Upgrade to 70 watt MH, help please?

B

bennerkla

Active member
As some of you might now, my 5.5 nano died, and now I'm trying to figure out some stuff to make it better. First off, I would like to upgrade from 76 watts of PC to a 70 watt Metal Halide.


inside.jpg



I will rip all of that PC and ballasts out. I'm a rookie to MH lighting, I know you need a UV filter, and the bulbs and ballasts are separate. Other than that, I need some help. About how much would it cost to upgrade this hood?

Thanks for the help!

Ben
 
You can find very nice pfo mini hqi pendants that will cost you about 100 dollars. An IceCap metal halide electronic ballast will be 105 dollars, and the bulb- 60 to 80 dallars.

hope this helps
 
I picked up the pieces to DIY a MH 70w for about 80 bucks all inclusive.

ballast - $25 ebay
bulb - $30 LFS
fixture - $9 Home depot
wire, wire nuts, tape, misc stuff ~ $10 Home Depot
 
Thanks for the replies. Impur, could you post the brand names you picked up? I learned the hard way about buying cheaply the first time, but will an $80 setup work? What fixture did you buy at Home Depot? Any picture?

Thanks,

Ben
 
That ballast is similar to mine, mine is made by Advance. Its the tar one like that though, they will work fine, just larger.

Here is a ballast for sale

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=846254


I don't have pics of the setup as its not put together yet. The fixture is a 500w halogen fixture that I will mod. There is a thread about it on N-R.com with step by step pics. I'll try to find the link for you.

FYI, just a normal piece of glass will block the UV.
 
Well I was hoping to attach it to the flip-top of my canopy, so I wouldn't really need a pendant, or would I? If I bought that ballast from eBay, and the blub, I would need something to put the bulb into, maybe something I can screw to my canopy. Where does HQI come into play?

Sorry for the newb questions, thanks,

Bennerkla
 
You could use it for sure, well depends on if your canopy is tall enough. Otherwise you could just rip out the reflector, endcaps, and wiring and use that. Just affix a piece of glass between the bulb and water.

That ballast you linked on ebay is HQI. It runs the double ended bulbs.

Did you check out that retro kit at prolighting? Looks like a good deal for me.

Here is a pic of the fixture i'll be using. Its like 9.41 or something at home depot

http://www.doityourself.com/invt/6745988#
 
I saw the retro kit, does that include a place to put the blub? If so, all I would have to buy would be that kit and a bulb, correct? As well as the UV protection.

I don't think I could put that fixture in my canopy.
 
Yah. The reflector doesn't look all that great. But if your looking for inexpensive that'd be it.
 
I can't really see that pic too well, does it house a double ended bulb? 50 + the bulb seems mighty cheap, maybe I should just give it a shot?
 
i'd say go for it, (that way i'll know whether or not to get it lol), btw, what're you doin' w/ your old coralife fixture and hood?, and what corals are you planning on keeping
 
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