jamesvishiou
Member
I was wondering if you could use a metal halide light like the ones that you use outside for a reef tank.
Metal Halide
- Thread starter jamesvishiou
- Start date
2quills
Well-Known Member
I'm sure they would work. The reflectors might be a little bit different in some of the exterior fixtures...many are made to direct the light in a certain direction so you may just have to mount them differently depending on the fixture...but I don't see why they wouldn't work if that's what you want to try to do.
2quills
Well-Known Member
My guess would be that it's not the optimal choice...when it comes to the best care for your critters it would probably be best to go with recommended equipment. I suppose if you were in a pinch...then you could probably get away with it. I would definately do more research before you install them.
jamesvishiou
Member
okay. thats what i thought. just wondering.
J
jstdv8
Guest
I was kinda wondering the same thing about the 400w metal halides like they use at home depot on the ceiling. I see these on c-list all the time for fairly cheap.
wangotango
Active Member
Chances are they are probably 6700K or less which is going to look pretty ugly on a reef.
There's probably a reason why nobody has tested the PAR of "household" MH lamps either.
There's probably a reason why nobody has tested the PAR of "household" MH lamps either.
tank a holic
Active Member
theres no reason the fixture wont work, just the reflector would not be optimal, and you need to get bulbs in the right light spectrum that is compatible with that ballast and socket combination..... then you have to figure out how you're going to mount it
and as stated earlier most outdoor and comercial lighting it halogen or high pressure sodium
and as stated earlier most outdoor and comercial lighting it halogen or high pressure sodium
scsinet
Active Member
Originally Posted by acrylic51
http:///forum/post/3286368
I think it's more to do with the ballast.....I don't think they would fire/or fire MH bulbs inconsistently.....Maybe SCSInet or someone else will chime in on this one, but I remember the question being raised about it before.
It depends on the lamp and the fixture.
Halide systems are standardized by ANSI. A 250w halide outdoor fixture is electrically and functionally equivalent to a 250w aquarium fixture, with the obvious exception of being a different shape, etc. There is nothing to stop you from buying an outdoor halide fixture such as a halide "wall pack," gutting it, and retrofitting the components into a DIY fixture.
*Caveat: Wattage is not the only factor to consider when looking at halides. There are different types, most notably, Pulse Start, Probe Start, and HQI.
HQI is pretty much reserved for the double-ended lamp market, which is pretty much non-existent for regular outdoor light fixtures, so we'll ignore that one.
Here is where things get tricky. The lighting industry in the US uses probe start for almost all halide applications. In Europe, pulse start is the norm. Halide lamps designed for aquariums come from Europe and the US.
Pulse start ballasts will ignite any single ended lamp (probe or pulse) of the same wattage. E.G. you can put a probe start lamp in a pulse start fixture, no problem. The other way around? A new pulse start lamp *might* ignite in a probe start fixture, but not consistently, and after a few dozen hours on the lamp, it'll stop working entirely.
SO to make a [very] long story short, yes, you can certainly use an outdoor type fixture, but you must use probe start lamps. Hamilton and XM come to mind as manufacturers of probe start lamps. Personally, I use only pulse start systems so I can run the MUCH BETTER lamps from Ushio, Radium.
I guess I don't understand the point... retrofitting an outdoor fixture is going to save you very little. You can purchase a pulse start ballast for about $50 (more or less a few bucks depending on the wattage), and a basic reflector/lampholder combo for about $30... most commercial fixtures cost more than that combined, and you don't have to go through the effort or tearing them apart or rigging them for your application.
A word of caution... as stated, halides are not often used as outdoor lighting in the residential market, so chances are that any fixture you purchase from Lowe's, Home Depot, etc is going to be high-pressure sodium or mercury vapor, of which neither is compatible with halide lamps, and HPS/MV lamps are not suitable for aquariums.
http:///forum/post/3286368
I think it's more to do with the ballast.....I don't think they would fire/or fire MH bulbs inconsistently.....Maybe SCSInet or someone else will chime in on this one, but I remember the question being raised about it before.
It depends on the lamp and the fixture.
Halide systems are standardized by ANSI. A 250w halide outdoor fixture is electrically and functionally equivalent to a 250w aquarium fixture, with the obvious exception of being a different shape, etc. There is nothing to stop you from buying an outdoor halide fixture such as a halide "wall pack," gutting it, and retrofitting the components into a DIY fixture.
*Caveat: Wattage is not the only factor to consider when looking at halides. There are different types, most notably, Pulse Start, Probe Start, and HQI.
HQI is pretty much reserved for the double-ended lamp market, which is pretty much non-existent for regular outdoor light fixtures, so we'll ignore that one.
Here is where things get tricky. The lighting industry in the US uses probe start for almost all halide applications. In Europe, pulse start is the norm. Halide lamps designed for aquariums come from Europe and the US.
Pulse start ballasts will ignite any single ended lamp (probe or pulse) of the same wattage. E.G. you can put a probe start lamp in a pulse start fixture, no problem. The other way around? A new pulse start lamp *might* ignite in a probe start fixture, but not consistently, and after a few dozen hours on the lamp, it'll stop working entirely.
SO to make a [very] long story short, yes, you can certainly use an outdoor type fixture, but you must use probe start lamps. Hamilton and XM come to mind as manufacturers of probe start lamps. Personally, I use only pulse start systems so I can run the MUCH BETTER lamps from Ushio, Radium.
I guess I don't understand the point... retrofitting an outdoor fixture is going to save you very little. You can purchase a pulse start ballast for about $50 (more or less a few bucks depending on the wattage), and a basic reflector/lampholder combo for about $30... most commercial fixtures cost more than that combined, and you don't have to go through the effort or tearing them apart or rigging them for your application.
A word of caution... as stated, halides are not often used as outdoor lighting in the residential market, so chances are that any fixture you purchase from Lowe's, Home Depot, etc is going to be high-pressure sodium or mercury vapor, of which neither is compatible with halide lamps, and HPS/MV lamps are not suitable for aquariums.
2quills
Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/3286996
It depends on the lamp and the fixture.
Halide systems are standardized by ANSI. A 250w halide outdoor fixture is electrically and functionally equivalent to a 250w aquarium fixture, with the obvious exception of being a different shape, etc. There is nothing to stop you from buying an outdoor halide fixture such as a halide "wall pack," gutting it, and retrofitting the components into a DIY fixture.
*Caveat: Wattage is not the only factor to consider when looking at halides. There are different types, most notably, Pulse Start, Probe Start, and HQI.
HQI is pretty much reserved for the double-ended lamp market, which is pretty much non-existent for regular outdoor light fixtures, so we'll ignore that one.
Here is where things get tricky. The lighting industry in the US uses probe start for almost all halide applications. In Europe, pulse start is the norm. Halide lamps designed for aquariums come from Europe and the US.
Pulse start ballasts will ignite any single ended lamp (probe or pulse) of the same wattage. E.G. you can put a probe start lamp in a pulse start fixture, no problem. The other way around? A new pulse start lamp *might* ignite in a probe start fixture, but not consistently, and after a few dozen hours on the lamp, it'll stop working entirely.
SO to make a [very] long story short, yes, you can certainly use an outdoor type fixture, but you must use probe start lamps. Hamilton and XM come to mind as manufacturers of probe start lamps. Personally, I use only pulse start systems so I can run the MUCH BETTER lamps from Ushio, Radium.
I guess I don't understand the point... retrofitting an outdoor fixture is going to save you very little. You can purchase a pulse start ballast for about $50 (more or less a few bucks depending on the wattage), and a basic reflector/lampholder combo for about $30... most commercial fixtures cost more than that combined, and you don't have to go through the effort or tearing them apart or rigging them for your application.
A word of caution... as stated, halides are not often used as outdoor lighting in the residential market, so chances are that any fixture you purchase from Lowe's, Home Depot, etc is going to be high-pressure sodium or mercury vapor, of which neither is compatible with halide lamps, and HPS/MV lamps are not suitable for aquariums.
"So what are ya, some kind of half assed astronaut?"
Sorry couldn't resist a good Jaws quote. Thanks for helping us see the light, because I know that I had been wondering about this myself.
http:///forum/post/3286996
It depends on the lamp and the fixture.
Halide systems are standardized by ANSI. A 250w halide outdoor fixture is electrically and functionally equivalent to a 250w aquarium fixture, with the obvious exception of being a different shape, etc. There is nothing to stop you from buying an outdoor halide fixture such as a halide "wall pack," gutting it, and retrofitting the components into a DIY fixture.
*Caveat: Wattage is not the only factor to consider when looking at halides. There are different types, most notably, Pulse Start, Probe Start, and HQI.
HQI is pretty much reserved for the double-ended lamp market, which is pretty much non-existent for regular outdoor light fixtures, so we'll ignore that one.
Here is where things get tricky. The lighting industry in the US uses probe start for almost all halide applications. In Europe, pulse start is the norm. Halide lamps designed for aquariums come from Europe and the US.
Pulse start ballasts will ignite any single ended lamp (probe or pulse) of the same wattage. E.G. you can put a probe start lamp in a pulse start fixture, no problem. The other way around? A new pulse start lamp *might* ignite in a probe start fixture, but not consistently, and after a few dozen hours on the lamp, it'll stop working entirely.
SO to make a [very] long story short, yes, you can certainly use an outdoor type fixture, but you must use probe start lamps. Hamilton and XM come to mind as manufacturers of probe start lamps. Personally, I use only pulse start systems so I can run the MUCH BETTER lamps from Ushio, Radium.
I guess I don't understand the point... retrofitting an outdoor fixture is going to save you very little. You can purchase a pulse start ballast for about $50 (more or less a few bucks depending on the wattage), and a basic reflector/lampholder combo for about $30... most commercial fixtures cost more than that combined, and you don't have to go through the effort or tearing them apart or rigging them for your application.
A word of caution... as stated, halides are not often used as outdoor lighting in the residential market, so chances are that any fixture you purchase from Lowe's, Home Depot, etc is going to be high-pressure sodium or mercury vapor, of which neither is compatible with halide lamps, and HPS/MV lamps are not suitable for aquariums.
"So what are ya, some kind of half assed astronaut?"
Sorry couldn't resist a good Jaws quote. Thanks for helping us see the light, because I know that I had been wondering about this myself.
scsinet
Active Member
Originally Posted by 2Quills
http:///forum/post/3287096
"So what are ya, some kind of half assed astronaut?"
Sorry couldn't resist a good Jaws quote.
You'd be surprised how many people don't get the joke. Lots of folks assume that "Quint" is my real name, or that the picture is really me.
http:///forum/post/3287096
"So what are ya, some kind of half assed astronaut?"
Sorry couldn't resist a good Jaws quote.
You'd be surprised how many people don't get the joke. Lots of folks assume that "Quint" is my real name, or that the picture is really me.