metal halide
- Thread starter gjohnnyp
- Start date
zanemoseley
Active Member
I can't comment on the ballasts at HD but I got two industrial magnetic 250w ballasts and housed them in a electrical box and wired them myself, I fired them up last week with 250w XM 10k bulbs and they look great, the downside is the electrical box gets hot so I placed two small ceramic saucers under it to let air under the box, the more expensive prebuild ballast boxes come with a thick aluminum housing which helps with heat, other than that there is no difference other than you have to wire everything yourself, also keep in mind you can't use HD MH bulbs, you need a higher kelvin bulb such as a 10k XM brand bulb, If you're a DIY'er and have the time I'd say do it yourself, If I had a bunch o' money I'd probably go with 2 Icecap electrical ballasts
zanemoseley
Active Member
also you need to check what kind of ballast they sell at the LFS, there are 3 kinds, 1st electrical, 2nd magnetic probe start, 3rd magnetic pulse start
once you figure out which kind of bulb you wish to use then I can reccomend a ballast
I have magnetic probe start which is the simpliest and will fire many bulbs
electrical ballasts are known for under-driving bulbs so you don't get the 100% full potential out of your bulbs but they will fire any bulb on the market
pulse start mag. ballasts are very similar to the probe mag. ballasts except they have a special firing mechanism to help with european bulbs
once you figure out which kind of bulb you wish to use then I can reccomend a ballast
I have magnetic probe start which is the simpliest and will fire many bulbs
electrical ballasts are known for under-driving bulbs so you don't get the 100% full potential out of your bulbs but they will fire any bulb on the market
pulse start mag. ballasts are very similar to the probe mag. ballasts except they have a special firing mechanism to help with european bulbs
attml
Active Member
Most specific MH bulbs that are used in the Reefing Hobby will only fire with compatable ballasts. The stuff at HD (to the best of my knowledge) will not fire anything you would want for your reef tank. The MH bulbs at HD are also on the lower end of the Kelvin scale and will create a algae nightmare. Many people have thought about going that route in the past to save $ but it doesn't work. Best to wait a couple of paychecks and get the stuff designed for reefing!
zanemoseley
Active Member
Originally posted by attml
Most specific MH bulbs are used in the Reefing Hobby that will only fire with compatable ballasts. The stuff at HD (to the best of my knowledge) will not fire anything you would want for your reef tank. The MH bulbs at HD are also on the lower end of the Kelvin scale and will create a algae nightmare. Many people have thought about going that route in the past to save $ but it doesn't work. Best to wait a couple of paychecks and get the stuff designed for reefing!
I hate to contradict you but if you open up you "aquarium" ballast box you'll most likely find a standard M57 ballast I believe which is a standard 250w magnetic probe ballast, I believe the m59 is a pulse start ballast code, all they do is take the raw ballasts and put them in a pretty housing and wire in the quick disconnect plugs which you can also do youself if you want using extension cord plugs, I definately do agree with you on the bulbs, you must use a bulb suitable for a reef aquarium, you also need to get a aluminum reflector which can be found for about $40 on the net, for good lighting and DIY parts go to hellolights.com they are a partner of SWF.com if I remember correct
attml
Active Member
Are the ballasts at HD M57 or M59 or a different style? Not looking for an argument but my point is you can't fire all bulbs with an EYE ballast, you can't fire all european bulbs on certain ballast etc. Before he spends $ on something, he needs to know what he has is compatible to begin with.
zanemoseley
Active Member
if you plan to buy prebuilt then I suggest ---- or *edited* I wouldn't buy from a LFS on such a large item if you can help it
dhraako
Member
I agree...I've been doing a whole lotta research and MH lately since buying new lights time is coming up in 6 months and I kinda wanna get outa PC and goto MH since I enjoy SPSes and hate algae
---- is the way to go with MH.....I'm talking 60-70 buck difference for the same thing...both brand new..and yes I've been watching the auctions
and thanks for the great advice...I'm either going ---- or DIY on my MH setup in the future and the more info the better..
thanks again
example: ICECAP @ jlaquatics (I'm in Canada so I look for Canadian prices) $220 for 250W
---- - ~$100 with $10-20 shipping depending on seller
all prices listed were in Canadian..you can do the conversions
---- is the way to go with MH.....I'm talking 60-70 buck difference for the same thing...both brand new..and yes I've been watching the auctions
and thanks for the great advice...I'm either going ---- or DIY on my MH setup in the future and the more info the better..
thanks again
example: ICECAP @ jlaquatics (I'm in Canada so I look for Canadian prices) $220 for 250W
---- - ~$100 with $10-20 shipping depending on seller
all prices listed were in Canadian..you can do the conversions
