CHEAP Metal Halide at LOWES

[Dewman]

I'm not sure is anyone else on this board has a LOWES near them (just like Home Depot), anyway, they carry a Sylvania Metal Halide that are the cheapest Ihave seen anywhere. 175 watt for $20
250 watt for $25, 400 watt bulbs for $30. I looked on the package and it didn't give me color temperature just lumens. Has anyone ever used one of these bulbs?

 

[FishDaddy]

Hi DEWMAN,
All the ones I've seen or heard from others is that these bulbs are 4300k.
Dick

 

[cheapreefer]

Yes, I've used them. In a fixture outside my house. They are maybe 4200k and very yellow, not to mention much larger than aquarium bulbs. I just wish they sold a fixture for these bulbs so i could scam the ballast and reflector. They carry 175MV lamps for $25, if they had a 250w version I'd try it with a iwaski bulb. Has anyone seen a cheap 250w MV fixture anywhere?

 

[jdamon]

cheapreefer, I looked into getting a cheap balast from all kinds of places and I found that it is impossible. There is some sort of deal going where the stuff we use for our tanks is "Special" and therefore expensive. I once inquired about the metal halides used for sports arenas and the ones they use in Home Depot to light the store, and the only reply was that they are commercial and therefore you have buy a bunch of them and you have to be a contractor. My dad works for the electric company, so I tried getting an old street light, but they are all High Pressure Sodium, which is orange, and the ballasts are not interchangable. I think the hobby retailors have us by the balls.....

 

[Dewman]

I can get a 250 watt MH ballast from our contractors electrical supply house for $40. they are quiet too. Almost no humm. I will find out what the name of the ballast is when i pick it up.
I am going to get one and try to find the cheapest bulb I can. I have found a good reflector though, it's a steel mixing bowl from Wal-Mart that is extremely shiney. Coupled with a ceramic base and a couple of spacers, this should make for a fairly attractive pendant.

 

[Anonymous]

I was just in a Lowes and they didn't have anything of the sort. The best I found were those evil incandescent halogens. You didn't get a part number did you?

 

[jdamon]

Dewman, can the regular Joe get a hold of one of these balasts. You say your contractor, I don't have one of those.

 

[Dewman]

Man, I'm serious. They have them. Ask an associate. they are in green boxes.

I'm not a contractor, I said I can pick them up at the contractors supply house. It's just a big supply house for professional electricians. The general public can buy from them too. My money is just as green as anyone elses

[ February 05, 2002: Message edited by: DEWMAN ]</p>

 

[Anonymous]

DEWMAN- Any chance they do 400 watt ballasts? Is it like a Greybar you're going to?

-Greg

 

[MattM]

The inexpensive metal halide lamps found at Home Depot and Lowes are in the 3000K - 4200K range. Over a tank, they will look ghastly orange. There is not enough actinic blue fluorescents on the plant to clean them up.

Go ahead and try it, but you have been warned!

 

[ZigZagZombie]

Will these bulbs that are in the 4200k range cause a alge outbreak???

 

[davelin315]

You can get the fixtures with ballast at Home Depot, but they are very large and bulky. If you look up at the ceiling, there is a large reflector and on top of that a box, which houses the ballast. These lights are HUGE! Not worth it, IMO, although I suppose you could chop it up and retrofit it, but by then, it'll cost you just as much as buying a premade fixture or a retrofit kit. The other alternative is to buy from a hydroponics/greenhouse supplier. They sell MH fixtures at a pretty cheap price ranging from very low wattage up to 1000W (the bulbs on these suckers are over a foot and a half long last I saw), but you still would probably want to replace the bulb due to the color temp (bulbs cost almost as much as the fixture itself). I have read that your corals will do fine under these lower temp lights, but it'll be a very unattractive sight. I suppose you could combine it with a tanning bed light and offset the yellow color, but by then, you've spent so much damn money that you might as well have bought a commercial system.

 

[Dewman]

If you have a basic working knowledge of electricitY. Buying your own ballast and bulb and putting together your own light shouldn't be hard.

The light fixtures from Home Depot will not drive a MH light to it's full potential. MV ballasts will not either.

Greg-
When I say electrical supply outlet, I mean, it is a private company that caters to contractors and builders. I am sure there are hundreds of small "Mom and Pop" shops like this all across the country. I am sorry, but I have never heard of Greybar.

I have decided to buy a bulb from an online source. It will still save a ton of cash buying the ballast myself and constructing the fixture.

 

[Mac1]

Advanced makes a ton of different ballasts, and have a model that fire's 175, 250 and 400 Watt bulbs. I have a friend currently running a 400 watt 10K (German) lamp, and another running 250's Iwasaki's. I run a 175 Watt MH over my refugium with an Advanced Ballast. Works just fine. I've run 10K and a 5500K lamp with it, in a standard mogul socket. I've no idea the make or model, or what's required to get these things working. I had a friend hook it all up for me (and got the ballast).
I can't even get you the model# of the ballast, the sticker's all worn off. But it does work.
My advice would be to find someone with advanced electrical knowledge, or try some of the DIY places on the 'net. There's also a ballast for PC bulbs by Advanced as well, just I've never used it.

- Mac

 

[shawnhowerton]

I bought my 250 watt mh ballast off ebay for $55 including shipping. For my next diy lighting job, I will be purchacing my ballast from:
http://www.1000bulbs.com

they have 175,250,400 watt MH ballast kits for about $40

I have used the home depot MH bulb. Very orange/yellow and LARGE.

good luck

 

[Ben1]

Probably a year ago on this site there was a disscusion on using these bulbs with theatrical lighting filters. Using these bulbs with a blue filter gives off a better color temp but reduces the light they give off.

 

[bioscot]

At aquaticlight.com you can get a 175w mh ballast for 75 dollors and that includes a 4300 bulb that can be upgraded. Their bulb prices are average but i havent seen a better ballast price.

 

[Anonymous]

I just got back from our largest electrical supply outlet in the area, and I use area loosley, and they didn't have anything worth wanting. In fact, determined as I was to walk out with a new set of goodies to make my lights out of, they talked me out of buying DIY MH supplies from them. And they didn't have anything for VHO.

 

[Jeff Southernwood]

I just ordered a 400W ballast from 1000 bulbs today. They have them listed on their site for $41.93. I talked to the owner today and he said he sells alot of ballasts to reefers. For the price I figured it was worth a try. If I like them I will order some more. Thier site says they come with a 5 year warranty. http://www.1000bulbs.com/

 

[Anonymous]

I found these lights for a great price on the web:

Hydroponics Lights

The bulb base doesn't look as though it is the right size for a mogul. Do they have standard to mogul converters? I know they have the reverse for about a buck at the hardware store.

-Greg