Lighting question

sparty059

sparty059

Active Member
So as you all know (or most of you) I have a 125 Gallon TALL tank. I want to get corals so I am looking extremely hard for metal halides... I found this deal online:
 
Lighting 3 *250watt Metal Halide with Actinics and Moonlights Actinic ballst bad - 350.00
 
How much do ballasts cost? If not too much then I think I'll offer $200 and get those suckers on my tank so I can get some corals in it down the road.
 
What do you all think?
 
Please tell me if I would need any additional items on top of this... regarding the lighting or if this is what a standard one out of the box from the store would include.
 
S

swalchemist

Guest
Sounds like a combo hood to me, better make sure the ballasts are easy to get at and replace.
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
What's the brand of the lighting fixture? $300 an it's not all operable at the present???!!! Not a chance they'd get $300.
 
reefraff

reefraff

Active Member
If all 3 lights don't work it probably isn't a ballast issue. Not that you should mention that to the seller

 
I'd find out the brand and what the symptoms are. If none of the halides are turning on it could be a switch or wiring issue, cheap fix IF YOU KNOW HOW TO DO ELECTRICAL WORK. If its just the actinic ballast that's bad that's a fairly cheap fix.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
how do you plan on putting a 72" fixture inside of a canopy built for a 60" tank? Sparty, you're better off looking for a 48" fixture or possibly a 60" if it will fit but I doubt that it will unless you do away with your canopy.
 
No, I wouldn't buy it.
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sparty059 http:///forum/thread/379918/lighting-question#post_3304129
So as you all know (or most of you) I have a 125 Gallon TALL tank. I want to get corals so I am looking extremely hard for metal halides... I found this deal online:
 
Lighting 3 *250watt Metal Halide with Actinics and Moonlights Actinic ballast bad - 350.00
 
How much do ballasts cost? If not too much then I think I'll offer $200 and get those suckers on my tank so I can get some corals in it down the road.
 
What do you all think?
 
Please tell me if I would need any additional items on top of this... regarding the lighting or if this is what a standard one out of the box from the store would include.
I'm assuming by your post that the actinic ballast is the 1 that is bad, but first finding the ballast, and then hassle of opening and replacing....Could do it a simpler way, but I'd honestly pass on the system....as stated earlier. You could do a lot more efficient system exactly as you want for a little more money
 
reefraff

reefraff

Active Member
A 48" fixture should do a pretty good job on lighting a 60" tank. Especially something that tall.
 
sparty059

sparty059

Active Member
Ok, so I won't be getting the 72" since it would be too long... I wasn't sure if these things broke into 3 parts making it 24" long on each... apparently not.
 
I found a 60" Metal Halide on e Bay for $550 for I believe a 60" long 2x 250W / 4x 54W T5 HO + 3 Large bright clusters of Lunar light... with timers... I also have the option for $480 that includes 2x 150W / 2x 54W T5 HO + the 3 Large bright clusters of lunar light with timers as well.
 
The kicker to all of this is... they don't seem to have any brands... so what exactly do you all think? I'd like to buy these right now so I can put coral in there once I get the tank fully cycled. What do you all think? If you would say it would be a good buy my next question is do you think I can get away with the 150W and have anemone and the high light soft corals?
 
Thanks again for everyones help! :)
 
sparty059

sparty059

Active Member
Ok. So, I just received a response to my question from the seller...
 
It is made by Workhorse Assemblies and comes with a 5 year warranty + satisfaction guaranteed... what do you think?
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Who the heck is Workhorse Assemblies???? I am gonna google them....
 
Is it UL approved? Is this from JAPAN
 
sparty059

sparty059

Active Member
According to someone on another forum thread they spoke with the seller and they said it is UL approved. I'm doing all the google work I can too... come up with anything on your end?
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
NO.....there seems to be very little about it.....I did read where someone said it was UL approved...BUT.....I also read where the T5's are NOT with individual reflectors....
 
IDK about the metal halides though.....they do mention that with a lot of these "cheaper" units, they are made with sub-par ballasts and bulbs. Bulbs can be changed...for a pretty penny...LOL...and so can ballasts...BUT....By the time you do all that....you could have bought the better unit
 
so IDK on this one Sparty.....when I was first looking for a 72" light fixture for my 225G, I looked into these types.....let's just say I paid the $1200 for the Outer Orbits, and have never been disappointed about that
 
sparty059

sparty059

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///forum/thread/379918/lighting-question#post_3304454
NO.....there seems to be very little about it.....I did read where someone said it was UL approved...BUT.....I also read where the T5's are NOT with individual reflectors....
 
IDK about the metal halides though.....they do mention that with a lot of these "cheaper" units, they are made with sub-par ballasts and bulbs. Bulbs can be changed...for a pretty penny...LOL...and so can ballasts...BUT....By the time you do all that....you could have bought the better unit
 
so IDK on this one Sparty.....when I was first looking for a 72" light fixture for my 225G, I looked into these types.....let's just say I paid the $1200 for the Outer Orbits, and have never been disappointed about that
Based on everything you wrote I'm pretty sure we were looking at the exact same thing... which also makes me weary since that means there is THAT little of information on this company/product out there. So I guess I will look around online and see what I can find for a 60"... Also, would I want two or three 250w... I'd prefer two since it's less expensive and that still would give me exactly 4W/Gal. Also, do I want 5,000K, 10,000K, or 20,000K? I don't know what it means for that, but I saw it on a site I was looking at and it had those options haha.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
It depends on what look you want for your tank
 
 
10k = more white/yellow (YUCK)
14K = a nice light bluish tint (YAYYYY) ( I have Phoenix 14k)
20K = a more blue look
 
you don;t want 5k.....I don't even think MH come in 5K LOL
 
I can't say for sure about the 2 or 3 light question.....I have 3 250W metal halides, and 8 T5HO....but my tank is 72" I think 60" may come with 2 bulbs though
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top