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Kynneke 
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 Topic: DIY MH's
Posted: March 11 2008 at 7:21am |
I'm probably in the same boat as most of you... broooooke and can't afford MH's. Some of the MH's that are for sale look almost like DIY projects. Anyone know of a site that explains in GREAT detail how to make a MH or any MH DIY Kits? I'm a computer geek, never held a soldering iron so it has to be easy.
Question #2... what does retro-fit mean?
Question #3... I keep seeing pendant's for sale, would that work in the hood of a 90 gallon?
Thanks
Tanya
Edited by Kynneke - March 11 2008 at 7:26am
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Reef Addict
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Posted: March 11 2008 at 8:33am |
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Now that my friend, that is the correct question. In this case, questions. Somebody please help us po, broke folks out. I have 4 tanks in my house and can only afford to setup the 30 gallon with poor lighting. Been looking all over the web for DIY projects to get my 55 up, but they mostly order kits online. Those can be expensive as well.
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100 Gallon Tru VU Acrylic
2 x 175W 14,000K Metal Halides
2 x 54W T5HO 48" Actinics
(801) 884-2137
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Kynneke
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Posted: March 11 2008 at 9:07am |
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I had a DIY MH Kit bookmarked, it was a pendant for $75 that came in like tinsy pieces but I lost the bookmark and now I can't find it =/ Course, then Questions #2-3 kick in.
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Mike Savage
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Posted: March 11 2008 at 9:28am |
A retrofit lighting kit is one that doesn't come in a housing (pendant or hood) but must be fitted into an existing space such as a canopy. To retrofit a MH lighing system into an existing canopy you would need a powercord, ballast, some wiring, socket, bulb and reflector. You would then need a way to turn the light on and off. Most people put their lights on timers, some use a controller, or you could wire in an on/off switch. It is not very difficult and I'm sure we could help you through it. Retrofit systems come up for sale here all the time or you could check a place such as www.hellolights.com
You could also hang pendants inside a canopy if it was tall enough inside.
Mike
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bbeck4x4
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Posted: March 11 2008 at 9:34am |
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if you are ever in the Spanish Fork area, you could come see the DIY MH that I set up. and I can show you how easy it is.
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Kynneke
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Posted: March 11 2008 at 9:36am |
Dang, wish I was closer to Spanish Fork. I've put offers on the 2 retro-fit MH's for sale right now, if they don't pan out I'll start looking into building. Now that I know what retro-fit is, that's exactly what I was looking for... something to go into the hood of the 90 I bought.
What wattage do I need for a 90 gallon? I don't want to melt my coral. I keep seeing things like 10k or 14k etc.
Edited by Kynneke - March 11 2008 at 9:37am
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bbeck4x4
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Posted: March 11 2008 at 9:43am |
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10k and 14k are color temperatures, a light that is 6K will be very yellow and no plant could grow under it, 6500k is what the color of our sun is, a 10k is bluer than the sun to simulate the light change as light penetrates the water, (depth) 14k has even more blue.(more depth) a lot of our corals are from deep water, thus the more blue color desired.
the wattage is how bright the light is, I have 2 250watt MH lamps on my 90 gallon. with some additional atintic lights(a bit more blue, and to simulate dusk/dawn)
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bbeck4x4
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Posted: March 11 2008 at 9:46am |
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also 6500k vs. 14k tends to mess with people, the 10k (I believe) should be written 10,000K, along with the 14,000k, but no one does it
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Mike Savage
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Posted: March 11 2008 at 9:50am |
 bbeck4x4 wrote:
also 6500k vs. 14k tends to mess with people, the 10k (I believe) should be written 10,000K, along with the 14,000k, but no one does it
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Very true.
Mike
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Kynneke
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Posted: March 11 2008 at 9:54am |
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Amazing information, thank you!
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pa_reptileman_4
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Posted: March 11 2008 at 10:15am |
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i have retro fit on my 125 i am closer to you then spanish fork, i have 2x250's 1 20k 2 10k bulbs.
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pitiful guppy tank.
shane
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Kynneke
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Posted: March 11 2008 at 10:24am |
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I don't know if I can get on base but I'd love to see how they look. I was checking out that Hellolights.com and was noticing that VHO T5's were quite a bit cheaper, can you have a clam and SPSs with T5s?
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pa_reptileman_4
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Posted: March 11 2008 at 10:35am |
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i can get you on base just let me know when it would have to be this weekend at the earliest. i dont know anything about t5's i'm sure you could pick up some cheap mh on here i may even have a ballast laying around i dont need.
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pitiful guppy tank.
shane
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pa_reptileman_4
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Posted: March 11 2008 at 10:36am |
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you just have to wait for the right deal to come around, i went around 6 months before i got mh.
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pitiful guppy tank.
shane
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Kynneke
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Posted: March 11 2008 at 10:52am |
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I'll just do that then, wait until I find some on sale here... maybe I'll get lucky and get one of the 2 up now.
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Slick Eelie
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Posted: March 11 2008 at 1:36pm |
Kynneke wrote:
I don't know if I can get on base but I'd love to see how they look. I was checking out that Hellolights.com and was noticing that VHO T5's were quite a bit cheaper, can you have a clam and SPSs with T5s? |
I've kept SPS and a clam under my t5's. They have done well. The growth is slow on the SPS but the color and health have been good. I just ordered two retro-kit 250W metal halides so I can get better growth from the SPS.
T5 kits are less expensive than MH kits. T5 replacement bulbs are cheaper also. I decided to use my t5's for the actinic supplementary light.
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James Mellor
Eagle Mountain
210 gallon reef
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Kynneke
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Posted: March 11 2008 at 1:43pm |
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I'm the new proud owner of 2 175 Retro Fit MH's.. I'll pick them up tonight or tomorrow. I don't even have the 90 gallon tank yet, I'm supposed to pick it up this weekend. So now I just need to get my hands on about 40-50lbs of base rock.
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dustponds10
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Posted: March 11 2008 at 6:10pm |
I have had really good success with sps in my tank that has 324 watts of T-5's. here is a pic of the tank
there are even frags on the bottom that have awsome growth. Display is a 75 gallon
Edited by dustponds10 - March 11 2008 at 6:11pm
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120
ASM G-3
T-5 lighting
130 frag system
T-5 lighting
asm G-1x
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firefighter6681
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Posted: March 17 2008 at 2:54pm |
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I would say it just depends on what Watts your looking at getting and the type of ballast. Electronic Ballast can cost you more but with less heat. Magnetic Run just a little less but you get more heat. also don't forget to there are also 20,000K bulbs.
The one main draw back of Metal Halides are the Heat.
I would keep a eye on Ebay to. I just picked up 4 - 400Watt Electronic Retro fit units with bulbs for just $400.
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65 Gallon and just getting started again after over year break.
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bbeck4x4
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Posted: March 17 2008 at 3:19pm |
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the heat difference between an electronic balast and a magnetic balast are slight, I have one of each, there is no difference in the temp of the bulb. MH has all of the light in one area, so it seems that there is more heat, in reality the heat is nearly the same as any other bulb, with those other bulbs the heat is spread out along a larger surface area this way they also get more area to cool from, so they can be touched and not seem as hot.
250 watts of light from any source is going to at least equal 250 watts of heat any way that you want to stack it.
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