light fixtures

[Josh669]

i have a 55 gallon tank and i have everything i need except lighting. im doin coral, ive already bought the lights, but the problem is the fixture. i was going to buy an entire fixture already made, but it costs easily over $300. so ive decided to build it myself. i went to home depot and found an entire fixture for $20, but i dont think that it has enough power. so i think ill build it from scratch, so if you have any ideas on how to build a light fixture to the top of my canopy, please let me know. Thanx.

[Snailman]

Try DIY heaven at http://www.ozreef.org/diy/index.html :)

[chrislove01]

What are halogens like, mounted internally in the hood?

Just one 50w Halogen strip? are they any good for corals, or not? and do they run to hot?

Cheers

Chris

[Clyde]

too hot

wrong spectrum

[ghoti1976]

JOSH
I am fixin'to build a metal halide hood for my 70 gal oceanic. I have done a bunch of web surfing to try to find the components. I do not think the hood will be too difficult. I have built a couple for my fish only tanks.

The expensive part is going to be the electric 'stuff' bulbs, ballasts, wiring... I found a couple of places on the www that sell retro kits which include the ballast, socket, reflector bulb and wires.

I think I can buy one of these kits and a fan and build the rest myself. You may want to try the same. I have calculated the final cost to be about $250 total. I would like to hear from some of the more experienced reefers to see what they think about these kits.

Here are the links:

http://www.aquaticlight.com
http://www.acropora.com/reefers2/main.asp?mscssid=

If you have any ideas on how you will build your's let me know.

[clwnphish]

premium aslo has the rtro kits, hope fully I will buy thme today.

[Flame*Angel]

I just bought a retro kit from Premium Aquatics - excellent quality and great customer service. Best of all there is no wiring or extra parts needed - just screw the fixture & reeflector to your canopy and you're ready to go. They have a free shipping promo going on now too.

[Josh669]

The problem is, is that over $200 is too much. I was talking to a guy at a fish store and he said that he built a 55 gallon lighting for reef, for only $150, including bulbs. Thats about how much I am planning to spend. The bulbs are about $30 a piece, the end caps are $30, the power pack is about $10, and the mirror I don't know about.

[vanguard]

I am a *real* newbie when it comes to reef tanks. However, I saw this article and thought it might be an interesting read for you.

http://www.icecapinc.com/famaarticle.htm

Vanguard

PS I hope that comes through as a link.