# Fluval Roma 200 – Lighting upgrade to T5HO



## youmustcomply

*A small disclaimer. I will not be responsible if you electrocute yourself, or come of any harm from following this. This is just showing you how I did the conversion. Do this at your own risk as I won’t be held responsible for any damage caused.*


I bought my Roma about 8 months ago with the intention of upgrading the lighting when the tubes were coming up for renewal. The pricing between tanks with T5’s and T8’s meant I couldn’t justify the expense at the time.

So what did i buy:

4 x Arcadia T5 holders - http://arcadia-uk.info/sale.php?pid=96& ... sub=&id=25
4 x Arcadia OEM Lap Leads 100% waterproof - http://arcadia-uk.info/product.php?pid= ... &sub=&id=4
(However I cant seem to find them under spares anymore?)

1 x T5HO Electronic Ballast - http://www.bltdirect.com/product.phppid ... st+2+x+39w

T5 Fluorescent Tube 39W 865 Osram 39 Watt - http://www.lampspecs.co.uk/Light-Bulbs- ... -865-Osram
T5 Fluorescent Tube 39W 840 Osram 39 Watt - http://www.lampspecs.co.uk/Light-Bulbs- ... -840-Osram


First job was to actually get into the Roma light unit as its ‘kind’ of sealed. There are 6 clips along the lid 2 at each end and 2 in the middle. Using a screw driver i gently prised them up. There is alot of glue so spend some time doing this.






Once you are inside you will notice that there are two T8 ballasts and 2 starters (Nice and easy to replace.....) 








There are a couple of screws to remove the ballasts and starters and the T8 end caps just pop out with a screwdriver. You will need to cut some wires to remove all the parts.





Finally you will be left with a empty plastic box!





Now we need to figure out where we will mount the new arcadia mounts. To do this, i connected up the new end caps to the bulbs marked where they lined up and drilled a hole through. Once i drilled one hole and put a bolt and nut through i would check all the holes again. I did this for both sides, take a bit of time doing this. (Measure twice cut once! Well drill in this case)











You should now have all the brackets mounted, now its time to do the electrical bits.





The diagram states that the short cables must be max 1 meter long (Pins 9,10,15 and 16) and the cables for 11,12,13 and 14 cant be longer than 2 Meters.  More of this to follow later.

There must be live, neutral and earth connecting to the ballast. If you don’t connect an earth it will not work! (I tried). This does mean that the original power cable is redundant and needs to be replaced with a 3 core cable.
Installing the cables! On the side where the main power enters the unit i fed the wires through here. Note on picture the red circle will show 3 wires. I have also put the 3 core power cable through here. The other side, I drilled a hole through the bottom, see picture you will see 2 wires coming up.








From the original install there is two metal shields, i left these in place and stuck the new electronic controller down with some stick pads to this. This will act kind of like a heat sink to, helping to dissipate the heat as it will get warm.





This electronic controller has wire fittings where you just push in the cable and locks into place. However i found it easier to solider the ends of the wires as it makes it alot easier to push in.





Now the cables from the end caps need to be connected to the ballast. I made all the cables about 90cm long, and just cable tied them up to make sure they are tidy. I checked the routing of the cables before connecting them to the block making sure it wasn’t going to foul on anything or touch the electronic controller. 











Now all the cabling is done it was time to seal up the unit as we all know water and electricity don’t get on!
I used silicone and smeared is all around where we poked the cables, remembering to give some slack on the other to get bulbs in and out. I recommend fitting bulbs before silconing to make sure there is enough slack. I also cut up a plastic box and created squares which i then silicone in place to fill in were the old T8 end caps used to be. 










I was impatient and stuck it on top of my tank straight away but you should allow the silicon to set first.




The greens look amazing. I chose the bulbs from a thread that I read on here. I will find the Author and credit him later.

The difference of these lights is unbelievable compared to the original T8s. 

I hope this helps someone.

Jon


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## youmustcomply

I used to own a Juwel tank and yes I would imagine it is the same.
Also i have just noticed you can get the electronic controller i mentioned off eBay for around £16 delivered.


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## timsmith

Thanks for this guide - saved me £95 buying a new light block since I was able to replace the staters in what I thought was a sealed unit.


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## O'Neil

Excellent thread and exactly what I've been looking for!!!
I am definitely going to do this when I have the cash. I am however a little bit electrically retarded so i have a couple of questions:

For the 3 core cable what thickness do you recommend? I know it has something to do with current and frictional resistance creating heat - but that really is all I know on that. 

Also for the ballast the one on your link seems to be no longer available, would you recommend this as a suitable replacement

https://www.bltdirect.com/product.php?pid=6905

Does seem a tad expensive tho.

Thanks in advance


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