Lighting Blew, Need some HELP

[superfirefly]

My situation is this.

I just walked into my tank room and saw that my lights were not on. After fiddling with it for a bit, it appears that the ballast has blown. It is an Odyssea system so I am not at all surprised. Of course this happened when I was not prepared to make a large purchase like lighting. So I have a few questions.

The tank is a 30G softie tank that has been under 192W of PC ligth.

How long can my tank go without lights before the corals start to get affected?

Marino has a 400W MH system for sale. Is there anything I can do to my tank that I can use this system without totally frying all inhabitants?

If so is there anything else I need to worry about with that system, I really know very little about MH?

If I can not use his lighting, does anyone know of a good setup I can get for around the same price?

I am leaving for a wedding in an hour or so, so I will not be able to check responses until that time.

TIA

 

[saltyunderground]

I know that Marine Solutions has some used lighting on a table in the front of the store. Call Dwayne and ask him if he has anything cheap you can use to get you through.

 

[hagfish]

Did you check the connections to the bulbs? Mine were terrible and they'd come loose frequently. Sometimes if one came loose they'd all go out. And it wasn't always easy to get them back on.

 

[hagfish]

I kept softies in my old 20 gallon with 2 NO lights for about 2 months. I know I had GSP and shrooms. I'm not sure if I had anything else. Everything looked great actually. So if you don't come up with anything else maybe try that just to get by.

 

[chadfarmer]

i would let you borrow my metal halide or some t5

i have a 2 bulbs 24 inch t5 retro if need to borrow some lighting

 

[superfirefly]

Thanks Chad, I appreciate the offer. I hopefully I can find something quick enough that I will not need to borrow lighting from anyone. If I have trouble finding something I may contact you.

Hagfish, I agree that mushrooms and GSP's would be fine with NO but I am worried that my GBTA would not last long like that.

I think I will take a trip to GWA and Marine Solutions today and see what I can find.

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[superfirefly]

I just remebered I have a $100 Gift Card to Home Depot. Do they sell any type of MH system that I could make work with my aquarium?

 

[Mykayel]

I have a 175 MH retrofit kit that I put over my 30g tank and I'm very happy with it. I got it from hellolights.com. I went with an electronic balast because they are more effiecient, the bulbs will last longer, and they will fire any type of bulb (I was confused with the probe or pulse start of the magnetic balasts). The only "problem" with doing a MH retro on a 30g tank is that the reflector is longer than the tank is front to back. This wasn't a problem for me as I just it overhang past the back. You'll need to build a hood with this set up though which I just made out of plywood that I coated with polyurathane.

If I were you, I'd look at proper lighting for your tank as the something at HD won't be in the right spectrum. If you want to buy something temporaryly at HD I'd just buy a normal shop light and hang it over the tank (or just set it on the top).

I also have a 36" Odyssea PC light that I'm not using tha I could sell you but I live in Rolla and you'd have to come and get it.

 

[superfirefly]

Thanks for the help everyone and I would also like to thank Letmegrow and Markk96 for helping me decide to do a 150 or 175 MH retro.

Does anyone have hood plans or pictures I could see to get some ideas. This will be my first real DIY project for my tank so wish me luck.

What kind of bulbs does everyone recommend? Which are the best brands and what color will make the corals look their best? I do plan to replace the ballast on my PC lights also so I can use them as supplements if that is even recommended.

 

[Mykayel]

Here's my hood, nothing fancy but it works:

I originally had the front partially open, similar to how my PC ficture was but it let too much light out.

So I added a new front with some doors (that need some magnets to keep them totally closed)

I left the top partially open and the back completely open to allow better airflow. I bought some cheap 120mm fans off of ebay that have blue LED lights in them, I plan on adding a second on on the other side.

 

[superfirefly]

Thanks for the Pics Mykayel. It appears that your ballast is inside the hood. Do you have any trouble with moisture? Also what kind of bulb are you running? I really like the color in the pics.

Also it appears you you mounted the fixture facing front to back instead of side to side. Is there a reason you choose to do it this way? Just curious since I have never done this before.

 

[superfirefly]

I forgot to ask. What is your bulb to water distance and are you happy with it.

 

[Mykayel]

The bottom of the bulb is about 9" off the surface of the water; I'd say I'm happy with it.

I haven't had any issues with moisture but I'v always ran at least one fan, the small one blowing accross the water's surface as you can see in the third picture.

I mounted the bulb the way I did as that's how I saw everone doing theirs and it made more sense with how the reflector's designed.

I am using a CoralVue 10k bulb http://www.thereefstop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_22_95_30&products_id=57

 

[vishboy]

How "Blue" would you say the Coralvue is? Just curious.

 

[Mykayel]

The 10k that I have really isn't that blue... it definately has a tint of blue but it is more of a white color. I plan on trying to toss a couple of PC actinics in there to get a little more blue look ant to get that "glow" that the actinics give.

 

[superfirefly]

I was thinking about the reflector all wrong. I am use to florescent which you always mount long ways. It looks like point source light is going to take some getting use to. Thanks for the info.

 

[Mykayel]

yeah, its a little confusing at first, but I don't think I'll ever go back just for the fact that I love the shimmer lines of the MH.

 

[chadfarmer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7590427#post7590427 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mykayel
yeah, its a little confusing at first, but I don't think I'll ever go back just for the fact that I love the shimmer lines of the MH.

I SAID THE SAME THING


did you get a new light?

 

[superfirefly]

Not yet, I am still trying to figure a few things out. In the mean time I have taken the 48" 220W PC from my freshwater tank and I am using that. It looks a little ghetto since it hangs way off both ends but it is getting me by.

 

[superfirefly]

With Markk96's much appreciated help I purchased a new lighting system today.

I ordered:

Reef Optix 2 Retrofit Reflector
- Sunlight Supply Socket Assembly Socket W/Cord

Blue Wave 1 250W Ballast Pulse Start
- Sunlight Supply Integrated Timer

Coralvue 14K 250W Single Ended Mogul

Now I must see how good I am at wood working. It has been a while but I am sure it will all come back.

My fiance wants it to look nice so does anyone have any suggestions on a type of wood that is light but sturdy and will still look nice.