Where should I get my MH lights?

[dmorel]

So after seeing the glimmer in kevin's tank and now dave's I must take the plunge and order some MH's for my tank.
I made some space in my hood today.
I am definately interested in getting a retro-fit kit that I don't have to mess too much with. prefer two bulbs probably at 175(ish) each powered by the same ballast.

Where would you guys point me?
thanks,
-david

[Zmann]

marinedepot.com,,,,,,,,,,reeffanatic.com,,,,,,,lampsnow.com.

[Mako]

If you are thinking about going with PFO ballasts then check out Mike Parkis's site at: http://mparkis.50megs.com/mhpricelist.HTML. He has the best prices on PFO ballasts I have seen yet. His shipping rate is a little more resaonable also.

HTH

[Zmann]

http://www.oceanencounter.com/ These guys got an Icecap ballast and a 10k Aqualine bulb both for $159

[Stoli]

I've got the Corallife retrofit. Ballasts are really big, but seem to work quite well. Easy setup. Reasonable price.

BTW. I bought mine at Marine Oasis and John cut me a pretty good deal. About the same price as on-line.

[_ShotgunShrimp_]

Demose's Reef (http://morelweb.com/demose)

i bought mine from ebay.. i know some dont trust it but thats where i got mine (custom sea life dual 250 PFO ballast) and cables no sockets though.. but it was only 100 bucks

[_ShotgunShrimp_]

Demose's Reef (http://morelweb.com/demose)

i bought mine from ebay.. i know some dont trust it but thats where i got mine (custom sea life dual 250 PFO ballast) and cables no sockets though.. but it was only 200 bucks with the bulbs supposedly 2 month old 10k 250's

[ReeferMac]

Dave,

Got my Hamilton Ballast and lamps from Champion Lighting. I went with the Hamilton ballast because it's supposed to work with a wide variety of bulbs (and at the time, I wasn't sure what I wanted). Some ballast's only fire/work well with particular bulbs, so look into that before going too far. Basically you have to decide what kind of bubls you want to run (HQI or mogul, and then pic a color temp.), and match the ballast to the bulb.
You'll also want to leave yourself as much room as possible... those sucker's get HOT :smokin:

Heat evacuation in your hood's going to take on new meanings as well... got any fans? The Heat's generally only an issue in the Summer up here though, but keep it in mind when planning things.

- Mac

[dmorel]

Mac,

Thanks for making me think about heat.
You also make me think of something else...
I am using one of those pre-fab hoods, which sits about
six-eight inches above the water, and these bulbs would be mounted on that.
From time to time I do get a splash or two of water on the bulbs.
Not a big deal with VHO, but are these MH's going to explode if they got a drop of water on them?
That clearly would be a bad idea.

As for where to purchase them, a local guy PMed me that he dual 175 w/ 10K bulbs used that he was looking to sell, so I am going to explore that option (sounds like a good deal for both of us)

If that doesn't work out I looked at several of the places you guys suggested (including ebay tim) and think I can muddle through getting what I need.

Thanks again,
-david

[Gary Majchrzak]

FWIW- I still have my 400 watt MH pendant with 20,000k Radium....Gary

[dmorel]

Thanks gary,
I am definately more interested in 2 175's and I need to put them inside my hood, so I don't think that would work out for me.
Thanks for the thoughts though,
-david

[ReeferMac]

Dave,

Splashing is a concern. In fact it's half the reason I redesigned my hood over the winter. You've seen mine, right (same deal, prefab from Carribean). As things are now, I have to run glass plates in between the bulbs and water, to keep them from breaking. Technically I don't have to... it's just glass is a lot cheaper than a new bulb (even when running those cheap-***** Iwasaki's). It works fine, but the glass filters some light, as well as most of the UV (debate still rages as to wether that's a good or a bad thing). The real concern for me would be picking all the little pieces of glass out that are going to fall into the water if it should break. With my Tang, I have to, as he spashes quite a bit when he wants. OTOH, my Refugium has a 175 Halide, and I don't run glass on that. It has water marks all over the bulb from air bubbles and whatnot, but nothing too serious. I think light mists' are OK, but if a wave of water hits that lamp, it's gonna be toast.
If you want to come by and checkout my hood you're welcome to. As things stand, the bulbs are about 3-4 inches from the water... 1-2 from the glass sheilds.

- Mac

[cperson]

Acrylic does not filter UV like glass does, however it may need a support in the middle to prevent sagging. Any cover will get salt spray on it which can greatly reduce the light transmitted through it.

If someone had a photometer we can do some tests. If it was submersable we could settle the argument :rolleyes: about how much light gets to the bottom of your tanks. Anyone ?

[Zmann]

Metal halides will turn acrylic to mush. My 120 I had mirrored acrylic sheets adhered to 1/8" board and they still warped even at 4-6" away.

[ToddsReef]

Dave,

I bought my halides at home depot for $10....oh no, that was glue. ;) Now I recall... my lights came from Marine Depot and I was (and have been on multiple occasions) thrilled with them. My lights get cleaned every couple of weeks as they get a fair amount of salt on them (~7inches from water with no shield) and they seem to be OK. I use IceCap ballasts (love them) but the downside (as Kevin pointed out) is that you have to have the ballasts "tuned" for $15 by IceCap if you want to get the most out of a temperature change (10K to 6500 etc), but the good news is that if you wanted to change from 175's to 250's, that is also about $15 (per ballast -- they only run one lamp each). I also want to second Kevin's statement about the heat...halides are hot. If your hood is well vented you should be ok (especially if the room is air-conditioned) --- check out Dave and Kevin's designs for good ideas (guess you prolly already saw Dave's). Man this was a long post...hope it helped.

Todd