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 I get back.

TIA

 

[philagothos]

Your corals should be ok for a couple of days without light, but I wouldn't want to go more than 3 or 4 days.

If you are much of DIYer you could probably make a trip to Home Depot or some place similar and get a ballast pretty cheaply and just replace the ballast. If you're not much of DIYer, maybe you can find someone that can help. You could also look around for a pair of Workhorse 5 ballasts, or a single WH7.

The MH will be insanely bright, probably too bright for softies. You can try getting several (6-7) layers of screen and cover the tank with that. Start with about a 2 or 3 hour photo period. Increase it by an hour or so each week and remove one layer of screen each week. However, that is a TON of light and I'm not sure softies can handle that much. I would look for another solution.

HTH,
-Kevin

 

[Lost His Marbles Name]

175MH or 250MH at the most. Nook has a 29G with a 250MH over it. Look at his pics. He is going with sps though.

 

[TWINPEAKS]

I would just replace the ballast,you can repair the light for around $30.00

 

[superfirefly]

I like the idea of replacing the ballast especially at $30. I do not mind DIY I just do not know much about ballasts. I assume I just need to go to the hardware store and find a 192W PC ballast. Is that correct and is there anything else I need to watch out for.

 

[TWINPEAKS]

TRY BALLASTWISE.COM OR SEARCH WORKHORSE BALLASTS ON GOOGLE you should find some info on how to size the ballast and wiring diagrams.You can also try your local lighting contractor for a ballast.They will probable need to see the old one to size it.

 

[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?

 

[dela]

HD and Lowes do not carry those ballasts!

 

[philagothos]

If you go with 2 WH5 ballasts you will be able to control them independently for the dawn/dusk effect. The WH7 will be cheaper, but all lights come on and off at the same time.

Here's the comparable ballasts from Ballastwise.com:
1x96w ($11.99x2) - http://ballastwise.com/item.asp?PID=67&FID=1&level=0
2x96w ($16.99x1) - http://ballastwise.com/item.asp?PID=68&FID=1&level=0

I don't know if these come with the wiring harnesses or not, but you can't beat the prices. Best of luck.

-Kevin

 

[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.