Lighting

Joe Fish

Joe Fish

Superstar Fish
#1
Apr 21, 2006
2,126
1
0
Penn State
josy.isa-geek.com
#1
Well, I'm going to be ordering my first pieces to my new diy project next week i think. I'm going to make a vho/mh combo fixture but inside a canopy. I'm going to get two vho with bulbs for about $200. I'm just a little confused about the mh ballasts. I see online I can get some ballasts that are $60 for a 175watt ballast, but if I look on a fish site they are like $200. What is the difference? I found a new LFS today and he was more than helpful. On two of his tanks he has two mh lights that are using ballasts that he said were about $50. The light that penetrated the tank was quite impressive to the other tanks and it really got my attention. I don't want to buy anything until I know the difference.

Here is the link for the ballasts I was looking at:
Metal Halide Ballast
 

burnt

burnt

Medium Fish
#3
Jan 12, 2007
72
0
0
37
new york
www.diethylamide.org
#3
ive used mh for other indoor plant cultivation, and the ballasts were never more than 80 dollars, i think you should by fine with them, granted they stay far enough from the water, and any water which might splash onto them, as these suckers get HOT!
 

YahooFishKeeper

YahooFishKeeper

Superstar Fish
#5
Jan 14, 2006
2,177
11
0
33
A little town outside Kansas City, Kansas
www.youtube.com
#5
burnt said:
ive used mh for other indoor plant cultivation...
Click to expand...
LMAO... that makes me wonder...

i think your all good on the balasts. in the aquarium trade, people jack up the price of things specifically for aquariums. like "aquarium silicone" costs way more than a regular tube from your local hardware store.
 

Joe Fish

Joe Fish

Superstar Fish
#8
Apr 21, 2006
2,126
1
0
Penn State
josy.isa-geek.com
#8
I'm begining to see that. Like you said I can pay 10 bucks for aquarium silicon from the LFS or 4 bucks for the same stuff at the local hardware store. The LFS I went to today had two of the 175 ballasts with 2 vho lights. Boy did those tanks look nice. I really think I'm going to give it a try. Maybe just one ballast for now and see how it looks. With the ballast I inquired about above with that only start certain types of bulbs?
 

T

TheFool

Large Fish
#10
Apr 19, 2006
323
2
0
#10
I would be very, very wary of using non specific ballasts on aqurium bulbs. Changing the ballasts around can change the spectrum, output and lifespan of your bulbs a lot. DO a websearch for stuff by Sanjay Yoshi, and use his little code to demonstrate differences, or look at the stuff on reefcentral, or in Delbeek and Sprung.
For instace are your bulbs probe or pulse start, and do these ballasts match that? Thats a basic. DIY lighting can be very difficult I am sorry to say.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.