cbatkinson July 26, 2009 Share July 26, 2009 I have a 48" MH/CF fixture and I was wondering if there was any way to convert the CF's to T5's? I know some of you out there have done some amazing DIY projects...was wondering if its possible, or is this wishful thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Lazar July 26, 2009 Share July 26, 2009 I have a 48" MH/CF fixture and I was wondering if there was any way to convert the CF's to T5's? I know some of you out there have done some amazing DIY projects...was wondering if its possible, or is this wishful thinking. I'm not familiar with your specific fixture and whether there's room for you to install different reflectors and bulbs. There's probabaly little flexibility if you have a non-DIY fixture. But a CF bulb is simply a long T5 bulb bent back on itself. You can use the same ballasts to drive a T5 and CF bulb, or mix and match T5 and CF bulbs within a fixture, so long as you pay attention to the wattage of the bulbs. You may find it easier to just upgrade to a new fixture next time your bulbs are due for replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almon July 27, 2009 Share July 27, 2009 I just replaced the actinic lights in the hood of my main tank. I have a Hamilton hood with three (3) metal halides and 2 96w Power Compacts. It was really simply. I replaced the end caps (lamp holders) with T5 end caps. The ballast supports both types, so I rewired the new T5 end caps according to the wiring diagram (that's important). The previous PC bulbs were really old and had very little output left, and some of my corals were losing color because of it. Now it appears 10 x times brighter, is using half the wattage, and the corals are looking better. I don't know why I waited so long... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbatkinson July 28, 2009 Author Share July 28, 2009 I just replaced the actinic lights in the hood of my main tank. I have a Hamilton hood with three (3) metal halides and 2 96w Power Compacts. It was really simply. I replaced the end caps (lamp holders) with T5 end caps. The ballast supports both types, so I rewired the new T5 end caps according to the wiring diagram (that's important). The previous PC bulbs were really old and had very little output left, and some of my corals were losing color because of it. Now it appears 10 x times brighter, is using half the wattage, and the corals are looking better. I don't know why I waited so long... Think I can do the same thing with a 48" Coralife fixture?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almon August 2, 2009 Share August 2, 2009 What does the 48" Coralife fixture look like? Any pictures? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan August 2, 2009 Share August 2, 2009 I have a 48" MH/CF fixture and I was wondering if there was any way to convert the CF's to T5's? I know some of you out there have done some amazing DIY projects...was wondering if its possible, or is this wishful thinking. I found it here... http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...l%3Den%26um%3D1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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