west hills pet center

[jamesd74]

i stopped in there today and was looking for an aqua lifter pump stumbled accross a 72" mh light didnt catch the brand or wattage but it was used and looked rough. so i asked what they wanted for it and the girl behind the counter told me (with a straight face) 800. anyone else think that is alitle high concidering it would need all new hqi bulbs and pc's. and also it would need a heavy cleaning it was pretty bad.

 

[NaClH2Opgh]

Some of the Maristar fixtures go for $1,200. For me I wouldn't even pay $800 for a new setup because I would rather use DIY for a fraction so IMO, unless it was cast in gold or platinum that is way too high. It would mostly depend on the manufacturer.

 

[Mark 75g]

I wouldnt say you can DIY for a fraction of the price. I bought a 72in maristar fixture for my 175g.

I priced it out and it would have been the same money or even more for everything i got as a package deal. I paid $1500 for the fixture. 3 mh with 14k phoenix bulbs, 3 250w galaxy ballast, 4 39w t5 bulbs and ballast and all came in a nice fixture with fans. Maristar is built by sunlight supply.

It all depends what you want for your tank.

 

[cloakerpoked]

I DIY'ed my MH for much less than what you'd pay retail. Particularly for a used fixture, that is a little high, but if you ask me, retail is usually pretty high for saltwater equipment. As Mark pointed out..."sticker price" can be very high on 3x250w HQI fixtures (usually with t5 actinic suppliments in the newer ones.)

I'm with Paul. I have a totally working (although not brand new) 2x250w SE ballast I paid $125 for with reflectors. Granted they're not expensive reflectors, but with new bulbs, I set it up on my 120 for about $250. No way you could come even close to that if you buy a pre-made fixture. $600-$800 for a 2x250. I consider that a fraction of the cost.

 

[NaClH2Opgh]

I wouldnt say you can DIY for a fraction of the price. I bought a 72in maristar fixture for my 175g.

I priced it out and it would have been the same money or even more for everything i got as a package deal. I paid $1500 for the fixture. 3 mh with 14k phoenix bulbs, 3 250w galaxy ballast, 4 39w t5 bulbs and ballast and all came in a nice fixture with fans. Maristar is built by sunlight supply.

It all depends what you want for your tank.

I am building for my 225 a (3) 250W MH fixture with LED for supplemental lighting and when all is said and done I won't even have half that money in it and last time I checked 1/2 is a fraction...:frog: :lol2: j/k seriously though that is why I listed Maristar and said it depends on the Manufacturer cause if it just needed cleaned up then. I just feel some people get too hung up on names. My dual 250w electronic ballast is generic from China and has been running like a champ for 4 years and cost my $77 shipped. I had the canopy from my 75 so it was a no-brainer for me.

 

[Mark 75g]

Well I guess it all depends on what type of fixture you buy and what type of ballast you get to power that 250watt bulb. I would make sure that your generic ballast from China is actually giving 250 watts of power to that bulb. I heard alot of those ballast way under power the bulbs.

Not really sure where you found brand new fixtures for less than $100 a piece. I looked all over and the Sunlight and other reflectors are at least $130/piece. The bulbs are $60 a piece. Then you have t5 fixture and bulbs and the reflectors for those as well. It starts to add up.

I understand that there are cheap alternatives out there but as long as you get what you are paying for then it works. I would definetly check those ballast to see if they are properly supplying your bulbs.

I spent $400 on an Odyessea light fixture for my 75g which had 2 250w 10k bulbs and 4 compacts and I could tell the craftsmanship and the reflector quality right away. Plus the ballast did put out the proper wattage but they heated up all the time.

 

[cloakerpoked]

I understand that there are cheap alternatives out there but as long as you get what you are paying for then it works. I would definetly check those ballast to see if they are properly supplying your bulbs.

I'd go with results, and from the pictures I saw of Paul's 75g tank, if they aren't powering it fully, then that's the way to go.

To be honest, I think we all get hung up on small differentials of some things like wattage, when really the corals aren't as worried about that as other things like spectrum, placement and especially flow. I don't think that anybody's going to argue that you get a great quality fixture when you buy a Maristar fixture. Where you're going to run into a lot of controversy is when at least some of us (myself definitely in this category) will probably never be able to realistically afford a $1200-1500 light. I hope to someday buy a tank that costs somewhere in that range, but would never have the money to put the same amount into the lighting. There are definitely MUCH cheaper options out there (especially used as the particular item in question is) that will yield tremendous results if you are willing to put the effort into do things like keeping up with your water changes and maintaining your parameters in an acceptable range.

Again, it's a great piece of equipment...but is far from a necessity to enjoy this hobby. I'd argue that your $800 is better spent on lights plus a lot of other somethings...but if you want top notch equipment and that particular fixture is that, then by all means it's a decent deal. Coralife also makes these type of fixtures that can hit 4 digits in some cases new. Back to the OP question though, I guess it all depends on the age of the unit, and the brand of it, and if it is a complete fixture with ballasts, etc (as some of them use remote ballasts.) To buy from a retail outlet with their markup over "hobbyist prices" it very well could be a reasonable price for them to ask.

 

[NaClH2Opgh]

I use a kill-a-watt and my dual is giving my 514 to be exact. No heat as it has an internal fan and runs cool to the touch, not even warm. The reflectors are hydroponics reflectors that I got for $39 each at a store in Cranberry. In the end like Nate said, performance is the key for me. Honestly even if I had the extra $1,500 I would put it toward Coral or the Crosshatch Trigger I want...:inlove: My intention was not to say the Maristar is not worth it because in the end if your happy with it then it is. I was just showing James all the options. I remember when I first posted that I got the generic ballast and reflectors, many posted that the ballast will crap out after a month. I was just starting out in reef so it made no sense for me to spend that kind of cash when I didn't even know if I would be able to keep a reef successfully. DIY, used and shopping for coral at Ray's is the main reason I was able to get into this hobby. My house and kids have eaten up most of my extra cash (if there is such a thing..lol) Again I wasn't saying that the Maristar is a waste of money because even if mine performs as good, the Maristar will look nicer. I just think that we as hobbyists need to keep looking for alternative and cheaper ways maintain our tanks and just because it has a Sunlight Supply sticker on it does not mean that it is the only means to an end.

 

[Mark 75g]

I am with you, at the time i could not find any good deals out there and no used equipment was being sold at the time, so i decided to spend the extra cash and just do it. Like you I have 3 kids and I did not have the time to build a canopy to hold pendants because the wife did not want anything hanging.

By the way Nate, when you getting a bigger tank 180g.:dance:

 

[cloakerpoked]

By the way Nate, when you getting a bigger tank 180g.:dance:

Not soon enough. The next tank will be one of Marineland's deep dimension tanks though I think (either the 4' or 5' model) with starphire panels, unless something else comes out between now and then. I'm not sure how long I'll be living where I am now, so the tank will probably be purchased with the next house, or when it becomes apparent that I can convert the basement room into my fish haven and not have to worry about moving it out of there...ever. Moving's a big enough headache without trying to do it with a 200+ gallon reef system. :strange:

In the mean time, I'll probably be adding a frag tank and an anemone tank to my system upstairs (neither tank being more than 20 or so gallons) sometime later this year. The frag tank is especially a necessity, as my tank now is so crowded that I don't have room for the coral that's in there now, let alone space to add any of the other SPS that I'd like to get.

 

[Mark 75g]

sounds good keep fragging-more for us to buy!!