First impression of the Aquatic Life T5 LED Hybrid light

[rkpetersen]

I guess if you want to do some DIY and save some cash this is a good option

Well for me it wasn't really about saving money. I wanted to add T5s to my Hydras. This fixture came along and I preordered it. I could see a few simple things that I needed to do to make it look nice, based on others' experiences, so I did them. Believe me, I am so not a DIYer; for the most part, I am more than happy to pay a surcharge for premade solutions that work.

 

[Servillius]

That’s a great idea!!

Definitely a lot easier then what I came up with.

Peninsula with space and foliage behind it. Love the look! I’d brave an open sump some day, but I’m still not there. Looks nice.

 

[nkyreef]

Welp so much for t5's in 2017 [emoji21]. Aquacave just changed their eta for the fixtures to 1/3/2018. Setups so far in this thread are giving me great ideas. Hopefully they keep coming.

 

[rkpetersen]

Another small update on my Aquatic Life fixture installation.

Although I like the hanging hardware that comes with the fixture well enough, if you look at a bit, it does have a potential weak point which I wanted to address. If you look at the wire loop that hangs from the ceiling, it is secured by a cylindrical metal fastener bearing two screws. However, one of these two screws appears to be more important structurally, and if it gives way, the wire slides through and the fixture comes crashing down. I tightened the screws down very tight, but what I really wanted was a metal bead or crimp on the end of the wire, so that if the screw somehow got loose, the wire still wouldn't slide free. So, I bought one of these, and a box of these, and put an aluminum crimp on the end of each hanger, nice and tight. (Don't use the larger copper ones that are included with the crimp tool.)

 

[Lucas Lembke]

Here is what I did to makes the cords appear as one

I used the Ecotech style cable mounts to run the cables to the back center I am please with how it turned out ..

How did you get so many of the cable mounts?

 

[Clayton Jessup]

How did you get so many of the cable mounts?

Hey @LucasLembke I found them at my local Lowe’s store , in the electrical section ! They came in bags of 10 count .

Here is the link :

https://m.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-10-Pack-1-in-Nylon-Cable-Ties/50005766

Hopefully it helps , and I know you can find them on Amazon as well ! Hope it helps Lucas !

 

[Clayton Jessup]

I have updated the way I have done my light from this last one ... now my cables go through the wall to where you don’t see them anymore !

Cables all going through my wall 2 cables from the T5’s and 2 cables from the XR15 Pro G4’s ...

So that the most recent update on my AquaticLife Hybrid set up ! Hope you all like it !

 

[North Borders]

I did those sticky cable mounts on back but mine fell off within the day
I might attempt again with some stickier stuff like the Velcro super adhesive.

 

[siggy]

In the trades we call them 'Sticky Backs" and like everything it's about Quality and freshness. The old or cheap don't cut it. Ty-rap brand by T&B Thomas Betts IS the stuff. http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/1624300.pdf

 

[Brew12]

In the trades we call them 'Sticky Backs" and like everything it's about Quality and freshness. The old or cheap don't cut it. Ty-rap brand by T&B Thomas Betts IS the stuff. http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/1624300.pdf

This is so true! Of course, in addition to using the good stuff, prepping the surface is important too. If it isn't clean, nothing will stick.

 

[Lucas Lembke]

I have updated the way I have done my light from this last one ... now my cables go through the wall to where you don’t see them anymore !

Cables all going through my wall 2 cables from the T5’s and 2 cables from the XR15 Pro G4’s ...

So that the most recent update on my AquaticLife Hybrid set up ! Hope you all like it !

Looks awesome, thanks!
This is my current setup...

 

[Ross Petersen]

While possible to do what you mention, there are a few concerns. Both power cords on one side makes a larger set of wires running down the same side of the fixture. We wanted to keep it a little more symmetrical.

Allowing the dual lamps housing to be flipped would place the ballast channel toward the center of the fixture and a set of lamps toward the edge of the light, possible but not what we figure people would want.

The extrusion of the fixture only has a certain set of points that allow screws to be anchored to the plate. The end plates would have a lot more holes in it to make it more universal.

We are open to suggestions and will try to use them to improve the product.

I'm contemplating buying this but the wires running out of different ends is rather prohibitive with my see-through peninsula.

 

[rkpetersen]

I'm contemplating buying this but the wires running out of different ends is rather prohibitive with my see-through peninsula.

You can run one of the cords down the side, secured with clips, but you're right, it's less than attractive on that side.

 

[Fudsey]

I modified mine to have only 1 cord come out the middle of the back light. I would think you could mod it to have both cords come out 1 end no problem.

 

[AquaticLifeProducts]

I'm contemplating buying this but the wires running out of different ends is rather prohibitive with my see-through peninsula.

We have modified them here if the customer purchases them from us directly. Mostly for peninsula tank owners. If you send me an email at [email protected] we can discuss it more.