alright guys im trying to figure out some expenses for my future aquarium. im planning on keeping acropora and montipora with metal halide lighting but im not sure if i can afford it. is it true that you can go to walmart and buy fixtures then get bulbs from somwhere else to avoid expensive prices? or will my only choice be buying 500$ metal halides at my lfs? anyone whos tried this or has anything to say about it, leave a comment
I used this setup for over a year and did get good growth. It uses an Advance Mercury Vapor ballast that will fire a Iwasaki 250w SE 6500k bulbs. Not sure if it will fire any of the other Iwasaki bulbs but it might. The 6500 was just way to yellow for me.
I now run 2 250w Reeflux 12K DE's from Blueline electronic ballasts.
nice build article...i'm in the planning stages of a big DIY tank and have been searching for some DIY lighting options........i used to build gas stations for a living out in Kansas and we put 420 watt metal halide {scottsdale, brand} fixtures in the canopies.......i don't know what the spectrum is on them but i know our cost for a 24"X24" box fixture was around 150 bucks....and they ran on 220vac......which is much cheaper to run over 110vac........thoughts? {i just sent an email to them to see what they have available............Boss
I burned my fish's eyes using a halide floodlight. It was one of these things that requires little power and floods your driveway. I thought it would be good for my freshwater plants and then I noticed crescent shaped white cataracts in all three of my Spotted gar's eyes. Thankfully they quickly healed after removal of the light.
Some great deals for PC/halide/moonlight VHO/halide/moonlight on this post.
Don't try to use any non-reef Halide bulb. You will burn all fish and coral within minutes. The bulb itself is the one part of the DIY you can not get away with a cheap non-aquarium piece.
All aquarium halides bulbs are UV shielded in some way. The SE single ended bulbs are like a bulb within a bulb. The outer layer of glass is the UV shield. DE or double ended bulbs have a glass UV shield that slides into a slot of the reflector under the bulb.
If you have glass tops, you could get away with a non-shielded SE mogul bulb but check into the Kelvin rating of the bulb.
or try T5 HO's, i have T5 and keep both montipora and acropora along some lps. they arent much cheaper than MH tho, some are more $ than MH. but i am very happy that i got them as my tank has never looked better. I paid $250 for a 36" fixture with 6 bulbs and 8 lunar lights. and no matter what you do, dont purchase from your local fish store as you will overpay, check saltwater pimps link, e-bay is a great place for reef lights, thats where i got my t5's
