MH lighting

[ConanTheLibraia]

OK, I think I may have found a good deal on lighting. http://www.hellolights.com/17methalretk.html
What do you all think? Is one MH bulb placed in the center of a 55 gallon tank, going to be able to well illuminate and light the whole tank? What would you all suggest for getting a 03 in addition to this?

 

[d9hp]

I think just one will give you some nasty dark spots. I would use two 150 bulbs, and one 96 watt 03

 

[ConanTheLibraia]

Oh, and whats the difference between and probe start and a pulse start?

 

[d9hp]

One is electronic and one is magnetic

 

[ConanTheLibraia]

Does it make much of a difference?

 

[d9hp]

I dont think so, I know that mag. is much cheaper but I think it flickers...

So what is your name...Conan or Bracod?

 

[ConanTheLibraia]

you can call me concod

 

[ConanTheLibraia]

actually, my name isnt really conan, its nate, I got ConantheLibrairian from UHF.

 

[d9hp]

O cool, whats UHF?

 

[fishfreek]

UHF is a movie with weird al in it.

http://directory.google.com/Top/Arts/Movies/Titles/U/UHF/?tc=1

In the olden days of TV that was not on cable or satellite it was also a frequency range of your local TV stations. I think UHF was 2-20 or something and VHF was 21-60's

 

[justDIY]

well, coming back to the subject at hand...

Nate I have a magnetic ballast driving my MH, and there isn't any flicker after the bulb is started.

I'm using a mercury vapor retrofit bulb, so it has a special ignitor circuit that makes it flicker I believe.

Once it's buring, I notice no flicker at all.

I just wired a ballast similar to the one in that kit - so if you need help, just ask ... dunno if it includes instructions or not!

One thing 'against' magnetic is they are heavy - my ballast weights at least 10 lbs - I don't know of electronic are equally heavy, but they shouldn't be.

Finding something to mount that ballast in is a bit of a challenge as well ... since you want it somewhat protected from curious fingers or stray water.

All in all, building my own MH turned out to be more trouble than it's worth, but it was still a fun project, and does a sweet job of lighting my tank.

175 watts for a 55 might be a bit of stretch, since the tank is 4 feet long correct? Maybe mounted in a 'tall' canopy it would work, or mounted above the tank and a spot light or something.

 

[ConanTheLibraia]

The 55 has a full hood with 2 fixtures that fits 2 NO flourescent bulbs. I am thinking of putting 2 03's in the fixtures and mounting a MH retrofit in the middle. Any suggestions? If I got a higher wattage that would probably mean less dark spots, correct?

 

[Guest]

Usually you implement one MH per a 2x2 foot square, so, on a 55, 2 175mh, would be the correct amount. 1 would not be enough for good coverage.
Your idea with the 2 NO 03's is good, but I would use 2 mh fixtures.

 

[ConanTheLibraia]

I think I am going to go the PC way. I want to get the 2x55 watt PC retrofit kit from ahsupply.com. Everything added up should cost about 150 bucks and I'll have 3.5 watts per gallon.

 

[justDIY]

how about a pair of 96's instead?

I think Greg at reefgeek still has 6700k 96 watt tubes for $19.99

then add a $36 workhorse ballast, $10 worth of end caps, 2x96w parabolic reflector for $16, a foursome of bulb-clips for $4 and boom 192 watts for $106 bucks

if you wanted 10k, or 10k/03 combos instead, I think you'd still be under 150