lighting

[chatfouz]

now i know metal halides are the lights you want. they are super expensive but the power they put out is crazy. the fixtures on the petwebsites are crazy expensive. i thought there must be a way around it.

i saw at walmart they sell utility work flood lights for 10$. its a metal halide light, 500watts. will this not work?? i mean cut off the legs and handles and you have a bright orange metal halide light! and sure i bet the bulb is the wrong spectrum or what not but that can be replaced. and that surely must cost less than 200$ if so then right there its a metal halide light for a fraction of the cost. sure it doesnt have a fish brand maker but does that matter?

i must be missing something could it really be that easy?

[4R00P3R]

It probably doesn't come with a ballast and the bulb you will have to buy is the expensive part anyway.

[chatfouz]

It probably doesn't come with a ballast and the bulb you will have to buy is the expensive part anyway.

the bubls are 50$ a 10$ fixture. right there thats dirt cheap comparably. ballast? i believe already the deal works as is? i guess i dont understand why a new ballast is required. the utility light you can plug in and light comes out. why if you replace the light is the balast needed? mabye i dont get how the ballast works.

[Headless_donkey]

The Gospel on this topic. Long live N-R.com

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...p;p=entry

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...p;p=entry

[GKarshens]

I am pretty sure that is a Halogen light not MH. That is why in the link posted by James they needed to by a new ballast. I am sure corals would survive under a Halogen, but the color would look terrible. Plus they throw off crazy heat. I used to use a halogen work light to warm up a 5g bucket of water for work.

[caferacermike]

As was stated in above post, those are not halides but are halogens. Completely different. You also don't want to buy $70 Sodium vapor set ups either.

Trust us all when we say this, there are no shortcuts in the reef hobby, especially in lighting. If there was the millions of reefers would already be all over it. The best way to save money on lighting is to make it yourself. You can go to any industrial supply and buy bulk ballasts, caps, cord, and M52 sockets. You won't get any reflectors but they are cheap enough to buy separate. It's just that most people have not had the experience, nor do they have the time to do this. To save on energy costs I have 8x 14" Solartubes waiting to be installed on my home, 3 of them will go over my 400g tank. However I do realize the colors may not be good, and the initial cost of $2,000 for 3 of them was a bit much to handle. I won't save any money in the long run but I won't be spending it every month on electricity.

[chatfouz]

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/3958...tal-halide.html

this is the guide i found on the subject.

thanks for pointing out the major flaw. but honestly i do believe there is always another way. trouble is just figureing it out.

[ReeferKris]

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/3958...tal-halide.html

this is the guide i found on the subject.

thanks for pointing out the major flaw. but honestly i do believe there is always another way. trouble is just figureing it out.

I have seen MANY people become frustrated to the point of quitting the hobby due to crazy algae blooms and other related issues with set ups like this over the years. I strongly suggest you save money and buy proper and proven lighting instead of TRYING to shortcut something that has been done a million times before you...just my .02