Light Rigging

[Apoplast]

I am so proud of the rigging job on the lights for my new aquarium I had to share a couple shots.

It's a 75gal tank with 4, double bulb T5 shop light fixtures.

All rigged up on pulleys with rope cleats to hold it up.

Yup, that should do it!

[Myles]

Great lookin rig, I like that all the lights are firmly secured to the wood so they wont hit each other or have to be raised er lowered individually.

looks like it could be turned into a torture device too hahaha

what you got in the big round pots in back?

[bluemax]

Nice setup, Apoplast. I have had similar thoughts after spending some time at the Home Depot's lighting area. I suspect it will be some time before I can do it, tho' so it's nice to look at your results.

I like your new avatar. Is that D. cistiflora?

- Mark

[Apoplast]

Thanks for the kind words!

b-e - Yup, I figure if my plants don't behave it's a quick conversion to a rack. Then they'll toe the line.

The pots in the back are my newly arrived tuberous Drosera. Just waking up and probably shocked to find themselves in a basement in the northern hemisphere. They're actually the reason I set up this rig.

Mark - You should go for it! It wasn't that expensive to set up and if you go in with the lengths of board you need they cut them. All you have to do is put it together, like it's from Ikea. The ease of hoisting all the lights is completely worth it! Glad you like the avatar. You are correct, D cistiflora.. I'm a sucker for winter growing sundews.

[bluemax]

Someday! My lifestyle doesn't really support a large installation right now so my plants are in an easily-moved, and rather small, package.

Any chance you'd show us some pics of your tuberous Drosera? I'm currently trying to figure out how to get my hands on some of those without having to place an international order.

- Mark

[Myles]

oh lah lah. Would love to see the Drosera when they wake up n stretch out

edit: just noticed the bulbs are t5s, what type of bulbs you using? They look like a broad spectrum, all of mine are either 3000K (orangy yellow) or 6500K (cool blue) with which I mix em to get a great mix

[Apoplast]

I will definitely post pictures of the tuberous species when they are looking good. Disclaimer: Any nice pictures were taken are by my wife, anything that is only functional - mine.

Mark - I completely understand. The new setup is my first expansion after having to keep everything in 10gal tanks so I could move between states every other year.

As far as tubers, if you are looking to avoid getting tubers through the season shift, I recommend getting some D. peltata seeds from the ICPS seedbank. It's a good species to cut your teeth on as it can take less than ideal conditions during dormancy. Plus it's nice too.

b-e - I'm just using cheap 3500K Sylvania bulbs from Menard's (regional hardware store). I'm hoping to get a PAR sensor in there to get a μmol m-2 s-1 reading soon. I suspect everything will work out fine with what I have, but I'll let you know.

[endodoc]

Hey Alex
Very nice setup, I really like the pulley system, great idea. I can see multiple units in the near future as your collection grows. Nice Job
Ed

[coldcoffee]

Where did you get those t-5 fixtures and how much did they cost?

Very nice set up

[Apoplast]

coldcoffee - Thanks. I bought everything at a local hardware store (something akin to Home Depot or Lowes if you are in the States). Each of the fixtures was around $24 and each bulb was around $5. So, that puts the total fixture price close to $160 if you include tax and the plugs and attachments. Part of the reason they were cheap is that they are shop light fixtures and so you have to wire them yourself (which amounts to twisting on connectors to a plug attachment).

My plants have been doing well in there for a couple months. I've got tuberous sundews, Drosera cistiflora, and seedlings of Drosera regia.