HELP ME DO A DIY METAL HALIDE START TO FINISH

[frank2926]

CAN I GET SOME HELP IN A DIY METAL HALIDE SETUP, DUAL 175.
IM LOOKING TO GO TO ELECTRICAL SUPPLY BUY 2 BALLASTS, BUT WHAT ABOUT CAPACITOR WIRING KIND OF BALLASTS ETC. :?:

 

[liquid]

http://aquarium.union.rpi.edu/articles/DIY_MH.html

That's for a 250 watt or 400 watt DIY halide setup. Marine Depot also sells a DIY halide kit: http://www.marinedepot.com/a_lt_mh_acce ... sp?CartId=

hth

Shane

 

[frank2926]

Thanks you gave me everything I need.

Now if you can tell me how to build a better wife i will be ok

 

[liquid]

LOL, no problem. In regards to the wife: a lot of TLC and a little chocolate go a long way.

Shane

 

[env788]

What are the disadvantages of going the $100 route versus the other site...aside from the labor.
Does using a mercury vapor ballast have any drawbacks?
If you were looking to upgrade lights over a 30 long, would this be a good way to?

 

[Henry M]

depending on what type bulb you want to use the $100 diy may make the bulb burn whiter. I set-up the dual 400watt and run 6500k iwasaki bulbs and they run alittle whiter.

on another note: Are you a member of any local clubs? You can sometimes find good bargins from fellow reefers. I invite you to look at www.maast.org and possible join.


Henry

 

[electric130]

What are the disadvantages of going the $100 route versus the other site...aside from the labor.
Does using a mercury vapor ballast have any drawbacks?
If you were looking to upgrade lights over a 30 long, would this be a good way to?

those ballasts on the $100 page are for MV only. so you could only burn MV bulbs like the iwasaki. if you ever wanted to change to a different bulb, say 250W ushio 10000K MH, you couldn't without going out and buying a MH ballast. you can get a MH ballast and it will fire the saki and other MH bulbs.