DIY metal halide build

tank a holic

tank a holic

Active Member
So I'm going to build a metal halide fixture for my tank
I have a 125g it is 22 inches deep...
I've been to the local lighting supply store and found the ballasts and the sockets... it's a wholesale store so they were cheaper than online, I will however buy the bulbs online
I want to be able to keep anything in this tank eventually so I'm going no holds barred and using 400 watt bulbs
My questions are...
1. For 125 gallons can I get by with 2 bulbs or do I need 3?
2. Most fixtures have T5's or PC's along with the halides, do I need these or not?
3. How crucial are lunar lights?
4. How hot do these get, will one fan be enough or do I need 2?
5. How far off the water should the bulbs be?
Thank you in advance for the help, I'll post pic's as I go
 
saltfan

saltfan

Active Member

Originally Posted by tank a holic
http:///forum/post/2960235
So I'm going to build a metal halide fixture for my tank
I have a 125g it is 22 inches deep...
I've been to the local lighting supply store and found the ballasts and the sockets... it's a wholesale store so they were cheaper than online, I will however buy the bulbs online
I want to be able to keep anything in this tank eventually so I'm going no holds barred and using 400 watt bulbs
My questions are...
1. For 125 gallons can I get by with 2 bulbs or do I need 3?
Go with 3 bulbs
2. Most fixtures have T5's or PC's along with the halides, do I need these or not?
Those are mostly used for Actinics, no you don't actually have to use them.[/FONT]
3. How crucial are lunar lights?
Not a nessecity
4. How hot do these get, will one fan be enough or do I need 2?
I have found that 2 will do the trick.
5. How far off the water should the bulbs be?
Minimum splash range of 12"[/FONT]
Thank you in advance for the help, I'll post pic's as I go

 
saltfan

saltfan

Active Member
Now thats the interesting question for all. Its what color you want the tank to show. I personally use a 20k in my middle and a 14k on either side of it.
Attachment 219817
The 20k would be above the Leather and the 20k 14k split would be where the Clam is.

 
culp

culp

Active Member
14000k bulb will have faster coral grow than a 20000k bulb as long as you use a good bulb.
 
veni vidi vici

veni vidi vici

Active Member
Originally Posted by tank a holic
http:///forum/post/2960235
My questions are...
1. For 125 gallons can I get by with 2 bulbs or do I need 3?
Your going to need 3 unless you like shadows,most reflectors cover a 2'x2' area
2. Most fixtures have T5's or PC's along with the halides, do I need these or not?
Not necessary but are a plus.Gives you more options
3. How crucial are lunar lights?
They are not
4. How hot do these get, will one fan be enough or do I need 2?
I have one 4"fan on my 125g temp never rises above 80 Deg.
5. How far off the water should the bulbs be?
I have mine at 10" but I have 250w not 400w.400w is overkill IMO
If your going to go with 400w ballast make sure your electric circuit will be able to handle this.
 
tank a holic

tank a holic

Active Member
Good call V, I did some checking and during operation 400 watt ballasts will draw about 4 amps for a total of 12
I have a 15 amp fuse so with all my ph's, heaters and filters I should either go with 250's which will pull not quite 8 amps all togather, or jump to a 20 amp fuse (which my wiring will allow)
any thoughts... 250's will be fine with me as long as I can keep what I want
400 watt ballasts are 7 dollars cheaper than 250's... go figure
 
veni vidi vici

veni vidi vici

Active Member
Originally Posted by tank a holic
http:///forum/post/2960519
Good call V, I did some checking and during operation 400 watt ballasts will draw about 4 amps for a total of 12
I have a 15 amp fuse so with all my ph's, heaters and filters I should either go with 250's which will pull not quite 8 amps all togather, or jump to a 20 amp fuse (which my wiring will allow)
any thoughts... 250's will be fine with me as long as I can keep what I want
400 watt ballasts are 7 dollars cheaper than 250's... go figure

3-250w MH will work fine for anything you would like to keep Tank.400w are for deeper water penetration in tall tanks.However you could always raise them if you wanted to use the 400w,electric bill might be a tad bit higher though
 
tank a holic

tank a holic

Active Member
ok I'll look into the 250's
what would be better for lunar lights... t5 or pc, those ballasts are cheap.. I might as well put some in
 
veni vidi vici

veni vidi vici

Active Member
Originally Posted by tank a holic
http:///forum/post/2960654
ok I'll look into the 250's
what would be better for lunar lights... t5 or pc, those ballasts are cheap.. I might as well put some in
I would use T-5 or PC for either actinics so you could burn 10k MH or use them to extend your light period so you arent burning you MHs for 10+ hours,you could use them for dusk dawn effect.These are what i use for my lunars,i have 5 of them .
 
wattsupdoc

wattsupdoc

Active Member
t5's and pc's are generally used for dusk to dawn, actinic supplement and extended light periods. Leds are more commonly used for moonlighting. I've got the coralvue? I think it is Leds, three of them with power supply. They,ve got them over at the "(another word for water)cave".
 
veni vidi vici

veni vidi vici

Active Member
Originally Posted by wattsupdoc
http:///forum/post/2960675
t5's and pc's are generally used for dusk to dawn, actinic supplement and extended light periods. Leds are more commonly used for moonlighting. I've got the coralvue? I think it is Leds, three of them with power supply. They,ve got them over at the "(another word for water)cave".
I love watercave and it local
 
tank a holic

tank a holic

Active Member
so I found a t-5 ballast that runs up to 4 54watt bulbs..
if i get that and run 2 daytime lights for dawn and dusk, and run 2 lunar's would that be good with my 3 250watt MH's in the middle
 
veni vidi vici

veni vidi vici

Active Member
Originally Posted by tank a holic
http:///forum/post/2961649
so I found a t-5 ballast that runs up to 4 54watt bulbs..
if i get that and run 2 daytime lights for dawn and dusk, and run 2 lunar's would that be good with my 3 250watt MH's in the middle

Personally i would go with actinic T-5s and then 12/14/15k or maybe even a 10k MH bulb.Try to get the best growth with the best color you can.
 
tank a holic

tank a holic

Active Member
i think i'll start out with 14k's, according to here and local reefers i know, that seems to be the magic number
i may try what SaltFan said and put a 20k in the middle though
BTW thanks all for the help and repeat attention
 
tank a holic

tank a holic

Active Member
ok...
so I got my Ballasts, and sockets today... (no t5 sockets yet, expect them in a few days)
now here is what i'm thinking
mount the ballasts under the tank in the stand (on seperate piece of wood, not too stand its self)
then I'll make a hood and run the wires to the appropriate ballast....
how wide should the reflector strip be?
this is what i had in mind -- the 2" sections will house t-5 bulbs and the 8" will house the metal halides
what to you think?
 
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