diy yourself MH lighting
- Thread starter skirrby
- Start date
dan-in-den
Member
Originally posted by rangermonroe
yeah, I only have 2 bulbs, If I had three, I would have one over the center support and it wouldn't do much good other than heat up the tank. But you sure can see the shadow toward the center, cantcha?
Are your MH bulbs position longways (parallel to the front glass) or across (perpendicular to the front glass) the tank?
I've got a 6' tank and am trying to decide on 2 or 3 MH 250W.
I'm kind of thinking of mounting 2 MH and 3 PC in this fashion:
(MH positioned perpendicular)
PC--MH--PC--MH--PC covering the entire 72".
OR 2 MH with 2 72" VHO
oooo72" VHOooooo
[hr]
MH
[hr]
MH
[hr]
oooo72" VHOooooo
rangermonroe
Member
they are parallel to the front of the glass, but I dont think that it will make much difference. The portion of the bulb that emits the light looks like a ravioli and is square-ish. I don't see much benefit to a third bulb, The " shadow " is actually from the stuff I have on the center support of the tank (food, additives and such). Also the glass there is opaque with salt, So even if i had a third bulb running, I don't think that much of the light would reach the bottom anyway.
dreeves
Active Member
Yes you should be able to run any K rating with that...the M58 is ANSI for 250 watt MH, and the H37 is ANSI for Mercury Vapor 250 watt...
Now the part I am not sure on, as I went with the Iwaski 250, which is actually a mercury vapor bulb, is the pulse start or probe start. Which ever the M58/H37 ballast is, that is the type of bulb within the MH array of which you need to look for.
Also, you can ask hellolights and see what they have to say as well. They should be able to answer all your questions about the ballast they sell.
Now the part I am not sure on, as I went with the Iwaski 250, which is actually a mercury vapor bulb, is the pulse start or probe start. Which ever the M58/H37 ballast is, that is the type of bulb within the MH array of which you need to look for.
Also, you can ask hellolights and see what they have to say as well. They should be able to answer all your questions about the ballast they sell.
bigmac
Member
I've seen these DIY plans for MH's over and over again. Tho they claim to save money they always seem to cost a little more then claimed. Its probably not such a great deal once you include the cost of the heat sink, wiring, switch's and other little items you'll need.
You can get a dual PFO ballast, two 10K Ushio bulbs, two Mogul sockets with quick disconnects and two 15" reflector for under 400.00....probably cheaper if you look around.
You can get a dual PFO ballast, two 10K Ushio bulbs, two Mogul sockets with quick disconnects and two 15" reflector for under 400.00....probably cheaper if you look around.
krux
Member
as BM said, the cost difference between a bare m58 and a nice tidy pfo ballast is about 35 bucks, if you get lucky and find a nice electrical box to use as a case for less than that, you still need to worry about heat dissipation as they are not engineered for that. you can still diy the rest if you want to, just buy the quick disconnect plugs to wire the bulbs to the ballast. if you go pfo, you get a warranty, a diy will not offer that... and for 35 bucks more, i guess it is a decision each person has to make.
having done a couple mh diy projects, i can say from experience, the one place to NOT skimp is the reflector. spend the extra money to get a well built one. you lose so much light potential if you don't, doing an expensive upgrade almost becomes counterproductive as the increase in lumens reaching the tank per dollar spent will really drop fast.
having done a couple mh diy projects, i can say from experience, the one place to NOT skimp is the reflector. spend the extra money to get a well built one. you lose so much light potential if you don't, doing an expensive upgrade almost becomes counterproductive as the increase in lumens reaching the tank per dollar spent will really drop fast.