DIY Hassle Free PVC Light Fixture (Vivarium, Terrarium, Aquarium, etc.)

[@SerpaDesign]

Hey everyone and happy Sunday! Whether you keep fish, reptiles, amphibians or plants, light is a universal consideration. Trying to choose the right bulb or fixture is something that all of us do and often times it's quite expensive. Here's a cool, cheap and easy solution that I came up with a few weeks ago. You might recognize it from the most recent animal room tour. Enjoy!

[@thatfxckinnamekian6450]

SerpaDesign the guy with the silky voice is back let me grab some q tips so I can hear u loud and clear :3

[@yenyaoming]

SerpaDesign I was thinking of doing something like that but you just made it simple with this video. thank!

[@Jorgeboom9]

i did one but i used coca cola bottles and i covered them with aluminium foil and they melted :( what should I use instead of bottles?

[@TuckerSP2011]

It came out really well for a diy project, it definitely looked professional. I could see someone simulating a bronzed look as well. The pvc pipe cutter was a great tip. Excellent tutorial as usual!

[@SerpaDesign]

For sure on the bronzed look and yes that PVC cutter helps out quite a lot!

[@MrDuddaman]

I’m starting up a new Emperor Scorpion tank and was looking for a simple way to hang my light/daylight bar and this is the best yet simplest and cheapest way to go .. I knew was good idea to come back to you for ideas👍🏻

[@Chefg3189]

Never would have though of this. So simple and easy. Thank you for the video

[@K3N4N5]

Great idea. I'm impressed, completely customizable and the concealed cable routine is genius. No doubt I'll be using this ideas, thanks . Use black pipe, save messing around with paint. And use pvc claw clips screwed straight into the back of a wooden viv, no need for a stand and it can pivot 🙂

[@tsalvlaxitov9594]

I have a 20 gallon bubble bowl that I couldn't find a way to properly light to save my life. Thanks to this video I'm going to combine this idea with a 1-7 socket splitter, 7 gooseneck socket extenders, and 7x10 watt led spotlights.

[@SharonWyly]

I built my lighting setup for my 125 gallon tank somewhat similar to this, but I didn't have shades on my lights so now I can go back and improve my setup. Thanks for the information.

[@FBskater88]

Tanner, your videos are really improving and we all can tell. Your hard work really pays off, look forward to each video

[@dbaker0226]

One word for this tutorial...Excellent!

[@kevins5409]

Great Idea! If I might add a helpful hint though. You used two light sockets, each one having it's own plug. As we all know electrical outlets become scarce quick. If you snip off the plug ends from the sockets and wire both sockets to a single plug purchased at a hardware store for a couple of dollars,you can save yourself an outlet. Again, thanks for sharing all your great ideas.

[@fishoutwithjuno]

Kevin Storey yeah. i used only one socket on mine and it helped out with space. good point by the way

[@SerpaDesign]

Very true, I totally see your point and would likely do that in the future.

[@Samhain2323]

Absolutely ingenious idea !!! Great video quality !!! Thanks !!!

[@basant0101]

This is my first comment on youtube. This stuff is really cool and convenient to make. Thanks man.

[@flakog6017]

Nice, definitely going to use this for some of my reptile enclosures and fish tanks.

[@Guppy_Girl]

I though I had watched all your videos, how did I miss this one?! Great idea and very helpful.

[@dh4767]

This is phenomenal

[@bringamosa8480]

I used pvc pipe for a underwater camera holder. You can do a lot with this stuff, this might be used by me too now.

[@wingsveritas5717]

Brilliant! Using this for my frog set up and can't wait! Will save me time and money on lighting material :) Thanks!!

[@beingsingle5464]

Wonderful idea man...

[@Armageto100]

Was waiting for your next video, glad to see it!

[@yomommajumprcables]

Hey THANK YOU for the ideal did it today turned out great .

[@fishsnatcherstv6292]

you need a hole saw kit bro!! awesome build, as always. just had to mess with you a bit!

[@SequoiaElisabeth]

I love your Betta tank with the plants growing out of the tank! If you have time I would love to see a video on how you did this. Thanks for all you do. :-)

[@explorer5634]

That's a terrific idea that can save a lot of money. Is there a way to obtain this video in normal motion showing all the ends of the cable and details? I will pay for it if necessary. As I say I think is great.

[@retrobuzz1044]

Wow....thanks for that video

[@NicoleJackson4481]

Very smart! Thanks for sharing.

[@fherglmx]

you the man..simple,fast,cheap and looks awesome.could you share the names of the plants in your tanks and what do you use as ferts.thanks keep them coming

[@SerpaDesign]

Thanks and it's an alocasia, but I don't know exactly what kind. Also I am using Eco Complete with root tabs.

[@dylanmiller9266]

Another great video. Love DIY

[@veesentdaysendz8113]

Awesome & very professional!!!

[@titofigueroa8413]

Serpa great slick and smooth design, I just made one today for my 29 gl setup that i'm making for a planted tank. It looks so sweet that people are going to think i bought it jajaja. Love the black color. It's in my living room so my wife said if it looks ugly no way its going in here. when she saw it love at first site. Just one question i put 60 watt 6,500 k bulbs do they grow plants well. it looks nice and bright but really dont know ? Thanks man and keep us to date with your DIY projects. And just found your channel 2 days ago awesome.

[@SerpaDesign]

Thanks and I'm glad to hear that you will make this yourself! :) Isn't that always how they are? My fiance always doubts my projects and inevitably like them haha! I don't know exactly what light you are using, but based on the specs I assume it would grow plants to some degree.

[@GTAVeteranGaming]

Underrated video.

[@Calbreos]

Could you do a video on lighting? The kinds of lighting you use for all your different set ups. I've watched videos and read stuff but I find it confusing. And on this video and the other diy light stand you mention you use 60 watt equivalent but not the brand or spectrum. Also you say you can raise the fixture up for more coverage but doesn't that mean the light isn't as effective?

[@Pootythief]

What brand of bulb did you use and where could I find it ? Awesome video ! I'm currently following your 10g conversion series for my first ever viv!

[@abhisheksingh-mu9vy]

thanks man its good.. have good time 🙂👍

[@RonanC]

Just looking at this not 2 hours ago. I need to light a 55 gallon paludarium with a lot of plants. I'm thinking of doing the LED strips in a gutter method from King of DIY, and I can't decide whether or not to do uvb so I can have diurnal lizards.

[@Cindy-nf6qv]

The items start at the 33:00 mark

[@abinayafuun9748]

What lights should we use for plants?

[@zeppypaige]

Fantastic!! Thanks!

[@Damodar133]

Very helpful

[@ShortPage28]

Hi where did you buy the pendant light fixture? please and can does plastic planter can hold CFL bulb too? thanks

[@wesdmf9373]

U can also cut PVC with mason string if u don't have a sturdy saw or don't wanna spend money on pipe cutters.just my 2 cents.

[@amirgonjeng4514]

Hi SD. This kind of bulb is suitable for planted tank?

[@JinGwee]

Nice. How do you make sure that the bulb doesn't pull the socket down? Just by friction?

[@melaniemorrison9395]

Hey I was thinking about doing this build for my 10 gallon planted aquarium, do you think just one light would be sufficient for a tank this size or should I still use 2 lights? Thanks!

[@karimmostafa8399]

i know this video is super old now, but has anyone tried building the design on the right? how long should the legs be to stop it from tipping over?

[@willvanicheck8993]

Amazing!

[@Plummchild]

Im building a Tokay gecko vivarium in a few months and there is almost nothing on lighting a vivarium with nocturnal animals. I could use a ceramic heater at night but I would like to view him at night. any suggestions?

[@collegebettas7392]

Great DIY. I was going to do The King of DIY 's hanging flower pot lights, but this makes more sense for me to do as a student. About how much did it cost and can you get all of those things from a regular hardware store?

[@SerpaDesign]

About $25, I got all of my supplies at Lowes and Homedepot.

[@hadihassun1442]

Plz tell the name of plant which is out of water

[@hendrikaufderheide3051]

love this...!

[@JerseyCWP]

That's nice but where is the light switch?

[@Aquaman-wy3mg]

Can I use this set up to suspend my fluval planted 2.0 light? I would have to make the length on the top long since it’s for my 40 gallon breeder tank and it’s 36”. I don’t want to drill holes on the roof or walls.

[@SerpaDesign]

I'm sure that you could make something similar to this that would work. However, I recommend seeing this video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hnWamZuOq9p7iKs Making the wooden frame would probably work better.

[@Aquaman-wy3mg]

SerpaDesign thanks I saw that video as well it was great. Only thing is I don’t have a table saw. It would be difficult to get the right angle for the legs. I’d have to have HomeDepot pre cut everything for me. Any suggestions for that? I also have a lot of equipment around the trim of my aquarium that would make it difficult to do the wood frame. That’s why I’m leaning toward the PVC frame.

[@turtleman190]

Just tried similar today. It didn't work my pvc is to flimsy for the light's i used hopefully next time goes better

[@fishoutwithjuno]

if you use silver as a reflector inside the planted instead of white will it be brighter?

[@SerpaDesign]

Not that it would be brighter per say, but it would just reflect more light down into the tank. So I guess it would be. Metallic paint would do the same and probably be easier to use.

[@izmlowspec5245]

Do we really need lights? I really need to know because im making a terrarium.. *Which is nice*

[@MrGreen-nu8og]

...

[@loopykitty88]

I built one of these for my 60 gallon vivarium. Measured and cut all the pieces assembled everything to make sure it fit and was the right size all before realizing my cords wouldn't fit through the 1inch PVC. Any suggestions? Besides starting from scratch with wider PVC?

[@SerpaDesign]

You could cut the plug off with some of the cord attached and then rewire it onto the main cord.

[@loopykitty88]

Thanks for a response! I'll do that.

[@nariyan2973]

Hey there! so I have a question about the long term maintenance of your crested gecko enclosure. do you have to clean it out every now and then, and if so about how often? love your videos by the way. :)

[@chrismackay7955]

you should do a video on making an indoor tortoise enclosure. ,, U

[@SerpaDesign]

I don't know if that's something I would do any time soon as I don't intend to keep any of those because of space limitations.

[@aaqilian5.085]

Where does one get pendant lights for that cheap?

[@johnnyphive4083]

Hey serpa, very cool video and very helpful too. I'm in the middle of building a 500 gallon plywood plywood aquarium. I dont have the luxury of mounting a light fixture to my ceiling. I want to build the same replica of your design but at a larger scale. Where did you get the pendant light without a on/off switch? I've been looking everywhere on Amazon and they all come with on/off switches and I'm afraid those wouldn't fit through the diameter of 1" PVC pipes and fittings. Thanks in advance for your reply.

[@SerpaDesign]

I got these at Ikea, but I've also seen them at Walmart and Amazon. What were you searching?

[@johnnyphive4083]

SerpaDesign, holy crap! 100k + subscribers and you still found the time to reply?! Unbelievable! You’re truly a passionate diy’r who wants to educate people like me, thank you. I was searching under “ pendant light socket, fixtures and kits etc”. Amazon had ikea ones too but they had on/off switches attached to them. I’ll keep looking, thanks for the reply.

[@SerpaDesign]

Haha I do the best I can! Check the Hemma cord set from Ikea. That's the ones I used here. Another one I saw on Amazon was labeled as "15 Feet Long White Ceiling Pendant Lamp Cord Set."

[@johnnyphive4083]

SerpaDesign, Yessir! Will do! Thank you very much!

[@KalemsFishtanks]

where did you purchase the pendant lights I don't know what to call it but the things the bulbs plug into

[@IfYouMeetAWolf]

From what i've seen (in Europe) they sell them in hardware stores, where they sell screws, light bulbs and such.

[@funkyfreshwizardry]

most local hardware stores should sell everything he uses in this video. the pvc and pvc cutters may not be sold at smaller stores though.

[@mcgheefoulmouth6587]

i have been having a lot of trouble finding these pendant light fittings, any Australians know where to get these? and the ones i can find have an exorbitant price

[@Will-lz1nh]

will it melt with heat bulbs

[@ngand660]

im curious would it be more efficient to wrap the inside of the planter with smooth aluminium?

[@memerichment]

yes, slightly less light would be converted into heating the planters

[@RalphPhillips724]

how do i choose the right light for plants? can i use every led?

[@fishoutwithjuno]

RalphPhillips724 dude, try an LED with 5000 to 6500k. I got mine from home depot, Lowe's and amazon. I am using floodlights tho.

[@JoshuaLevy123]

Do you use any CO2 in your planted tanks? I haven't heard you mention it once, which gives me hope.

[@filipekvisual]

What type of plant is that sticking up out of the water?

[@SerpaDesign]

Some type of alocasia, but I'm not sure the exact species.

[@itzhen7032]

Can i use this with an exo terra terarium?

[@SerpaDesign]

Of course you can.

[@itzhen7032]

This can be used with terariums right?

[@SerpaDesign]

Of course.

[@Itsghostgamingyt]

Is it heat resistant 🙄

[@angelitoqroo4897]

😄😃😀😊☺😉👍🍀

[@robertosuareztolosa1659]

🤔👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@fishoutwithjuno]

Hey buddy, I tried doing this thanks to you. I can give my mom a new light fixture. I'll shout out to you when I make the video. You are a lot of help buddy. check out my channel too of you can. by the way, I used an LED flood light. Do you think it's better with or without the planter?

[@ProfCantonius]

You can always get more money but you cannot get more time so maximize your time :P

[@SerpaDesign]

No doubt!

[@ДанилКоваленко-к6ж]

я 1

[@arsus9295]

Данил Коваленко респект

[@ДанилКоваленко-к6ж]

оооооо братишка!

[@fishoutwithjuno]

Hey dude, watch my latest video about the DIY light fixture. I mentioned you there.