metal halide

[ohio reefer]

I'm building my own metal halide canopy. my question is how much would you expect to pay for bulbs and every thing else?

i went to a couple different web site and there is a huge difference in price. for example, www.drsfosterandsmith.com 400 watt bulb was $129.00. at www.1000bulbs.com they were $16.00 -$32.00. whats the difference?

what other parts do i need besides ballasts, fan?

its for a 110gal high 48x18x30.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

mark

[loganj]

The difference is the color temp of the bulbs. Although I didn't go to the links, I think you'll find that the $129.00 bulb is around 10,000k and the cheaper bulbs are 3000-4000k...not suitable for aquariums. You'll need, in addition to the ballasts and fans, reflectors and mogul sockets. I would also encourage you to look into electronic ballasts. They are more energy efficient, produce less heat, and your bulbs will last longer. Of course, the up front cost is higher. An electronic ballast will cost you about $175 while a core/coil ballast will be $100-$120. I'd also encourage you to shop around for prices on bulbs...$129.00 is high IMO. I can sell you a 400w Ushio 10,000k for $109, a Blueline Super White for $99 or a Blueline 10,000k+ for $99. You may find them for less than this by shopping around more. We have several members who have built their own MH setups and I'm sure they'll be glad to help you in any way possible.

[ReefLady]

i went to a couple different web site and there is a huge difference in price. for example, www.drsfosterandsmith.com 400 watt bulb was $129.00. at www.1000bulbs.com they were $16.00 -$32.00. whats the difference?

Price is going to range greatly between manufacturers, as well as color (kelvin, or "K") temperature. The 400w MH bulbs I could find on www.100bulbs.com that were between $16.00 - $32.00 were all either 4000k or 4200k. You absolutely do not want this for a reef tank. This k temp will make your water look extremely yellow-green. The lowest recommended k temp for a reef is 6500k. Even with 6500k bulbs (we use 6500k Iwasakis), you will need a considerable amount of actinic supplementation to bring the coloration to a pleasing *white*.

I consider my tank color to be very clear/white. We use 3 x 250w Iwasaki 6500k's, and supplement that with another 640w of VHO actinics.

I'd say your "average" reef MH bulb runs between $55.00 - $120.00. Again, depending on color temp & manufacturer.

what other parts do i need besides ballasts, fan?

Off the top of my head, you'd need at least reflectors.

If I think back, our MH bulbs were $69.00 each. Ballasts were about $50.00 each, and Spiderlight reflectors (which included mogul sockets were $48.00 each).

There is a lot to consider as far as MH lighting is concerned. I suggest you sit back, and do some searching here, and on the 'net in general. Lots of considerations, and many are personal preferences.

A couple things to think of.

Wattage. Depends highly on what you intend on keeping. for a 30" deep tank, 400w is recommended. This is assuming you'd want to keep "everything" (sps, clams, etc.), at all tank depths.

Color temp. I kind of summarized above. In general:

< 6500k -- you do not want for a reef
6500k - yellowish-tint, needs a lot of actinic supplementation.
10,000k - most "white"
20,000k - blue-ish tint.

Bulb life. If this is a consideration, research. Iwasaki bulbs have extremely long bulb life with little loss in par/spectrum. Some say 18-24 mos. Ours have been running 18 with no issues.
I've heard of some HQI bulbs needing to be replaced every 6 mos.

Intensity. As color temp rises, intensity is lost. A 250w 6500k bulb is approximately as intense as a 400w 20,000k bulb.

Intensity = ability of the light to penetrate the water.

Just a bunch of stuff to think about. Lighting is one of the most heated debates in reefing, and is subject to many factors.

Good luck!

[ohio reefer]

thanks so much terry and loganj! any websites you know of to get those items at the cheapest (yet good quality)price?

also I'm not a electrician but very good at diy projects any diagrams you can give me on how to wire a canopy?

thanks so much

mark

[ReefLady]

These are the instructions we used:

>>Metal Halide Lighting For $100<<

Not sure about where to buy the bulbs, we got ours at the LFS. I've heard many ppl say good things about www.hellolights.com

We bought our ballasts at a local electrical supply company, and our reflectors from Premium Aquatics.

One thing to keep in mind - if you do go with Iwasaki bulbs, these are actually MV bulbs, not MH, and run brighter, whiter, and have a longer bulb life when run on a core/coil ballast, as opposed to an electronic ballast.

HTH,

[ohio reefer]

terri, have you heard of the 400wXM 20,000k bulbs. they sound pretty good and they are only $69. from that site hellolights.com

would i need actinics with this?

mark

[Dewey]

Give hellolight a call i bought 400 watt 10 k german bulbs from them for 85.00 . Some times they run specials. Good luck Dewey

[ReefLady]

terri, have you heard of the 400wXM 20,000k bulbs. they sound pretty good and they are only $69. from that site hellolights.com

I have no experience with 20k bulbs. I have seen them at our LFS, and did not like them at all. They are very *blue*. From what I have heard, they have a relatively short bulb life, are not very intense, and I haven't heard good experiences of sps growth with these bulbs.

However, I have only talked with a very few ppl about them. I know there are ppl out there who are happy with them. I can only offer my opinion which is - I don't like what I've seen, or heard, about them.

If it were *my* choice, I would do 10k Ushio bulbs, with a bit of actinic (some people say that you don't need actinic at all with these bulbs) - again, that is mostly personal preference. I love my Iwasaki's, but most ppl aren't willing to use the amount of actinic supplementation necessary to make these bulbs look crisp-white.

[ohio reefer]

thanks a lot, that helps out a bunch!!!

talk to you again i'm sure

mark