KarenM

I was going to mount the pendants on top of the canopy. I don't know what was in there, but there were obviously pendants either mounted to or hanging over it. There are some screws in the support bars, making me think there were retro actinics.

Karen I would use the money you would save by doing MH retro kits and get someone to build you a new canopy. That way you don't have to see the holes or the pendants sticking out.

About how much would a new canopy cost? I've found some used-but-in-good-condition pendants for $50 each, and I don't really mind looking at the pendants - they're black and matching. But I'd love a new canopy. It's a money issue.

And it's a height issue, too. If the canopy were too much taller, I'd have to stand on something to see inside it at the top of my tank. Unless it had the doors in front, but that would no doubt be more expensive.

Karen,

What are dimensions of your hood? I'm wondering why spider reflectors using a mogul (light bulb) base can't work.

Dave-

I'm not sure how tall it is, I can get you a measurement when I get home. All I know is Entropy gave me a retro and if I mounted it to the inside of the hood, the bulb would actually be in the water.

My canopy is too shallow for retro MH, so I'm going to attach them to the top of it. That's apparently what the prev owner did, because there are holes already cut in the canopy.

Based on advice, I've decided to use two 250W MH pendants and 2 48" actinics on my 120g (48x24x24). I've been shopping the various sites for used 250W pendants and I'm not finding many. I see mainly 150W and 400W, and a few 175W.

Is there really a huge difference between the 150W and 250W, as far as appearance and what corals I could keep? I'm not planning on doing a lot of SPS, but I don't want to have to upgrade if I change my mind. What about the 400W? Would that be way too much light for my tank?

And what about actinics? I was planning on one in the front and one in the back. Would 2 in the front and 2 in the back be too much?

Nope, sorry, all has been picked up. I've seen a couple of free tanks on craigslist.

I'm one of those overprotective moms. I have GPS on her cell phone, and I tell every parent that she's not allowed on their computer or to roam their neighborhood. Amazingly enough, I get a lot of attitude from them about that. But it's either my rules, or she doesn't go over there. You wouldn't believe the parents that will drop their kids off at 10PM at the movies or anywhere, and they look at me like I'm crazy when I say I don't do that.

Myspace is blocked at her school as well, along with youtube and facebook, and the other site that's similar, though I can't recall the name.

I'm slowly catching on. Endcaps are what attach the bulb to the reflector, right?

Yep, hopefully I can get it over to jsr this week. Myspace is blocked because I have a 12 yr old daughter.

OK, most of that was over my head, but I'll take your word for it. I think I saw that WH ballast, too. I'll look around here in a bit.

Woo-hoo! You know where I live, come see him anytime.

Lachrimae - do I need to fill out an application? I have a 120g tank, 90lbs of live rock with lots of hiding places, no other gobies or SPS.

Actually I don't have any creatures on the right, but I moved the lights because the xenia and frogspawn were leaning toward the left.

I'll be #2 on the clown goby

I've looked at the lumenarcs, not only are they recommended, but they're 14.5x14.5. The existing holes in my canopy are 14.5x8.5. I figure it'll be easier to make the holes larger than smaller, and most 250W pendants are smaller. They are more expensive, though. And with Christmas coming up and my daughter's birthday in January, my Fish Budget isn't very big. I'm holding out for some sales, though. And hoping Santa brings a lot of people new stuff so they'll be selling their old stuff.

You should see my setup now, Rich. I have the 30" PCs on one side, and your MH retro on the other. Every week or so I switch.

Ah, just saw this. Yep, I scanned it McAfee when it only had internet problems and found and removed a ton of stuff. One other bit of info - my sister was over using my machine because the exact same thing had happened to hers a month before. First it had internet problems, then wouldn't boot up correctly. I've had home desktops for about 10-12 years and never had this problem.

And if you don't find them with the other white PVC fittings, check the irrigation aisle. Those fittings are black, but they should have couplings that either reduce or increase the sizes. So you could get a 2x2x2 and reduce the 2 inlets down to 1". You'll probably need 2 couplings per side to get the male/female ends right.

I will be willing to help out if needed. There are several things to cause a computer to fail the boot process. In most cases, you will need to reload the machine. Since the computer is trying to boot, getting the data off should not be an issue. I actually work at Microsoft and would like to help you resolve the issue. Can you tell me what operating system you are running?

I'm running XP. The only things I'm worried about are about 5 yrs of digital pics that I never backed up

I also found a screw in the carpet that I think might be contributing to the problem. it's a Gateway, and the screws in the back have black plastic heads on them. That's what I found in the carpet.

Not running Defender. It's not completely booting - just makes it as far as the logo screen for about 2 seconds, then shuts off. If I choose to run Win normally or with a dot prompt or whatever, it just makes it as far as the logo screen for about 2 seconds then shuts down and goes back.

I'm sitting at home light shopping today, and I see some lights for PC, T5, etc. Can you put actinic bulbs in any fixture, or does it have to be a specific actinic fixture?

That's the odd thing. No error, it just returns to that screen.

I know there are some IT folks here, I just don't recall who. My desktop won't start Windows. At first it just wouldn't start Internet Exp - it would act like it would start, then immediately shut down IE. Everything else was fine. I did some searching thru files and discovered it had quite a bit of spyware and adware. (My daughter goes to UTube, etc, and my sister had used it to check her AOL email and some of the internet dating sites <gasp>). Had I known my sister wanted to use it for this, I wouldn't have let her. I didn't find out about it until I searched through the adware. Anyway, everything else was fine except for the internet.

A little time went by, maybe a week, and now it won't start windows. When we turn it on, it goes to the screen that lists Start Windows Normally, Safe Mode, etc. I can choose any option and it will do the same thing - act like Windows is going to start up, show the logo, then go back to that screen. I've tried Safe Mode, Save Mode with Dot Prompt, etc. Nothing works.

Anyone know what I can do?

Good to know. What about the T5 retro setup?

Is this a good deal? I'm looking to put 2 MH pendants on top of my canopy, and a TF actinic in front and in back.

http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageA...amp;ProdID=1369

1. I'm extremely social - I'm more comfortable in crowds.

2. I'm a hardcore animal rights advocate. I spent 4 years drawing up the rescue facility I hope to build someday in Liberty Hill.

3. When I was 38 I went to college for the first time (studying engineering design graphics (AutoCAD) and GIS.

4. I love information. Any kind, about anything. I have million bits of useless trivia stored in my head.

5. I've never been on an airplane, a city bus, or in a taxi.

Most likely 14s, because I'm going more for appearance rather than growth right now. As far as brand, I'll need to ask around and see what everyone prefers. I've heard the Coralvues are good.

I've got my eyes out for good deals, whether they're actinic or MH. I'm planning on at least one bulb in front and one in back. I'm also hoping they'll be some good deals right after Christmas if Santa brings new setups.