Lighting from Home Depot?

[maxalmon]

Yesterday I spent $160 on a lighting fixture, got home and started thinking (thats my problem) So I went over to home depot and found they have fixtures, why can't you use them with actinic or VHO type bulbs? The 10,000k's are rated at 40 watts, i'm starting to think for $30-$40 in bulbs and another $24.00 for the fixture I could have just about the same thing? Easy enouhgt to cut and shape a plexi plate to cover the bottom of the light. They also have MH bulbs that seem to be about 1/3 the price of other sites who have them for sale, they also have the round fixtures and all the hardware, HomeDepot calls them floodlights, but why cant these same MH lights be used for a tank?

 

[milomlo]

There is a thread on here somewhere about light fixtures and bulbs from Home Depot. Do a search. I don't remember the exact reason, but I think the ballasts are different or something. They don't give off the right light spectrum...Something like that.. NOT COMPLETELY SURE

 

[maxalmon]

Hum,... Looks like I've got some research to do, I think a watt is a watt and as long as the balast is matched up with the bulb wattage then it's really up to the bulb to produce the spectrum

 

[saltfan]

The fixtures themselves are ok, its the light thats different. The HQI you buy from the LFS are made for aquariums, other than that, buy the fixtures there, I did. They work great.

 

[coachklm]

the problem your going to run into is the fact that those 40w will not push a 10k spectrum to the bottom of a normal tank. why not upgrade in wattage and push it for sure..
you will lose spectrum as distance increases.

 

[milomlo]

So using the fixtures and the bulbs are ok as long as you get enough wattage??
Like I said I am not sure. There is a thread on here somewhere. I will see if I can find it

 

[coachklm]

if your plan on keeping corals or photosythetic items nothing you can buy at HD will work..

 

[maxalmon]

even the MH floodlamps?

 

[coachklm]

the flood lights ????--look at the spectrum --the onesd ive seen cant even come close.
even the 500w halogen DE bulbs were 2.5k off the lowest spectrum at 5k lumens

 

[agent707]

MH bulbs at HD are around 2700-3000 Kelvin. You want your aquarium to glow "Orange"? hehe I didn't think so.
The "ONLY" bulbs they have there that are even considerable are some 6500k compact flourescents (which is what I use in my FO tank). ALL there other bulbs are 5000k or less. Not any good.

 

[saltfan]

Right, the lights are wrong.....But the fixture is not. You can buy the fixtures at Home Depot or Lowes, the ballasts are the same as the same wattage as you buy in the LFS, but the bulbs have to be bought at a LFS or online stuff. The bulbs are the difference. not the ballasts. As long as you have the fans to keep the units cooled, they will work with the HQI MH bulbs you buy for the tank, but don't buy normal MH bulbs, they don't have the spectrum.

 

[ljroman85]

Originally Posted by Agent707
MH bulbs at HD are around 2700-3000 Kelvin. You want your aquarium to glow "Orange"? hehe I didn't think so.
The "ONLY" bulbs they have there that are even considerable are some 6500k compact flourescents (which is what I use in my FO tank). ALL there other bulbs are 5000k or less. Not any good.
So you don't use any special type light for the tank? You bought the fixture and the bulb from HD??? :thinking: I have 110 gallon tank that I want to get going but to be honest I have no interest in starting a reef with it, FOWLR all the way....I just want to get a decent light that will make my fish look good...

any ideas? or helpful thoughts?

 

[maxalmon]

The fixtures are Ok to use, thats what I thought. I realize the bulbs have to be more marine specific.

 

[milomlo]

What fixtures is it that you are looking at? The only ones I can find take T8 or T12 bulbs. I want something that will take a PC bulb or maybe T5

 

[milomlo]

Anyone?? Maxalmon or Saltfan what are the names of the ballasts and reflector types? The only thing I saw at Lowes is the typical florescent fixture ( a PC bulb wouldn't go in it).
HELP - I want to save money too - LOL

 

[shu-perman]

One of the other problems is w/ moisture....the "shop" lights at Home Depot or Lowes are not good around moisture and they will corrode easily and short out...may cause a fire but will definately shorten the life of the fixture...the outdoor MH fixtures could be ok for the moisture but I'm not sure the sockets are compatible w/ the bulbs required for aquariums....

 

[nytrillium]

no, the sockets arent an exact match but they can be swapped out for proper MH sockets. I saw a thread on another forum (cant remember which one now) that had details and pictures of how they did it for 150 watt HQIs. They used a Reagent (sp?) brand outdoor flood light and modified the sockets to fit.
I was planning on doing this at some point, when i get the time, and ill post some pictures. Who knows when it will be though, school takes up alot of my time. (so does the Girlfriend)

The only problem i forsee is if you are using a pulse start ballast, and not an electronic. The wire in the stock fixture from HD has small gauge wire with really light insulation. The wire isnt made to handle high voltage pulses. If you wanted to use it for any length of time you should swap out the wire for 1000 volt pulse rated wire. Im not sure whwere to get it though.. If your gonna do that you might just as well buy the right sockets for it and not have to worry about it.

 

[milomlo]

Not sure if you are talking to me or not. I already have a MH fixture. I am trying to find something for a PC fixture at Home Depot or Lowes. Can this be done?

 

[nytrillium]

no, the closest your gona come is the PLL type bulbs. The highest wattage they sell at HD is 26 watts though i think. I went in one time and asked about 96 watters adn they looked at me like i had 5 heads. I even went to an electrical supply house and they had never heard of anything over 26 watts. They couldnte even find any ballasts for higher wattages.
So in asnwer to your question, yes, and no. They do have fixtures of similar type but they wont be completely compatible with aquarium bulbs. like MH the most you could use is the sockets, you would have to get a new ballast and bulbs.
Trust me ive tried.... They mark up aquarium equipment because its "specialty" stuff.... It sucks. Good luck. Try Ebizzle. Ive gotten alot of stuff on there.

 

[fraggle_a]

There are a few web sites that sell "Lighting" equipment.
I found a 400W electronit Ballast for $45
and a 400W pulse ballast for $48
From there you need the light (around $40 depending on your LFS) some heavy duty cord and a fixture for the light.
I went to my LFS and looked at a retrofit for a 300Watt MH and they were looking at $250 - $300.
As far as the moisture issue.... Thats really easy to solve. You can find plenty of over the counter materials that will stop moisture. You just have to be creative. What you can do is mount the fixture away from the water so moisture isnt an issue (My LFS has their MH lamp about 3' above the water in their corral tank). The fixture is:
A receptor for the bulb, A but of aluminium bent around the bulb for the reflector....... and a peice of aluminium to hold the receptor to the reflector.
Its so simple and very affective.
I plan to make my own light system on my next tank. Ill have my own powerstrip on the back (outside) of the hood with the sockets far enough aprt that timers arnt an issue any more. Simple clamps and polished aluminium reflectors for the bulbs. Im going to mout two small 50W Halogen lamps on the front corners for "Viewing pleasure" A MH lamp in the center, and a PC either side of the MH. Finnaly a 20W FL for a moon light at the front center of the hood and last but not least, a blacklight and a few HILeds (from radio shack) for the nightlight.