Metal Halide fixture from electrical supply store???

[stano]

Question 1
Can someone explain to me why it is such a terrible idea to use an outdoor completely sealed commercial fixture over a reef aquarium? The fixtures I have been looking at, seem to be exactly what I want. They are sealed, they have tempered glass covers, they have a very nice mounting bracket, and they are completely self contained. I have not really got a straight answer as to why these fixtures should not be used. Obviously these fixtures are being used all over the place in other applications a lot more extreme than above an aquarium? BTW I have no heat issues as my aquarium is built into a wall with a large open space above and behind the tank. My fixtures will be hanging above with no hood at all.

Question 2
Can somebody tell me which bulb socket is the most common in the aquarium trade? I want to use proper bulbs (175 or 250 not sure yet) and I see both medium base and mogul base being used.

 

[Anonymous]

Hello Stano, and Welcome to Reef.org! :wink:

These fixtures will be fine.

Most MH have mogul base, but some are availalbe in medium. See the variety offered for sale at Champion. I'd go with mogul base since there are more bulb choices.

Louey

 

[stano]

Louey

Thanks for the comments. I am glad to hear somebody recognize that maybe we (aquariusts) might have some options. I talked to a guy at champion (very helpfull) and he suggested that as long as the fixture has a M59 type ballast that most all MH bulbs should work just fine. He also suggested as you did that the mogul base was the way to go. He did however have a bit of reservation in that I think it is safer for him to give the generic answer that he can't be 100% positive...I don't blame him for that. Any other comments are welcome, I don't want to blow a bunch of cash if somebody has already been down that road and had problems.

Thanks again
Stano

 

[Anonymous]

I have one of these fixture over my 110 gal tank. I gathered that "self-contains" means that the fixture contains the ballasts and houses the bulb. The issue with that is weight. For my canopy, it is just too heavy to have both the bulb and ballast on it, so what I did was to removed the ballast and mount it in an old computer case. The fixture now contains nothing but the bulb, glass cover, and some wiring.

Obviously if the weight is not an issue, there is no need for the modification.

 

[skkyy]

Could you possibly remove the original bulb and replace it with the other type aquaria bulbs.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes Skkyy, that is exactly what you would do. Replace the original bulb with a 10K Ushio, or other color if you prefer.

Louey

 

[greenb]

Hmm would you mind telling what fixture you are using and possibly where you got it from???

Thanks
Bob

 

[skylsdale]

^ BUMP ^

 

[Modo]

Just to support what these guys are saying...go for it.

Actually all the MH's that I use are all built from bare ballast and parts from the local electrical house. The only stipulation in any of this is that your bulb matches your ballast and that it is wired safely.

The only other problem you may have is rust if the enclosure is metal. But, usually these are painted and pretty much weather proof.

 

[Anonymous]

The sealed fixtures you are talking about will work, but not only are they big and heavy, if you don't remove the ballasts they will heat the hell out of your tank. So by the time you make all the changes, its easier and cheaper to just buy the ballast, a mogel socket and some wire. You can locate the ballasts in a convient place away from the tank, put your sockets into either a hood or pendents and have a superior system.