diy halide pendant?

D

Drake1

New member
ok i know there must be a hundered threads on this but i can't find any! my tank dosen't have a hood so i need to place 3 MH above it, the tank is a 125 and is going in the wall so i was thinking of a DIY halide pendants since they won't be visiable anyways. anyone have pics of how they made theres and what they used to get the right shape. i know this is easy and i could come up with something myself but i really hate thinking
thanks jeff
 
If you are using SE bulbs just buy retrofit kits... if you are going to use DE bulbs, you really cant beat the ROIII for $99 each.

I mounted mine on an aluminum bar attached to a pulley system for my inwall.
 
i really don't want to spend 99 buck in a pendant that can look bad! i was hoping to stay arounf $10 to build one
 
Well the lamp holders will cost you twice that much and so will a suitable reflector. Add in a few nuts and bolts and a piece of tempered UV glass.... your better off with the ready made pendants. This is assuming your going with DE bulbs.

Again if your using SE bubls, then your best bet is to buy a retrofit kit. It is the cheapest your going to be able to do it. Your still at $50 or so a "pendant"

Bean
 
I know awhile ago Home Depot's had Regent fixtures on clearance. If you can find some of the 500 watt ones cheap that is a good alternative.

I had to buy mine at full price ($25 i think?) but managed to get lamp clips from fosters smith on clearance.

I went with 150's but I think 250's fit in the housing as well.

I have found that the Regent fixtures work well and the internal reflector is fine with me.

here's a pic of one mounted over the sump

halide.jpg
 
I think you will find that you lose an awful large amont of light compared to the RO or PFO pendants. Between the reagent fixture, endcapsand time invlolved, $99 is a pretty good deal compared to a DIY $50 pendant that is not as efficient. However that is something that you will have to determine for yourself. I would rather put the DIY effort into something that can't be had for a reasonable or can be made better for the same price. In this case you are saving money at the expense of functionality.

I think I looked at a reagent vs PFO test result and the reagent didnt even come close.

Bean
 
true that the PFO reflector is far more engineered, but when you're putting all the components together at first, saving $150 or so is a big help. :)

possibly a good future upgrade though
 
I do agree that sometimes you just have to settle for lower quality in order to get up and running. I almost did the DIY light and ballast thing, but figured it was a waste of money. I purchased the ROIII pendants and Dual BlueWave ballast.

I DIYed my 75 gallon acrylic sump, above tank fuge and a lot of other stuff. I hate to spend money twice and knew I would not be happy with my shoestring lights. I actually had water in the tank and my cycle started and had to wait for almost 2 months to buy my lights.

Instead of DIY halides, it might be better off for home to do some DIY T5s until he gets the cash to do the MH right. I think it could be done a lot cheaper and work a lot better.

Bean
 
Actually, those hammertone regent reflectors were shown to be superior to most ready-made pendants like the PFO and SLS in Sanjay's tests. I was shocked when I read it. I am using a pendant just like the one shown above...clearance at HD for $5. You can fit a 70 or 150watt halide with the stock mount, but I wouldnt do a 250 in anything but a pendant designed for a DE fixture. Such a small space would most likely result in the glass warping or a fire starting...if you could even fit one in there.

There are a few that have made DIY lumenarc type reflectors...I made a few that were 18" x 18" for DE bulbs...out of aircraft mirrored aluminum. Getting LoE Tempered glass cut was a PITA however...but in this case, nobody makes a lumenarc style DE reflector (except those Sfiligoi infinity XR4's). They cost me about $50 ea to make in the end...and perform very very very well. I even modified the back of the bulb to be better than a lumenarc with a spider-style point in the middle... like the reflectors here...

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=758164&perpage=25&pagenumber=2
 
I will have to go back and look at sanjays tests regarding the reflectors. I have thought I read the exact oposite, but could be wrong. If they perform better then they may well be worth the trouble of modding.

Regading "diy reflectors", the big question becomes the actual shape. I don't know if the luminarcs are engineered for the best light focus and efficiency or just made to a shape that looks nice. I would guess they are engineered. However you will find a lot of products that are just made to look nice, performance is second to looks whe it comes to sales to the average shopper. I could list thousands of items that look better than they function, and improved function would have been just as easy as improved looks.

If they (the luminarcs) are engineered with software to optimize the angles, shapes and curves of the reflector peices, then building one DIY that "is better" would be more than likely impossible. It is no different than trying DIY a venturi or other device thats shape is highly engineered to maximize efficiency. In the end you may build something that LOOKS similar but does not perform as well. Depending on the performance needed and the money saved, this may well be acceptable.

The "point" in the spiders is engineered to fit the reflector profile, adding one to a reflector of different shape is like adding a wing to the back of a Nissan Sentra. It may look nice, but does not do as much as you think it does and may in fact make things worse.

I am not trying to discount your DIY pendants, but there is a lot more to a reflector than shiny metal bent into a U shape. Most of use don't have the tools, testing equipment or skillset to design, bend and optimize a reflector that comes anywhere near an engineered commercial design.

Do DIY designs perform well enough to use? Well that is up to each individual and their setup and comfort level with regards to efficiency and output. What may be acceptable to one may be marginal at best to another.

Bean
 
Reading Sanjays articles again, it is fairly clear that the Regent reflector did about as well as the NOVA II reflectors. Sanjay sates that the NOVA II [SIC] "looked nice but needed reflector improvement to be on par with the SLS and others". The NOVA II and others feel far behind the PFO and SLS pendants in the higher wattage classes and since that time the ROIII and new PFOs have been introduced with better reflectors.

This hardly shows that the regent outperformed anything.

It does however show that on a budget, these are a viable option.

Bean
 
I had heard the same thing here on RC - that the hammertones were better than the 'aquarium' ones. So I went out and bought a halogen fixture, and, the very next day find that article... :rolleyes:

Thankfully, I didn't get the regent, but another 500w fixture by 'Heath/Zenith' for only $8 regular price. Thankfully, it does not use the hammered reflector, but it instead has one that, once I took it out to get a better look at it, I can only describe as being like a miniature version of a spider-light reflector. Its so cute! :p

Hopefully I can give a little bit of elbow grease and polish it up to a mirror finish, and then maybe it will perform closer to those 'nicer' $100 units.
 
after reveiewing Sanjay's results, the Regent does prove to be a little better than the other 150w competitor.


Regent @ 6" 3x3 area = 17046
Giesemann @ 6" 3x3 area = 15715


The regent does seem to outperform at 6", but at 12" the geismann is slightly better efficiency wise
 
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WAIT A MINUTE! :mad:

Look at the testing that is being done:

PFO Illuminator w/ Ushio 400W 10000K

SuperSun IV - Sunlight Supply w/ Ushio 400W 10000K

Reef Optix I - Sunlight Supply w/ Ushio 400W 10000K

Small Diamond Light w/ Vion 250W 10000K

Regent DIY 150W Double Ended w/ AB 150W 10000K

Giesemann 250W Nova II w/ AB 250W 10000K

Giesemann 150W Nova II w/ AB 150W 10000K

He is comparing 150w bulbs (w/ the reflector we are trying to DIY) with 250w and 400w bulbs! Wow. That seems like a lopsided test to me, but in any case, that would mean that these reflectors really aren't that bad! Of course a 150w bulb can't go head-to-head with a 400w bulb, but it is pretty darn good if you look at the numbers. Also, the 150w fixture is using a e-ballast, whereas the 400w and others are using magnetic to give it even more juice.

*not feeling nearly as stupid about this DIY project* :cool:
 
DO NOT cheap out on reflectors. 250w bulbs in good reflectors will destroy 400w bulbs in crappy reflectors.

Buy yourself a pair of lumenarc A3s and call it a day.
 
I think you are missing the major point here. I would have hoped from context that everybody knew we were not comparing the numbers from the different wattage tests.

Look at the LOSS percentage for each type of reflector. This measure the reflectors ability to transmit the light down to the tank and is a percentage of the total measured light at different hights, as compared to the "base" height. The regent did very poorly (as did the NOVA II to some extent). This shows flaws in the reflector design regardless of the wattage or PAR, it is a straight measurement of how well a reflector focuses light on a given area. The hammertone scatters much of the light (wastes it). This makes for a good yard illuminator, but a poor point source for your tank at close distance.

ALso consider the fact that the SLS ROIII and PFO pendants were not tested at 150W. I would venture to say from reading other reviews and test results, that they are far ahead of the NOVA II and Regent. Sanjay himself stated that the NOVA II needed better reflectors.

The Regent matched pretty evenly with the NOVA II in the 150W class. The NOVAII refelctors in the higher wattage classes did not fair so well. This further provides some insight on their performance as compared to other "designs".

Maybe with some proding, Sanjay would test the 150W pendants with the same bulbs and ballasts to show the acutal differences between each product.
 
Rich I agree that cheaping out on reflectors is wasting money. I would much rather get all of the light I need from two reflectors at a lower wattage, than upping the wattage and/or the number of lights.

Bean
 
I'm looking at the #s, and to be honest, they don't look that bad.
:confused:???
I'll admit that the 1x1 area is pretty dismal, but beyond that, it isn't half bad all things considered. The above tank that the initial post was asking was a 125g, so really 2x2 would be the best place to look. And, comparing those #s, the DIY appears to be close to all the other ones that cost ~5 times as much. (Unless I am interpreting the data wrong...)

I think for the money, it is a good option for a DIYer. If you use a regent or other reflector, some might say "bah, you are just too cheap to use a real reflector!" But if you got, say, the Giesemann Nova II people would say, "Ohhhh, you got that fancy german-made one." :D I bet you would draw less fire from others about the second purchase, even though it costs hundreds and hundreds more and yields probably equal or poorer results.
 
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