Timer for MH?

[shinji]

Hello All,
I am going to travel for a few days and planning to use my cheap timer, Marineland Aquarium Light Timer obtained from Petco by around $10, for my 70W Metal Halide from fishneedit. I have read in somewhere that cheap timer can be dangerous for using MH, is this set up alright? If not, which timer will be safe to use? Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks.

[thincat]

Welcome to the site. Since this is a safety issue I will let someone with more direct knowledge chime in on this good Question.

[RazorbacksFan]

I believe it would just be a matter of whether the timer is rated for the current draw which at 70 watts is not that high so I would say it would be safe but keep an eye on it at first for signs of overheating.

[RazorbacksFan]

Upon further research if your timer is this model Our Products you should be more than safe, 15 amps is equivalent to around 1500 watts minimum so you should be golden.

[ccCapt]

I just use a heavy duty timer I got from HD or Lowes years ago. The 1 timer controls all 3 of my 175w MH ballasts. It looks very similar to the 1 linked to above. Nothing fancy and it works fine.

[shinji]

Thank you very much all for kind responses. I will now try mine with confidence and take a look at it if there is no problem.

[RazorbacksFan]

Originally Posted by shinji

Thank you very much all for kind responses. I will now try mine with confidence and take a look at it if there is no problem.

If the timer is the one linked in my post then you're fine no need to get another one.

[Innovator]

Just to throw another suggestion out there, if you want a basic unit that can control your individual lighting needs along with a multitude of other operations with the ability to expand then I would go with a ReefKeeper Lite (Level 1). They have been lowered to $99. Here's some info and where to buy:

Digital Aquatics - The Next Generation in Aquarium Controllers
Digital Aquatics ReefKeeper Lite Controller
Reef Keeper Lite - Level 1, Head Unit 1 x PC4, temp probe: Premium Aquatics