While I have never fooled with it much, it looks like DIY for MH's is by far the cheapest way to go. Ive always been fairly handy and Im sure I could put it together, my problem is knowing what I need and knowing the cheapest place to get it.
Im going out of town for a few days to earn some extra cash and figure I can throw some at the lighting so Im not limited in the corals I can hold. I thought I would be ok with just the PC's but Im afraid Im going to want MORE POWER....
Anyway, I figure a 175watt MH to go with the 110watts of PC should be plenty. Any help in letting me know what I need would be very much appreciated. Thanks.
28 Gallon Bowfront Tank
35lbs Fiji rock (taken by Katrina)
50lbs Live Sand (taken by Katrina)
175 MH lighting
110watts of PC lighting
You need a ballast, a reflector w/ a mogul base, and a bulb!! That's it, check out http://www.hellolights.com for all of that stuff. It is pretty cheap there also.
A 175 would be good on a 28 gallon. Salt-n-lime has one on his 29 and has some great color and growth. By far the cheapest way is to get a M57 (I think) ballast, buy a mogul socket, make a reflector out of aluminum roofing flashing (polish it with Mother's polish that is used on aluminum rims) and spend the majority of the money on the bulb. You may be able to find a used ballast or retro kit on other forums like: http://www.reefcentral.com http://www.reefs.org http://www.thereeftank.com
Shipping is the killer. You can buy a new ballast from http://www.1000bulbs.com but shipping is like $10 per ballast.
For 175w the best bulb that I have seen personally is the Aqualine Bushnell (AB) but there are some new bulbs that I am looking at now. From what I hear the Coralvue 14k has a very nice look and remarkably high PAR for a higher Kelvin bulb. PFO is also now making a higher Kelvin bulb that may not be on hte market yet, but I haven't checked.
~Scott
Last edited by Scott on Wed Oct 15, 2003 5:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I read that you have to make sure the ballast has the same ANSI setting as the bulb you are going to use. I dont know much about what lights I will want to use so that kinda leaves me clueless.
I believe that is a F-can or tar ballast. I am not real sure what kind of bulbs they will fire. I know that a Radium 20kk bulb will only light on a HQI or pulse start ballast. Most other bulbs will light on a M57 coil and core ballast. Unless you are planning on using a Radium you will probably be ok. I am sure that the AB 10kk will be fine and the XM 20kk will probably light. There are some people who know there stuff in the lighing forum on http://www.reefland.com You could try posting there for some definate answers.
~Scott
Last edited by Scott on Wed Oct 15, 2003 5:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Side note...for approx. $50 I can add another 65watts of PC lighting to my setup bringing it to 175 watts of PC. From what Ive read and seen...that seems like it would be plenty of light for most anything I would like to have...if I wanted some strong light corals I could move them to the top of the tank. Just hoping to get some opinions. I dont want to put a ton of money into this if I can help it but dont want to miss out on too much either.
28 Gallon Bowfront Tank
35lbs Fiji rock (taken by Katrina)
50lbs Live Sand (taken by Katrina)
175 MH lighting
110watts of PC lighting
understandable, you have to realize, its not how many bulbs you have, its the intensity of the bulb which will keep your corals healthy, ive seen people squeeze 12 T-12 NO 40w bulbs on a 75 and that totals 480 watts, but cant keep brain corals and softies alive... and yet have seen a 55 gallon tub semensions the same as a 75 but a few inches shorter and have 1 175 halide and 2 36" 96w VHO actinic bulbs and they are keep acros and clams...that only totals 367 watts...id go for the halide and spend a couple more bux, you wont regret it
Halides are known to be more efficient per watt than any other light source (the exception may be T-5's). They do generate more heat though. The 400 watt on my 55 gallon heats the water a few degrees with two fans. It really depends on what corals you ultimately want to keep.
I was told also that the Fulham Workhorse 7 ballast would also fire them. I have not checked into that further, but for $35 for a ballast that will also light two 110w vho's I would try it.
Update:
You can run 3 84 watt (5 foot) or 4 54 watt T5's on an Icecap 660-009 (older ones can be upgraded). They are being overdriven but this doesn't apparenty decrease the bulb life , which is reported to be twice that of VHO's. The WH7 will light the bulbs, but the don't use the soft start that Triad and Icecap use. You have to have reflectors which are pretty expensive.
