Juwel rio lighting

[Martin Osmond]

hi all, have just purchased a juwel Rio 125 after being inspired by London dragons journals.
I have no chance of a luminarie as it is right next to my sofa and have 2 little boys who would have great fun with an open tank!
I would like to no if there is any way of adding any extra t5s to the existing hood as it is very thin and flimsy.
Any help will be really appreciated.

Thanks Martin.

 

[Alastair]

Hi Martin, you could purchase one of the Arcadia t5 starter units and just attach the t5 to the flap with the supplied brackets. That's the easiest way


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[LondonDragon]

Glad I have managed to inspire someone

Initially I added an extra 2x24w by purchasing one of these: Hagen Glo Twin T5 Electronic Controller: 24w x 2 | eBay

You can screw them to the plastic flaps, doesn't look great when open but it does the trick

 

[Martin Osmond]

thanks for the quick reply. Please excuse my ignorance but I'm new to this and am really useless at any sort of diy, but how do they actually attach to the flap as it seems too thin to drill holes through?

 

[Antipofish]

Hi, Its not too thin for holes.. just use the right drill bit. I have just drilled holes in my Juwel lid to retro fit a TMC lighting tile. You can see that on my journal here.... Trying a Trigon | Page 3 | UK Aquatic Plant Society

With your Rio 125 you could do the same thing with one or two TMC Growbeams. That would look really nice

 

[jojouk]

I added t5s to the flaps just as mentioned above, worked really well, I have a bunch of photos on how I did it that i can post if you want? It was really easy, and worked well

 

[jojouk]

 

[Antipofish]

Just as an aside, it is not advisable to put tin foil on the flaps like that to act as a reflector. It causes optical "strike" that can damage and shorten the life of the tube. I was talking to some lighting people about it the other day. This is why proper reflectors are shaped. By the way Martin, if you go for the option of using TMC growbeam strips you have a few added advantages. 1) You can have sunrise and sunset dimming effects (with the appropriate controller) and 2) Using their MMS screws, they give a nice appearance on the top of the lid as they are black and dome topped.

 

[Martin Osmond]

Thank you all very much for your replies, looks like i have a couple of options which is good.
If i was to go down the TMC route, i take it the way the have been installed is the standard way, they come with those rails?
Is there any way of some sort of comparison, as in what is one of the tmc strips equivalent to compared to a t5 in terms of wattage?
Would it be worth trying just the 2 t5's it comes with first , or shall i just have the extra lighting from the beginning?

This is going to be a slow process for me as i still have a fortune to spend on everything else, and as i'm sure your all aware it can become rather costly!
I nearly bought this tank a year ago but after being badly advised by my lfs i opted for an aquaone 620t as these were more or less the only 2 tanks that would fit the space i have. I soon realised i had made the wrong choice, and this time around i want to make sure i get it everything right so there will probably be many more questions along the way!

 

[jojouk]

Good to know It increased the light output nicely, but that tank is old and gone now anyway I always intended to get better bolts for the top, but never really got round to it...

 

[Antipofish]

To be honest, twin T5's with reflectors should be enough for pretty much any plant in a Rio 125. Im not sure I would bother adding at this stage. Shame about being mis sold the Aqua One, you have missed out a years worth of fun. Now you have one though, enjoy it.