


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## Fat Guy (Nov 19, 2003)

love them bottles


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## dkbmxr18 (Oct 25, 2009)

Today's update!

I finally ordered some HC and HM from the East Coast. It should ship out tomorrow 2nd day air. I hope it doesn't freeze! 

I modified the HOB filter to fit my hydor theo heater. I cut part of the basket and part of the cover (as show in photos). There should still be enough room to have some bio media, a little purigen packet I made, and a sponge on top of it all. I will have a sponge covering the filter intake as well so there should be more than enough bio filtration going on. I'll update this again once I get the HC and HM planted!

How it was cut to fit:








How it looks with the cover on:


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## TeaQue (Jan 26, 2010)

dkbmxr18 said:


> Today's update!
> 
> I finally ordered some HC and HM from the East Coast. It should ship out tomorrow 2nd day air. I hope it doesn't freeze!
> 
> ...


Very nice!

FYI, I copied your light mod and totally redid my tank and I'm growing algae pretty fast even with more CO2, dosing Flourish, Flourish potassium, iron, and Pfertz N. I started cutting back my lighting period to 6hrs this week so hopefully that will help! Good luck!


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## non_compliance (Dec 1, 2009)

Ummm... love the light mod, but for Pete's sake, why didn't you just buy one of THESE!?!?












http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=hydor+heater


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## dkbmxr18 (Oct 25, 2009)

non_compliance said:


> Ummm... love the light mod, but for Pete's sake, why didn't you just buy one of THESE!?!?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


May reasons. I already had the heater that I'm using, my heater is adjustable, my heater doesn't stay on 24/7, and this set up seems like it is going to work just fine . It gets hot here in the summer and I don't want to fiddle around with unplugging the heater on hot days. :thumbsup:


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

good reason i got the same exact heater in my 10g but may end up having to buy another one due to that reason which leads to my next question. Do you have to unplug those heaters in the summer time?


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## Fat Guy (Nov 19, 2003)

!shadow! said:


> good reason i got the same exact heater in my 10g but may end up having to buy another one due to that reason which leads to my next question. Do you have to unplug those heaters in the summer time?


I was under the impression that you don't have to unplug them....I could be very wrong though


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## dkbmxr18 (Oct 25, 2009)

Fat Guy said:


> I was under the impression that you don't have to unplug them....I could be very wrong though


The heaters with a thermostat will turn off automatically when they reach a certain temperature. The thin hydor one (I forget their name) posted above constantly stays on.


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

Ahh ok, l'll have to read my manual again just to double check. l wouldn't want any of my fish getting a fever in the water lol


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## Fat Guy (Nov 19, 2003)

dkbmxr18 said:


> The heaters with a thermostat will turn off automatically when they reach a certain temperature. The thin hydor one (I forget their name) posted above constantly stays on.


you are right. by the way, any new photos?


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## dkbmxr18 (Oct 25, 2009)

Just an update: 3/29/2010









HC is starting to fill in! The empty back portion will eventually be covered with hairgrass. The cool piece of manzanita will lay on the hc when it's all filled in. 

I'm going on vacation for a week and a half in may so when I get back It will be ready to be filled. Can't wait!

I have another project going on while this tank fills in. a 2.5g betta tank! I have a heater buried under the gravel and am using a hagen mini elite for a filter. I'm still cycling it right now. I used the hampton bay skeleton by mounting it to the back of the speaker the tank sits on. I rigged up my old 10w cfl that I was using on the edge to work with the hampton bay parts. So far so good!


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## horseflesh (Oct 20, 2006)

Nice find on the Hampton Bay lamp. I just took mine apart too. I'll probably find a way to block 25-33% of the light, at least at first. I don't have much of a green thumb. 

The ballast label states that it needs to be grounded. Obviously it works and the lamp it came in didn't use a grounded plug, but seeing as the light is going to be transplanted to a high humidity location, I am going to replace the cord with a grounded 3-prong job.


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## Fat Guy (Nov 19, 2003)

how's the tank looking now? have the plants filled in more? curious about how well the light is working. I'm sure you've added H20, curious how it has panned out.


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## dkbmxr18 (Oct 25, 2009)

Fat Guy said:


> how's the tank looking now? have the plants filled in more? curious about how well the light is working. I'm sure you've added H20, curious how it has panned out.


I pulled all the HC out and started fresh a few weeks ago. I used a bit too much water that caused a lot of algae puddles. When I get back from vacation in a week and a half I plan to fill it up. I can't wait! Hopefully my roommate has good judgment with the spray bottle


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## TeaQue (Jan 26, 2010)

Any update? Ive been using this light and its made my HC grow like crazy but its really concentrated on the center of the tank and started growing up instead of out 

That and I've grown some crazy algae (expecially when my tank empties and I wait a day or two to fill it again!)


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## dkbmxr18 (Oct 25, 2009)

SO.........

My Edge became an algae farm. I tried everything to fix it. 

I gave up on making the edge a high tech tank. I switched back to the LED and Walmart light bulb set up and threw in some scrap plants and manzaita. I have to say, it looks really good. I'm going to keep it simple from here on out. It will be nice just doing a water change here and there. Right now the tank is re-cycling. I'll post pictures shortly.


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