Fluval Edge MR16 LED Upgrade

Hi guys,

A few weeks ago I decided to have a pop at changing the fittings from MR11 to MR16 (takes both MR16 & MR11 bulbs) and change to LED. I was going to go for the MR11 LEDs but there had been talk of corrosion and at £15-20 per bulb is was much more attractive to change the fittings and have a much wider range of lighting options. Also - there's barely any temp change - not one that will affect the water temp anyway!

1. First thing is to unscrew the lighting rig and remove it! There are four screws on the arms which need to be removed so you can un-clip from the main body.



2. Make sure you take the four screws out of the MR11 fittings and then cut the wires going to the transformer and to the switch - the MR11 fittings should just pull out.



3. Attach a terminal block to the transformer wire and the switch wire.



4. Take your two MR16 fittings and pop the wires through the holes in the lighting arm. I got mine from ebay for £3 for 5



5. Twist the bottom two MR16 fitting wires together and the bottom two MR16 wires together then connect the BOTTOM to the switch terminal block and the TOP to the transformer terminal block.



6. Screw the connectors into place, and reattach the lighting arm.



7. Pop in your MR16 LEDs



8. Switch on! Pic 1 shows the LEDs and for comparison Pic 2 shows the standard halogens (both using MR16 sockets).

I almost forgot, the photos of the Edge with the halogens and with the LEDs!!!

Old aquascape under halogens:



Old aquascape under LEDs


(Sorry about the rubbish quailty!)

Wow...that is AWESOME. How is the temperature flux with the new lights? (The stocks raised mine up 2-3 degrees an hour after use)

the LEDs are great - no temperature change! Much better light too. I'm looking forward to my next mod though - two 6400k tropical fluorescents. Watch this space!

Why not post some pics of your edge in the gallery Anna?!?

Oh, and I forgot to ask....Do your MR16 bulbs have some sort of plastic cover over them? I saw someone on youtube had purchased mr16s and they didn't have any protection (led to burnt out bulbs). They eventually had to silicone a plastic sheet over the light.

No, they aren't covered - i've had a bit of trouble with them rusting so i'm going to try some sealed units instead!

Also, an update on the flourescents - the guy from America ripped me off so i'm now waiting for a refund . I have however found the interpet 15w CFLs are eddison screw fitting and so am going to hook up a lighting rig with those and see what it's like!

How did they rip you off?
I was looking forward to seeing the flourescent set up sean! Just bought a nice long piece of slate to attach some moss to so will be hopefully getting that done in the next week or so. Also I took your advice and bought the fluval heater and filter foam to stop teh smaller fish being sucked up. My fish are dying at a rate of knots so obviously something needs to be done. On the plus side it gives me an excuse to try something new/make some adjustments to the set up. Any suggestions for plants other than moss would go down well though?

Mike

they never sent them, don't reply to emails or tracking messages - finally got through to them at 5.30 this morning as I was getting ready for work. They said they'd refund me immediately (did it while I was on the phone) but the bank haven't received anything. they said a refund should show on their system as soon as it's done and it still isn't on now. they've issued a non-refund charge back form which I have to sign and send back then they'll refund me the cash direct. Just a ball ache having to wait!

Going to order the new lighting on pay day (end of the month ) and i'll post the setup then!

go for the full black look like mine! i'll post some pics later - water is stable but all I have in are two guppies, a peppered cory and the frog! I thought my experience would serve me well with this tank but I was wrong! I'm looking at restocking the whole thing with male and female endler's guppies!

Also getting a 3-4 foot tank for my classroom in the next few weeks!


with the plant stocking, i'd look at the java moss for a carpet and then a mixture of java fern and anubias as they all grow well with the stock lighting and will thrive under the LEDs (when you do them!).

Unless you're waiting for me to set up some CFLs for you?!?

1 of my LED,s packed up so i replaced with stock bulbs.my fish like the lower light and are out more now.
my java ferns were getting burnt y the leds too.

Great tips!.. Thanks for the information.


<EDIT>

I know this is a very old post but I need some help. I've done the mod worked well came back an hour later and they were off and won't go back on tried different bulb, opened it all up again everything looked fine.

Could it be the plug.

Same thing has happened to me can anyone help please

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=31iyt5wem6c&feature=plcp
Thanks for the help with the impeller. Check out all the mods now its time to make it look beautiful