Halide lighting?
- Thread starter Gearhead
- Start date
I have not but I know other that have and it is a really bad idea. They run super hot and cost more in electricity to run than a halide made for aquariums. The worst part is they eventually explode due to the moisture rich environment. I had this happen to me first hand when I was changing a bulb a drop os sweat fell in to the housing and I did not worry about it. When the lamp got hot enough to turn the sweat to steam the bulb literally exploded with a loud pop and glass flying everywhere.
You are way better off buying the ones for aquatic use in the long run of it all.
You are way better off buying the ones for aquatic use in the long run of it all.
Here's the deal with mh lighting. Its best used for deep reef tanks and sps corals. You do not run it constantly but, more or less its used with t5's. Basically, your t5's come on for 2-3 hours, mh comes on for 2-3 hrs. then off and, another 2-3 for the t5's to simulate a natural days sun. Because of the heat they conduct, you want them at least 12'' off the waters surface.
I use 2x 150w HQI MH ushio bulbs on my 75g reef tank. I do not use any supplemental lighting to that other than nighttime moonlights. I plan on running only MH on my new 125g reef upgrade to the 75 that is in the works. I just need to find the right setup to make it work. MH is the best lighting (other than possibly LED) you can get for reef tanks. A lot of people have good results with t5, but other than for setups that require a high amount of atinic lighting I would prefer the MH. IF you must go cheap on MH lighting (which, as with all aquarium supplies is usually a bad idea) you can visit www.aquatraders.com You will NOT find lights this cheap anywhere else, probably not even used. Have had a power compact setup from them and been happy with it. I know others that are using their MH, and I actually plan on doing so myself with the 125 bc I am a cheap college kid. 
Those are great price.... I should have done a one of those instead of pc.
FLESHY;4214829; said:I use 2x 150w HQI MH ushio bulbs on my 75g reef tank. I do not use any supplemental lighting to that other than nighttime moonlights. I plan on running only MH on my new 125g reef upgrade to the 75 that is in the works. I just need to find the right setup to make it work. MH is the best lighting (other than possibly LED) you can get for reef tanks. A lot of people have good results with t5, but other than for setups that require a high amount of atinic lighting I would prefer the MH. IF you must go cheap on MH lighting (which, as with all aquarium supplies is usually a bad idea) you can visit www.aquatraders.com You will NOT find lights this cheap anywhere else, probably not even used. Have had a power compact setup from them and been happy with it. I know others that are using their MH, and I actually plan on doing so myself with the 125 bc I am a cheap college kid.
You have to be more specific when you say shop-lights. If you mean the 500W/1000W double ended fixture from home depot then no you can't. You can use commercial fixtures as long as the rating and ballast are correct, IE 175 watt fixture for 175 Watt bulb, and make sure it's metal halide and not high pressure sodium. The heat and enegry produced is the same for the same ballast. This will vary with the type of ballast: transformer-coil, solid state or electronic. The electronic ballasts are most efficient lowest heat but also most expensive. You can not use standard commercial bulbs since the have the wrong spectrum.
Any metal halide bulb will blow up if you get it wet while it's hot. You want to also add a UV shield to an MH lighting set. Regular Plexiglas with a UV rating will work.
I have the 250 watt version fro my 265 amazon river tank. Mainly a cat warming lamp at the moment.
http://homeharvest.com/sunlightsupplySS2Switch.htm
Aquatraders is cheaper than any of the industrial supply catalogs for metal halides.
Any metal halide bulb will blow up if you get it wet while it's hot. You want to also add a UV shield to an MH lighting set. Regular Plexiglas with a UV rating will work.
I have the 250 watt version fro my 265 amazon river tank. Mainly a cat warming lamp at the moment.
http://homeharvest.com/sunlightsupplySS2Switch.htm
Aquatraders is cheaper than any of the industrial supply catalogs for metal halides.
bass_cats;4214631; said:
Not trying to be negative, but good luck with that. Finding a good deal on something used is your best bet.
WOW, that website has incredible prices. Thats half the price i found anywhere else. Thank you soo much.FLESHY;4214829; said:I use 2x 150w HQI MH ushio bulbs on my 75g reef tank. I do not use any supplemental lighting to that other than nighttime moonlights. I plan on running only MH on my new 125g reef upgrade to the 75 that is in the works. I just need to find the right setup to make it work. MH is the best lighting (other than possibly LED) you can get for reef tanks. A lot of people have good results with t5, but other than for setups that require a high amount of atinic lighting I would prefer the MH. IF you must go cheap on MH lighting (which, as with all aquarium supplies is usually a bad idea) you can visit www.aquatraders.com You will NOT find lights this cheap anywhere else, probably not even used. Have had a power compact setup from them and been happy with it. I know others that are using their MH, and I actually plan on doing so myself with the 125 bc I am a cheap college kid.
Windsorguy77;4215038; said:
Generally agree...but...check my link.
bass_cats;4215255; said:
Welcome to the dark side. You owe me huge.