Cheaper than MH and better too?

[generalee]

A lot of talk has sprung up about MH lighting. I got to thinking about it and what about HID lighting a new break thru in aquarium lighting?
I ordered some HID lighting for the Charger and you know they have 6k, 8k 10k and 12k lighting spectrums. They run off of a ballast that is 12volts. I may purchase a set off ebay for cheap $$ and see if I can get this set-up to work in the marine environment.
Now I am not completly sure of the life span of a MH bulb, but the HID bulb is rated at 2500 hrs = 295 days. So almost a full year on one bulb.
I also don't know of the heat output and if these would consume more power. The ballast I have is 12volt 35watt, which to me is far less than a 175 or 250 MH.
For those that aren't sure if it is bright enough, well you must not have been in front of a car with HID lighting at night, for me it is almost blinding, but that driver is seeing very well.

Anyways, just thinking. I can get 2 HID bulbs w/ballast for $80 w/color temp of either 10k or 12k. What do you think, anyway to compare?

[rommelgin]

I've always wondered how using HID's would work in our reefs. If i remember correctly, MH and HID have different color spectrums as far as growing plants indoors goes. Tagging along on this.

[craiglanda]

Id love to see it work! I guess the real test is getting growth and and the corals staying colorful. How much heat do they put out?

[sdheath]

Very interesting idea. I would have 2 primary concerns before trying it:
- PAR. How much PAR would a 35W HID have versus a 175W MH?
- Focus: A car headlight has a very tight focus that wouldn't work in an aquarium. Is that focus a function of the bulb or the reflector? Would it work to just put a car bulb in a MH type reflector?

[Fiziksgeek]

Ummm..I think Metal halide lights is a type of HID lamp. Other types of HID lighting would be high pressure sodium...or mercury vapor...etc.

What spectrum the bulbs puts out is dependent of what its made from....Thats why we use MH of our reefs and gardners use HPS on flowering plants.

[generalee]

Originally posted by sdheath
Very interesting idea. I would have 2 primary concerns before trying it:
- PAR. How much PAR would a 35W HID have versus a 175W MH?
- Focus: A car headlight has a very tight focus that wouldn't work in an aquarium. Is that focus a function of the bulb or the reflector? Would it work to just put a car bulb in a MH type reflector?

Ok so a PAR meter would help clairfy output?

Focus - yes it has to do with the reflector, just like in an aquarium hood. The bulb looks like a mini DE MH without one end.
Also you can get a 55 watt ballast if the 35 watt wouldn't be bright enough. Does anyone have a PAR meter in the Enfield/Suffield area.

[Fiziksgeek]

In fact I am pretty sure that car headlights called "Bi-xenon" are actually metal halide light bulbs that use xenon gas in them. The color output of these is something like 4000K, not much like the sun at all.

[generalee]

Well the aftermarket HID lights advertise different colors by color temp. They sell 3500K, 4300k, 5000k, 6000k, 8000k, 10000k and 12000k. Wouldn't these be the same as a 10000k MH bulb.
Is 10000k 10000k or not?

[generalee]

Some more info and pics (we all love pics )


Same chart I see for MH bulbs


Some bulbs in a housing, not exactly how it would be in an aquarium enviro though


It just seems like it would work. If the 10000k HID is the same as a 10000k MH I don't see why it wouldn't. The only question then is there enough light output to push it through the water.

[sdheath]

One other thing I just thought of. You say that the bulbs are good for almost a year, but I use my headlights until they burn out. Not so with my aquarium lights. Who knows how long these will keep their original color spectrum. If they shift toward red after a month or whatever, hello algae!

[chirocato]

Try an experiment with some frags and see what happens. The club also has a PAR meter you can request.

[mr pink floyd]

im with fiziks, im darn near positive MHs are HID, HID just means High Intensity Discharge...

this would probably include HPS lamps too

[erickrm]

the cool thing about these lil lamps is that you could buy several and use them as spot lights and bam! Japanese style reef! just get a couple with diff k ratings to create a T5 style setup and i am sure it will look pretty sweet.

big question def is how long will they hold their par for. yea any bulb can last longer than 365 days but it def will have already shifted over to the nasty spectrum lol...

very interested here

[mmd]

Sounds great, but I think your wife will freak when you pull your car into the living room to illuminate your tank

[erickrm]

lmao..... *** is the bently doing in here!!!??? hahah

[OK]

MH are hid's, and the reflector in the headlamp directs the light. You would also need to convert 120vac to 12vdc to run the headlamp ballasts. Xenon and Bi Xenon are the same bulb, they just use a movable reflector in Bi Xenon to use it for high beam as well as low.

Next issue.... Price!!!!!! you think MH is expensive, wait until you price a HID headlamp!!!

[generalee]

Would the PAR meter pick up a spectrum shift from the original hue to the red end?

[Fiziksgeek]

Well, I suppose if the spectrum works out ok, which it might, they might be suitable for nano or pico tanks. Being that we are still talking about HID lighting (which include metal halides, mercury vapor, high pressure sodium etc.), the efficiencies will be similar. Sooo...on a tank where a traditional 70 or 150 watt MH is too much, maybe adapting a car headlight will work. Headlamps are typicall in the 30-35 watt range, and output is proportional to the input. (35 is half of 70, and about 23% of 150, and about 13% of 250). So expect, at best, 2 bulbs to be equal to 1 traditional 70MH in terms out output. I suspect it will actually be less in terms of usable light.

[OK]

But you may as well by a led light because it will be less expensive than buying a HID headlamp. One headlamp will run you in the $1000 price range.

[rommelgin]

Originally posted by Fiziksgeek
Ummm..I think Metal halide lights is a type of HID lamp. Other types of HID lighting would be high pressure sodium...or mercury vapor...etc.

What spectrum the bulbs puts out is dependent of what its made from....Thats why we use MH of our reefs and gardners use HPS on flowering plants.

.

Thats what i was talking about....the HPS lamps.

[Fiziksgeek]

Can you post a link to the bulbs your talking about, I'll what I can learn about them specifically.

Originally posted by generalee


Anyways, just thinking. I can get 2 HID bulbs w/ballast for $80 w/color temp of either 10k or 12k. What do you think, anyway to compare?