T8 lighting solutions

so when i got my T8 i did not have lights put in, which i am now regretting.

i had these 4" LED pucks that i attached to the inside top with magnets. they worked great for about a month, but they were super cheap and the remote crapped out.

my T8 is black and it's difficult to do daily checks and cleaning when i have to have a flashlight in one hand.

has anyone else done DIY lighting in a T8 or something similar? any advice or input is much appreciated!

People are buying the Strips off ebay for $10. I guess they are just like what AP now installs. A little silicone and the ones i seen are great. The only thing thats diff is AP insets them but that really doesnt matter at all. They come in a long strip so you just cut them off at the length you want.
Or if your more comfortable AP will sell you theirs for $15.

thanks for the reply.

that's what i'd like to do, but i'm wondering how curing works with silicone and how long it will take for it to be safe to have the tank up and running again. i still have leftover sealant from putting my T8 together: would that work? what's the best way to go about adding it?

and also, how would the power supply work?

I'm going through the same process (3 T10's on order) and like the idea of having the lights in a channel but AP only offers 1 color. I'm interested in white for the day and red at night (I read somewhere snakes can't see red light?) because I work midnight shift and my nights off I'm usually awake and like to observe as she explores.

I bought a multi-color with "white" LED strip with remote that you can cut to length on amazon ($15) and plan on using some silicone and letting it cure while the enclosure off gasses and I get the heat/humidity dialed in before putting the snakes in. I say "white" because it's not a true white as more of all LEDs on to simulate white. It's the closest I've seen in a multi-color strip so I figured I'd try it. Guess I'll find out when the enclosures get here and go from there, figure it's a $15 risk I'm willing to take.

Good luck with your decision.

I opted for the AP lighting installed and don't regret it at all. I've learned over the years that it is much easier to have cage lighting installed rather than trying to bubblegum a solution. Sure its a little more cash but when I paid over $1000 for 3 T10s, $120 more for lighting that I don't have to mess with and can just plug and play was well worth it. I'll be ordering 3 T8s here in the next 2 months and then another 3 T25s later in the year and I will do the same as I did with my T10s, sliding glass doors, locks, lights, shelf, flexwatt. Having a plug and play unit is much easier.

As for rigging your own lights, light mentioned, you can order them from AP or Amazon or Ebay and then silicone them to the roof and then drill a hole and cable clamp the plug wire down. About it really.

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Originally Posted by tttaylorrr

thanks for the reply.

that's what i'd like to do, but i'm wondering how curing works with silicone and how long it will take for it to be safe to have the tank up and running again. i still have leftover sealant from putting my T8 together: would that work? what's the best way to go about adding it?

and also, how would the power supply work?

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Id run the strip about 5" from the back wall and drill a hole for the wire unless you already have a hole you can use... Don't do anything untill you have the LED's so you know the size hole ect.. I wouldnt use the T8 silicone. It stinks and has to be aired out to long. They sell silicone at lowes for $3.59. Get the small tube just to use for this. It dries completely within 30 min and sticks within a couple min.

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Originally Posted by Mr Sully

Id run the strip about 5" from the back wall and drill a hole for the wire unless you already have a hole you can use... Don't do anything untill you have the LED's so you know the size hole ect.. I wouldnt use the T8 silicone. It stinks and has to be aired out to long. They sell silicone at lowes for $3.59. Get the small tube just to use for this. It dries completely within 30 min and sticks within a couple min.

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thanks for the advice; this is probably how i'll go about it. should be fairly simple: a hole and some silicone "gluing." i probably have some silicone lying around the house, actually.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Having a plug and play unit is much easier.

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i know, i honestly don't know why i didn't get every bell and whistle they had. live and learn. :gj:

Husband and I install our own lightin in our AP cages. We use LED aquarium lights, so we don't have to worry about overspray when misting or cleaning. If you want to go that route, look for lights that can be retro-fit into an existing hood and mount to the ceiling with screws. The two or three brand I've bought have all had a round connector for power, so we just have to drill an appropriate size hole to pass it through. We don't worry about sealing the hole around the cord, since we don't have itty-bitty baby colubrids. [emoji6]


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AP will cut the channel for you for $5 fyi.