DIY 250w HQI Fixture

[Horace]

Ok guys I know you have all probably heard of the DIY 70w and 150w Regent fixtures. Well if you have done any amount of research into this you probably have already figured out that Regent doesnt seem to make any lights that can hold a 250w bulb (the bracket is too long at aprox 7", the 150w are about 5.5").

Anyway to make a long story short it seems this may be the answer. Im sure this may have been brought up before but I havent seen any posts yet that have a DIY for the 250w HQI so here goes :P.. I think this fixture may be the answer we have been looking for...

http://www.azpartsmaster.com/shopazp/images/catalog/cshop/QF1500.jpg

I think this 1500w bulb is probably plenty long enough to be replaced with the 250w HQI. Let me know your thoughts..I really want 250w not the 150w....

[Herbert T. Kornfeld]

I am one of the first ones who did the DIY regent / 70watt retrofit and it was a great way to get alot of light for a nano. When it comes to 250watters though, esp the DE ones, there are more issues. One, the UV glass with most of the halogen spotlights is little more than a piece of thick glass...not up to the same grade as many of the DE pendants which are usually Lo-E. Also, the great advantage of 250wattDE is that with the right reflectors and an M80 ballast, they can put out about as much light as a 400wattMH. Now, considering the electricity, and all the other advantages of HQI bulbs that we are paying a little extra for, it seems a little silly to take a step backwards by using a less than competitive reflector/fixture with the bulb. If you want to do 250watters on the cheap, you should be looking at single end bulbs...if you want HQI, theres just no point in cutting corners.

[tampa-reefer]

Sounds about right.......
;)

[fishfood2581]

i think thats wrong. Look at the fixtures out there with teh hammertone reflectors.

Also did you see the sanjay test on the DIY 150 Reagent. It beat all the "Engineered Pendents"

i think the whole computer designed reflectors for optimal output is just hype for peopel to buy into.

[Horace]

Fishfood, I agree man..Also you can always put a 95% reflector in there. All you have to do is take the existing one out, unfold it, and trace it out on a new reflector and cut it. Then walla!, you have the same reflector they have. Noone out there claims to have any greater than 95% reflectivity. Now are they focused a tad different, possibly, but that doest make that much of a difference to justify the huge difference in cost IMO.

[Horace]

Now about the Low-E glass, I am not sure about that. I know they are typically tempered though and some do say they block UV on them. I have never heard of anyone using a Regent and burning thier corals either. Anyone?

[TANGBOY5000]

Almost everyone I know that did this mod used the original glass with absolutly no problems. Nothing got burned, no suntans from working on the tank too long, nothing.

[sctip]

whare can you get these regent fixtures?

[fishfood2581]

regualr glass is fine ive talked with major pendent suppliers about this. The glass on these fixtres may be a bit thick though and cut down on PAR

[Horace]

You can find these at ---> http://www.azpartsmaster.com/shopazp/Outdoor+Flood+Light+Fixtures+%2D+1500W+Quartz+%28QF1500%29%2Ehtml

These are not Regents, but are similar.. They are a 1500w lamp so they are alot longer than the 500w regents

[Horace]

BTW the bulb in these bad boys are 10" long :P. That means you will have MORE than enough room to put a 250w in there. Im dont think they make a 400w HQI, but if they did im sure that would fit at as well :P

Here is another link that says the glass is temered and it gives you more info on this item. It is also cheaper as well

http://www.prolighting.com/creeqx1500.html

[Horace]

Even cheaper :P $35 --> http://www.bestbuyelectric.com/acatalog/copy_of_RAB_Quartz_Floodlights.html

[grimmjohn]

I just got the 250DE brackets and gutted a $7 Brinks floodlight from Wal-Mart (I actually took the brackets to every store around and saw if it would fit in any fixtures, this Brinks was the only one)
Cost:
Bracket+Phoenix 14K DE+Icecap ballast: Less than $200, had to buy an alk test kit to get it over so shipping would be free (Reefgeek=awesome)
cords/junction box/hanging bracket=too cheap to matter
Brinks floodlight from Wal-Mart:$7

I gutted the floodlight with a visegrip, and it's still a little shallow, nice glass though. 5" over the tank (15 gallon high), fan pointed at it, tank=80 degrees 24/7, fixture warm to the touch. Acros doing great. It is a little shallow so it probably bleeds more than an afectionado would like (though I guess they all bleed some without canopies, eh?), but my budget didn't include >$100 for a hammertone-POS; after I get all the acros and clams i've got my eye on though I will probably spring for a spotlight w/ a quality reflector if just for depth alone....or maybe one of the lights above..have to research, eh?

Cheers,

grimmjohn

[Horace]

I will have to check out that Brinks light you talk about.... Thats a hell of a lot chaeper than the $35 ones...

[Herbert T. Kornfeld]

Well, as for the glass: I see opinions based on the existing mods (Like tangboy's). Keep in mind that the actual UV output of even an unsheilded 150wattDE is tested to be less than that of a 175wattSE bulb...so not having alot of UV protection isnt as big a deal. OTOH, a 250wattDE is supposed to have a higher intensity than the sun at just a few inches...so were talking a big step up here. My 150wattDE pendant uses regular plate glass...but the 250wattDE uses actual Lo-E. I wouldnt skimp on this.

Good call on the reflector...I didnt know that the Regents faired so well...I wouldnt guess that based on what mine looks like.

Oh, and horace...400wattDE bulbs have been out for a while now...

[TANGBOY5000]

My local Wal-Mart has the 500W Reagent fixtures for $5.19. They're in the paint and hardware department, and they come in white or bronze, same price either way. They also have some off brand shoplight that is dual 1000W halogens, those fixtures are almost double the length. This would be ideal for quick changouts to 250W or 400W DE bulbs, and yes they have a hammertone reflector. $18.39.

[fishfood2581]

Walmart huh. Ill have to see if i have one near me. I dont think i do that dual 1000W sounds like the one

[grimmjohn]

Remember, with the brinks I mentioned and probably most 500 or 1000W halogens you're still gonna need the brackets cause the ones in there are gonna be too short or not have a decent connection....thats +$20 or something

also...IMO hammertone is just half-assing cause the halide is not a point source anymore...you just have random reflecton and hope that some of it ends up going toward to bottom

[Fishguru]

Yes, for a little bit more you can get the real HQI reflector, which was made specifically for it, since you arent using a ballast from the light anyway

[grimmjohn]

A 250W electronic IceCap instead of an M80?
For being cheaper (~$115 recently), quiter (I hear that hum gets annoying in apartment living rooms with the nano by the sofa?), cooler, easier to deal with, and supposedly better bulb life and spectrum retention (reefers do lots of things on suppositions)?
I'm comparing to the PFO's and others with nice casings and disconnects and stuff...if you want to buy the $70 M80 bare bones and getto rig it into a PC power supply then thats your own problem.

Lamp Ballast Shield PPFD CCT Power Volts Amps Efficiency
Phoenix Icecap Y 73 0 250 122 2.3 0.2928
Phoenix M80 Y 88 0 325 122 2.85 0.2726

(Thanks Sanjay)

17% less par (1200 PAR instead of 1500? for example w/ reflector, assuming we can extrapolate), on 23% less power, 20% less current, and spectrums so close there is assuredly very little difference between them even to photosynthetic organisms...'specially when the bulb is five inches over a 15 gallon high instead of 2 feet over a 120 or something.

Cheers,

grimmjohn

PS. I think on some bulbs the IceCaps have more PAR than M80s, could be wrong, its happened before

[Horace]

Hey guys I went to Walmart and checked out the fixtures they have. For about $7 they had a 300w halogen fixture by Heath/Zenith that is plenty wide enough to fit a 250w DE in there(requres about 7" for socket, this fixture is about 8" wide). You may have to gut some of the inside to get the socket to mount but I think it will work just fine. The other nice thing about it is that it is a shallow fixture, meaning the bulb is only a couple inches from the glass. The Regent fixtures are very deep which means you will get more of a spot light effect than you will if the bulb is closer the the glass. I think this one is the ticket for those of you interested in 250w DIY DE fixtures. Here is a picture of it..check it out:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/87489halogen.jpg

[fishfood2581]

grimmjohn, What is yoru point? not sure what you are trying to say with those numbers.

[Herbert T. Kornfeld]

he thinks icecap is a good performer in comparison to an M80 ballast like the PFO. I have both...am happy with both. Yes, the PFO does have a greater output, but supposedly has a 'hum'. I havent really noticed...could vary from unit to unit.

I also speculated that the Icecap, while having lower overall energy needs, could in some way result in a PAR advantage with certain bulbs because of its higher frequency or something (the K of certain bulbs, which is heavily influenced by the ballast, having a sweet spot with the icecaps ballast more than with a PFO). It is an interesting theory, although the testing would suggest otherwise. Basically, it seems that the bulbs are designed to run at peak performance on an HQI ballast, not E, so its unlikely. Also, PFO bulbs run the bulbs hotter, and slightly 'warmer' than an 'e' ballast...and as we all know, the yellower bulbs tend to outdo the bluer ones in overall PAR. So unless you are thinking in terms of an icecap's claim of keeping a bulb's color from shifting and making the bulb last longer as evidence of more PAR than an M80...its a stretch. Also, FWIW, I have heard many complaints about Icecaps ballasts making TVs go fuzzy...although just like the 'hum' from a PFO HQI that others talk about, I havent experienced it myself with either. IMO, if you are going with a bluer bulb, 13,000K or more, for the color, go with the icecap (IME, it does run the bulbs bluer). OTOH, if you are going 10,000K or just want pure output and intensity...go HQI. FWIW, I think the best of both worlds is either the Geisemann 14,500K on a PFO, or for less money and still great output...the Pheonix 14,000K. Some blue with a crisp white to keep the tank from looking yellow, but not so much blue your reds and oranges turn purple like under a 20,000K. And both firsts in this K range to have decent PARs that arent worse than a 20,000K...in fact almost as good as most 10,000Ks. This is something that before you couldnt find (PFO 13,000K, Hamilton 14,000K, TUNZE 15,000K, etc. come to mind).

[Horace]

I think I am going to end up going with Electronics. I do not need the uber intensity of the HQI ballast anyway. I will be running 2x 250w Phoenix bulbs on my 75gal. That is MORE than enough light than I will need for pretty much any species of coral. So sacrificing some PAR for longevity/electricity in my case is a pretty good trade off. I cant imagine ever needing any more than that amount of light on a 20" deep tank.

[grimmjohn]

Horace, that is the same fixture I got, but labeled as "Brinks," I did have to gut it extensivly, and it is very shallow, the bulb almost touches the glass.

http://www.geocities.com/grimmjohn/fixture.jpg

I could have mounted the brackets through the back to get more depth and not have the brace running through the middle..or I could have removed the brace and just glued the ceramic mounts the right distance apart..but like it was implied above...a 250 5'' over a rather small, shallow tank...I don't need to squeeze all the PAR I can out if it ya know


cheers,

grimmjohn

Edit: did I mention that it bleeds like heck? biggest drawback IMO

[Horace]

Grim,

Do you have yours hanging over your tank as a pendant or do you have it in a canopy? Mine will be in a canopy. Perhaps I will try to get the bulb as deep in the fixture as possible so that it bleeds less. Thx for the info...

[grimmjohn]

Mines just pendant style...screwed into the wall like you would over your garage door or wherever people put security lights () : )

A canopy would help a lot, but my hands are always in there and its a 15 so I worry about heat and didn't want to wire in PC fans and stuff...the actual casing doesn't get hot at all but watch the glass...my forearm got sizzeled once ;)

Good luck..Cheers,

grimmjohn

[Horace]

Sweet...I cant wait to get this thing setup :P. PFO or Icecap Electronic ballasts and Phoenix bulbs are the next purchase! I am still trying to find a way to incorporate this thing into some sort of homemade fixture or something though so i can add florescents as well for dusk till dawn. I think I am going to contact CoolTouch and see if they will sell me just the caonpy without anything else in it....that would work PERFECT! :P I know they will sell it without the bulbs/ballasts because I already asked them that a while back.

[fishfood2581]

www.reeftanklighting.com sells empty pendent shells.

Go with teh pfo magnetic hqi ballast itll make the bulb look nicer IMO not as dim and blue

[APorter]

How's the walmart purchased housings holding up with the 250W DE bulbs?

[grimmjohn]

Mine's been fine for over 3 months now...doesn't get hot, just warm...glass gets hot though..I don't for see any problems (famous last words eh ;) )

Cheers,

grimmjohn

[TANGBOY5000]

I can hear the knocking on wood from here.

[breakn]

i just built two 150 watt hqi double ended
i bought a fixture at home depot and modified it to work
i am runngin electronic ballasts
all and all
w bulbs 14000K and cords etc
i spent right around 280 for both
i am not worried about uv because water is also a uv shield to a degree as well is glass in itself from what i understand

[ficklefins]

I wanted to make a 250w DE like this. Has anyone had any issues with their fixture? If not, are there any suggestions for improvements or things that may not have been mentioned.

Thanks,