More MH questions

[KarenM]

SE or DE, which is preferable? Electric or magnetic ballast? Single or Dual? What's a heatsink?

[Noodle]

I found this link to be very helpful when I was first looking at MH's (the halides section is halfway down the webpage).

http://www.californiareefs.com/tanktechlighting.htm

[KarenM]

Very helpful. Thanks!

[4R00P3R]

I know a bit about heat sinks, but none of the other stuff.

A heat sink is simply a device, such as a slotted block of metal, that disipates heat. They are most commonly used on computer processors. If you get your computer back from jsr he can probably quickly show you the heat sink. The only type I've seen with lights are small fans(which aren't really 'heat sinks' but commonly accompany them). A standard ballast will have slotted metal on the outside of the casing. The slots provide more surface area for cooler air to pass over and absorb/disipate the heat.

Edited December 7, 2007 by 4R00P3R

[KarenM]

Ok, thanks. There are so many details when it comes to MH!

[manhorsedog]

i dont know if this helps, but there used to be a nice shop where i lived. They also had the nicest tanks i have seen to date and offer up some good advice on there site. vividaquariums.com

[offroadodge]

Karen,

I posted a month or so ago about building a MH light. I did so but dont want to take the time to acclimate the corals an fish. I will make u a SWEET deal if ur interested. Call for details. Jeremy 512-971-1925

[KarenM]

I'll give you a call as soon as my daughter gets off the phone. To sum it up, I'm looking for 250W, no more than 48" long. I have one retro setup, but I need either another single setup or a dual setup.

[offroadodge]

i have a 400w 14k mogul base SPS bulb with ballast. the PCs arent with this reflector now. look at my items forsale post also. The bulb has only a total of maybe 4 hrs on it. Very pretty blueish/white. well decided that i didnt have time to acclimate the corals and all to the MH, so im going to get rid of it. There is a (1) 14k-400w SPS bulb, ballast (400w), (2) ice cap variable speed 4" fans (these things are awesome) with transformers and all. a home made canopy that is 4' long-12 3/4" wide, and 13" tall. the whole inside is lined with that solar reflector (awesome stuff as well). The bulb has been fired up 3 times, twice for maybe 3 minutes and once for about 4hrs. The fans have a thermostat lead to adjust the fan speed when it starts to get warm. Also I have a purple pincushion seaurchin that is forsale or trade. Probly the size of a base ball. 512-971-1925-JEREMY

Edited December 8, 2007 by offroadodge

[KarenM]

Sorry for the dealy, we decided to put up our Christmas lights. I thnk the 400W will be too much for my tank. It's a very nice setup, but I really can't afford it right now.

[Scuba_Steve]

Ok to keep things short

A 250w setup is fine to keep anything and everything up to 24in deep.

MH reflectors cover a 2x2ft area. Lumenarc reflectors cover about 3x3. So on a 4ft tank you will need a double

DE fits a lil better into reflectors and gives a very slight better output. In turn they create more heat. Also they have no uv shielding, so a piece of normal glass of uv protecting acrylic must be used to not burn your retinas and sunburn everything in the tank.

Electric ballasts produce the absolute best efficiency, especially icecaps (which are all electric). Some magnetics produce more light, but at the expense of much more power used, and shorter bulb life. Also you must match pulse or probe start ballasts to the appropriate bulb, where most electric ballasts will fire everything.

A heatsink merely creates more surface area on the ballast for air to hit, therefore allowing more space for it to release the heat it creates.

[KarenM]

If I use SE would I still need the UV protecting acrylic? I'm not going for a show tank, just a nice pretty tank with some really colorful SPS.

[bananags]

KarenM,

4ft tank will need 2 light, one is not enough to cover

Dual Ended (DE) bulb: you need UV glass (not safe for the viewer w/o UV glass protection)

Single ended (SE): has UV glass built-in ==> don't need extra UV glass

your goal was 250W so:

so you either go with 2 DE 150W bulbs =300W + UV glass or 2 SE 175W=350W (175W SE is also more expensive and DE bulb)

(there are no 150W SE bulb, and if there is they are hard to find, lack of choice in color also)

I have the same tank size as you, I went with Coralife 48 Inch Aqualight Pro retrofit, cost an arm and leg

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idP...3516~tab~4.html

(so bright, i probably can tan in that room)

But I also have another light that i don't use , you can get it for what I paid for $75, contact me if you are interested.

48" Oddessa 2x150W MH DE bulbs and 2 x T5 artinic with UV glass (I was getting this just for the UV glass anyway). The light is used, you need to replace the ballast for the MH (or replace the blow capacitor on the existing ballast), the T5 ballast is OK, MH bulbs are still working, but you should replace them also. I was going to replace the ballast before I sell it. (ballaswise.com has decent electronic ballast for this for cheap)

I don't recommend getting this light unless you are planning to replace the ballast and bulb anyway, that is my original plan

There is a long thread on Reefcentral on this light, and how they make it much better with replacement electronic ballast and bulb

FYI, you may need fan or somethign to keep the temp down during the summer time in TX running with MH --> which then increase evaporation --> need more topoff water

Good luck.

If I use SE would I still need the UV protecting acrylic? I'm not going for a show tank, just a nice pretty tank with some really colorful SPS.

Edited December 10, 2007 by bananags

[KarenM]

So if I'm going to replace the MH ballast, can I just buy a 250W ballast and bulb socket things and use 250W bulbs instead of 150W?

[KarenM]

Doh! I swear I didn't hit Send more than once. Andrew - can you delete some of these, please?

[4R00P3R]

You need two 250w halides, not 250w total. You can run that by andrew, gabe, and james, but I'm almost positive. I don't know what bananags is talking about. I think someone is bananas.

[KarenM]

You need two 250w halides, not 250w total. You can run that by andrew, gabe, and james, but I'm almost positive. I don't know what bananags is talking about. I think someone is bananas.

Yep, I'm planning on two 250W lights. But can I take his fixture and make it for 250W instead of 150W?

[4R00P3R]

I don't think he's selling a retrofit kit. Additionally, Odyssea has a bad reputation for poor quality. You may have to replace both the ballasts, all the bulbs, and the "bulb socket thiings," and it still might not fit in your canopy. If you're not opposed to it, you may be well off to consider a fixture that is suspended over the water rather than fitting inside a hood becuase it helps tremendously with the heat dissipation and easy access to the water. But, if you plan to keep fish that have a reputation of jumping, you may want have a screen that fits on top. If you replace the ballasts and the sockets you will be able to use 250w bulbs, but you could end up spending more on all those seperate parts than you would on a used fixture that fits your needs.

[bananags]

I thought your goal was: 250W total power

your goal was 250W so:

so you either go with 2 DE 150W bulbs =300W + UV glass or 2 SE 175W=350W (175W SE is also more expensive and DE bulb)

(there are no 150W SE bulb, and if there is they are hard to find, lack of choice in color also)

4R00P3R what is the confusion? if Karen power goal is 250W, and she needs 2 bulbs, so her best option is to use TWO 150W bulb, why does she need to run two 250W bulbs? She can, but more $$$ and more heat, i guess, coral will grow like crazy ;-)

Odyssa light electronic is NOT good quality, that is why the ballast need to replacement to a better one, I also indicate replace all the bulb also. But that apply to anything you buy used.

Ballast Model: DXE150HID1 150W is $50 at ballastwise.com , you will need 2, one for each bulb

The light fit in my home build canopy for 48" Oceanic tank. But the problem is that it's make the canopy too heavy for me to open it up, so I scratched the idea. If you just hang or sit it on top of the tank, it should be fine (no canopy), it has the legs to stand on any 48" tank

KarenM, I would not put 250W bulb in Odyssa fixture anyway, it's not made for 250W bulb

I think you should also consider Metal halide in combination with Artinic or 50/50 fluorescent light, that way, if you don't want to use the big light all day, you can run the smaller light also.

You need two 250w halides, not 250w total. You can run that by andrew, gabe, and james, but I'm almost positive. I don't know what bananags is talking about. I think someone is bananas.

Edited December 11, 2007 by bananags

[GKarshens]

No she wants (2) 250w lights not 250 total. I would not try to retro this fixture.