Home Depot and MH??

[eelfreakrobi]

Is it true that you can buy MH bulbs way cheaper in Home Depot than in an lfs? Is there a catch, and are they the same thing as expensive lfs MH, or are lfs MH made specially for home aquariums. ANY and I say any info would be very helpful. Thank you.

 

[buzz]

I just looked at HD's site, and found them anywhere from $23 for a 175w bulb up to $35 for a 400w bulb...I don't know if they are the same light quality though...seems like they might be...they are clear bulbs...interesting idea. I'm curious to see some more responses myself.

 

[alti]

they are the wrong spectrum for corals.

 

[azonic]

I was wondering that as well. Up here in canada we don't have Home depot or lowes...we have home hardware and kent's building supplies. ANYWAY, went to my lfs and talked to the owner and when he found out I had 400 watt halides he was shocked, WORST choice I ever made...said I should of gotten the 250 setup from him instead. He never even heard of 400's for fish tanks. ANYWAY he told me I could get the bulbs for them for about $40 at kent's across the street. I said..."are they the proper spectrum?" he said they were the exact same as the ushio's i have and that he sells. go figure.

 

[pa reef pig]

Hey Azonic, that guy at the fish store sounds like he is not up on the reef/lighting biz. How could he have never heard of 400 watt MH bulbs? I dont think I would take his word for anything. JMO

 

[mikegronholz]

The Home Depot ones are a MUCH lower kelvin.

 

[majakarot]

what about the fixtures (i haven't priced them) but could someone use these fixtures and change the bulb?

 

[mikegronholz]

Don't see why not. The ballasts are mounted to the pendant, but I gues you could rewire it. I had thought hard about this, BUT, they are designed to be outside. I think the boxes even have a warning stating that it is EXTREMELY hot and should never be used indoors.
That sounds like an insurance claim waiting to happen !!!

 

[majakarot]

i have seen mh lights installed inside a garage i built (8 of the buggers), but your right about the ballasts being attached to the hoods... i'm sure that can be changed

 

[mikegronholz]

I guess no matter how hot they get, it will only be 110v !!! Not enough to kill (unless you are glued by the current), but plenty to make you think twice about doing that again !!!

 

[jonthefb]

well now look you all have gotten me thinking. we do sell a mh fixture at the hd i work at. its 99.95 and is a 400w setup. it comes with a bulb, however as mike said above, the spectrum of the bulb is very low, less than 65 k i think. anyhow, why not buy the fixture for 100 bucks, and get a decent 10 or 20 k 400w bubl? it would definately work as color temp has nothign to do with watts and can be used interchangably. very interesting definately warrants some further investigation!
good luck
jon

 

[eelfreakrobi]

I am very new in lighting so please I need your help, lets say I get a 400 watt philips metal halide, I set it up over the tank and its 4000k, will it work and is it possible to put a PC NO light with 10,000k right next to it? How about the ballast thing? The only thing I have understood about the ballats is that it runs cooler and saves energy, anything else I need to know about it? Thanks.

 

[mikegronholz]

Or buy a REAL mh dual 400w with super reflectors, ballast setup for like $250 and only have to drill it in.
Now figure in the "employee discount" and it MIGHT make a difference.

 

[mikegronholz]

yeah, the 4000k mh is pretty yellow and very possibly going to grow algae.....quick.

 

[jonthefb]

a bulb rated 4000K is a very poor bulb for reef applications, and will put off light in the wrong color spectrum, possibly causign unwanted algae growths. all sw lightign applications need ballasts to function. the ballast acts as a transformer and converts voltage/amps into smaller units that are then utilized by the bulbs to energize. there are different types of ballasts, namely magnetic and electronic, and the electronci do run cooler,and also run th ebulbs cooler, but are more expensive. even if you had a no light next to th emh they would both require ballasts to operate properly.
hope this helps
good luck
jon

 

[eelfreakrobi]

thanks!, another thing, whats that about the bulb fixture? if I put into action the plan you have would this work, is it worth it?

 

[mikegronholz]

Short answer...YES...the bulbs WILL power up. Will you have to run a/c in the winter ? I dunno.
But, YES, the bulbs will come on.

 

[buzz]

Here is a good article on lighting that may help...
http://saltaquarium.about.com/librar...y/aa022800.htm
I don't think it is quite as simple as throwing a colored lens in front of your light Elvis...picture standing outside in the sun...now put a colored piece of plexiglass in between you and the Sun. Are the UV rays that cause a sunburn still going to get through? Yes...that's why they have special UV lenses and blockers to keep the UV spectrum out. A lens doesn't necessarily change the spectrum of the emitted light.

 

[eelfreakrobi]

now my last question, sorry.. can I get a lamp for a regular MH in Home Depot and buy the bulb from the lfs and the ballast from the lfs, would this work?

 

[eelfreakrobi]

yeah but if the ballast is made for the aquarium, and the only thing brought from Home Depot is the lamp, it will work right? or am I missing something?