has anyone used this light?

[erikgsxr66]

I am trying to find a cheap and effective alternative to light my 125 gallong tank oposed to buying over priced fixtures can anyone tell me if this light will work ok and if the bulbs for $32 on ebay are fine to use? they offer 13000k.15000k and 20000k
any help would br greatly apreciated and please dont bash me because im on a budget


http://www.ebay.com/itm/400-watt-13...327?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a023c4f4f



http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-HTGSupply-400-watt-Metal-Halide-Grow-Light.asp

 

[Lorenz725]

I dont think anyone is going to bash you on this site for being on a budget in fact most of us are on budgets. The e bay bulbs have been talked about many times there is a thread that talks all about them and it will be your choice if you want to give them a try.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=924715&highlight=ebay+bulbs

Now not to sure about the fixture but if you can wait and build up your post there are some really good deals on RC for sale forum. I got my MH set up's brand name stuff for $100 for each set up. Good luck!

 

[allsps40]

I would not use that light or that bulb. Check ebay for other MH fixtures, Oddysea fixtures are not to bad if money is tight. Ebay Pulse Rite bulbs are pretty good from what I hear. I used the Oddysea bulbd and they are OK at best.

 

[erikgsxr66]

thank you lorenz, that sounds like a great deal, how many posts do I need for the forsale forum ?

 

[aandfsoccr04]

90 day member with 50 meaningful posts.

 

[erikgsxr66]

allsps what is wrong with that fixture? what should I be looking for instead?

 

[Lorenz725]

50 posts and a member for 3 months but looks like you got that covered. Just saw Someone has a 250W MH pendent for sale with 5 months old bulb for $150 shipped. Deals like this pop up all the time.

 

[erikgsxr66]

can someone give me a reason why I shouldnt use this ballast?

 

[erikgsxr66]

??? anyone?

 

[fishgate]

That fixture looks great to me. If you take "for aquarium use" out of the description, the price tends to drop a lot. Since it comes with a 2 year warranty and 1 year on the bulb, I'd say that looks pretty good. I am bookmarking it and when I am ready to do corals, will revisit it.

 

[erikgsxr66]

thanks thats what I was thinking, just because it dosnt say fish tank its cheaper. The only thing I want to know is can I use some of the more expensive bulbs in that ballast?

 

[sirreal63]

If you are going to put that over a normal 6'-125 gallon tank...you may want to re-think it. First of all, it is 400 watts...way too much for that shallow of a tank. Second, the reflector is designed to spread light and with a narrow 125, you will have to keep the light much closer to the water surface, not a good idea for a 400 watt bulb. Third, the reflectors are huge and not aesthetically appealing, if you are going to go with an industrial fixture, I would go with a 250 watt or 175 watt fixture over a 125. 400 is just not economical, can photoinhibit corals over a shallow tank and you are paying extra for electricity that isn't doing anything good for the tank. Heat management will be harder and that will require more electricity .

There are better options than what you linked. I understand budget minded, but do some more research and look some more.

 

[96p993]

^^^ +100

You really need to re-read this post several times. There is so much more that goes into buying a light than just initial cost. Sitting down and understanding operating costs, evaporation, chilling costs, spread of light, etc. After doing your homework you might want to rethink your direction and intent...

 

[erikgsxr66]

ok I guess I should give you a little history on my tank before anyone can give me a good opinion. it is a 6' long 125 that is in the wall so it dosn't matter what the lights look like,Ihave a room behind the wall with a 120 gallon rubbermaid tub as my sump refugium.
the tank has a cheap odysea style light over it right now with 3 250 watt halides and also 260 watts of pc and I was thinking two 400 watt mh would actually be less wattage usage then the fixture i have now,and couldnt I just raise them off the water to keep from burning the corals? the reflector that comes with that kit is 19" x 16.5" i thought I could turn it long ways and two would take care of the whole tank...do you think 3 250s would be the better way to go? and to me i thought 3 ballasts would put off more heat then 2 either way i do not have a problem with temps

 

[sirreal63]

Yes, you can raise them, but with a fixture designed to grow plants and spreads the light out, the higher up you go, the less light actually hits the tank. A 250 watt bulb in a decent fixture will work so much better than that Oddysea unit, those things don't put out a lot of light. I ran my old 125 with 150 watt DE 10K bulbs and got better growth than I did with 250 watt 10K DE's, the fixture made the difference. Something else to consider...the Oddysea is an electronic ballast, (crappy one, but it is still electronic) and will use less electricity than that 400 watt magnetic ballast.

 

[erikgsxr66]

sirreal,
yeah i didnt think about that fixture that way,
soo is there fixtures you could suggest that are comparable in price? or a different reflector I could use? they also offer digital or magnetic 250 watt mh very reasonable. but if there is somthing else out there comparable in price im open to it.
I cant really afford a whole lot more and I need to get rid of the fixture i have asap

 

[sirreal63]

The sad part is no, not at that price point. if I were on a limited budget, I would buy 3 reflectors, used if possible, and gut the Odyssea unit. I bought LumenArcs Mini's but you an also use LumenBrites (but I would raise them to at least 14-16" as they are spotlight reflectors) or any of the newer better focused reflectors. Use the Odyssea ballast and replace it later down the road. You will have the benefit of better reflectors, which is where the most gains come from compared to the Odyssea ones. You can continue to use your existing bulbs and do away with the PC's...they just add heat and use too much electricity. You can certainly still use them, but I would either change to T5's or go with a different MH bulb to get the look you want.

Craigs List or a local reef club will help in finding used reflectors and equipment in general. Some one is always upgrading or changing things around.