mkriegal Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 so i finally took pics of my diy 70w setup. $40 for the ballast (including shipipng), $21 for the bulb (10k including shipping) and $3 for the socket...not too bad at all (well, i also purchased a dremmel to do this but i needed one anyway). so far it's great and it's much brighter. i have it next to 2x32w pc's (it used to be three, but i took out the middle one and put the mh there) and have them on seperate timers. Link to comment
shouldabenacowboy Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 Are you going to put a piece of UV glass on that? One water splash and say good bye to that bulb. JMO But it looks good SBC Link to comment
mkriegal Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 i might at some point (and throw a fan in there too). for now i have glass over the tank (i have a cat that i don't want getting into the tank) and the fixture is about 6-7" above the tank. frankly, i don't know where to get UV glass or acrylic nor would i know how to cut it (or have the tools). Link to comment
epicfish Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 i might at some point (and throw a fan in there too). for now i have glass over the tank (i have a cat that i don't want getting into the tank) and the fixture is about 6-7" above the tank. frankly, i don't know where to get UV glass or acrylic nor would i know how to cut it (or have the tools). Is that a retro into a fixture that holds 3 bulbs? I see an extra set of PC bulb clips. <- I read, yes it is. Sorry. Is it a metal or plastic hood? I can't really tell and I want to make sure. I have a Finnex fixture I want to retrofit with a 70W MH. There's one fan in the fixture, but the fixture is also plastic, so I don't know if I should... Also, I have a glass splash shield that says "tempered glass"...does that mean it's UV filtering? Link to comment
mkriegal Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 it was actually a 3 bulb pendant (back from 2001ish when i reefed in high school). it's some company that doesn't exist anymore. 2 of the pc ballasts were connected to one outlet and 1 was connected to another (see the two outlets coming out of it). i just used the wiring for the one ballast and used it on the mh ballast (and kept the extra disconnected ballast in the pendant cause who knows, i may use it again at some point). i just removed the bulb and dremmeled some holes...really easy to do. i think my fixture is plastic but it's thick. it doesn't get too hot but summer is coming soon. also, the ballast is grounded, the nut on the other side holding the ballast on is connected attached to the ground. Link to comment
Anuanu Humu Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 Dont take my word on this... but I believe that all glass is UV filtering. Link to comment
der1311 Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 Dont take my word on this... but I believe that all glass is UV filtering. i think its all acrylic is uv filtering.. glass needs a special coating. Link to comment
epicfish Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 so i finally took pics of my diy 70w setup. $40 for the ballast (including shipipng), $21 for the bulb (10k including shipping) and $3 for the socket...not too bad at all (well, i also purchased a dremmel to do this but i needed one anyway). so far it's great and it's much brighter. i have it next to 2x32w pc's (it used to be three, but i took out the middle one and put the mh there) and have them on seperate timers. Where'd you get the sockets for $3?! Link to comment
mkriegal Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 local hardware store in manhattan (29th st between 2nd and 3rd if anyone is interested). they are for halogen lights and seem like they've been in the store for years but worked perfectly Link to comment
epicfish Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 local hardware store in manhattan (29th st between 2nd and 3rd if anyone is interested). they are for halogen lights and seem like they've been in the store for years but worked perfectly lol. Wanna get me a pair and then mail it to me via first class? =P They're $$ around here. Link to comment
yardboy Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 You can get a special coating on glass that will filter out ALL UV light, but regular glass will do the trick, it's what I used between the joints of my UV glass (which cost a lot extra and which I didn't even need. Link to comment
saibuhi Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 Okay, so I have read all 6 pages here, and still am a little confused over something. I apologize if this is a really dumb question, but I'm a little stumped. I'm gathering funds to do this project, but I have to ask: Where are you putting your ballasts? These ballasts look relatively large and bulky, and it doesn't seem like they will fit bolted onto the standard floodlight. Are you putting them under the tank or something? If so, how do you hide the wires? *Gah~ Edited to fix some grammar errors. Silly me. Link to comment
BruiseAndy Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 The ballasts I sold will fit in a lot of hoods as they are the mini squares (3"*3.5"*1.5"). Otherwise you can remote mount them up to 12' away or further depending on wire gauge. Link to comment
Mavvy Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Okay, I'm gonna resurrect this thread. I just realized I have an Advance electronic 70W MH ballast, here, at my disposal, and I seem to recall there being some 70W DE 14IK and 20K bulbs in a closet at work (I think I left 'em there from a MUCH earlier project), along with some UV glass from an old pendant. Will this bad boy retro into a JBJ 6G nanocube? I gots fans...both the set of two that came already installed with the 54W system, and a few extra. And I can get to either Lowe's or HD in a minute for the parts to use as the endcaps. (Man...I'm getting STOKED!) Link to comment
Qwank Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Okay, I'm gonna resurrect this thread. I just realized I have an Advance electronic 70W MH ballast, here, at my disposal, and I seem to recall there being some 70W DE 14IK and 20K bulbs in a closet at work (I think I left 'em there from a MUCH earlier project), along with some UV glass from an old pendant. Will this bad boy retro into a JBJ 6G nanocube? I gots fans...both the set of two that came already installed with the 54W system, and a few extra. And I can get to either Lowe's or HD in a minute for the parts to use as the endcaps. (Man...I'm getting STOKED!) i've done a 12g & a 24g but never a 6g. i bet it will work though. Link to comment
ks2 Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Qwank is that a piece of glass you have stuck where the mh is ? Is the rest of it perspex ? Also do you not get an increase in water temp assuming the lid sits close to the water surface ? Link to comment
Mavvy Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 i've done a 12g & a 24g but never a 6g. i bet it will work though. Okay...looking at the Regent enclosure, I THINK I can do the following: 1. cut the reflector down JUST enough to attach/screw the reflector and lampholder (NOT the cast metal casing) into the area where my middle PC lamp is (heck, it's a cheap enough test...about eleven bucks) 2. if so, then I'll cut a square area out of the plastic light shield in the hood and silicone the glass that came with the Regent fixture to the shield 3. remotely attach the the ballast, which will be inside the cabinet below the tank (gonna get one from Ballastwise-I'm using the Advance on my desktop 2.5G's 70W MH conversion that I started before getting back to THIS project). I've already modded the fans, and I have an external nano-chiller that I can use, with my empty Eheim canister as a medium-flow pumping unit...I'll Dremel inlet/outlet holes for the appropriate hoses in the back of the hood portion's frame. THIS...is gonna be FUN!! Link to comment
Th3 outkast Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 has anyone done this to a 29 gal BioCube? I really wanna do this to my BC and be able to put it into a stock BC hood. Link to comment
prugs Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Anyone seen theses reflectors? I bought the one I have from www.illuming.com They must have gone out of business, I get no replies back when emailing Jorge at his email addy either. I sure would like to buy another. Link to comment
tmn_3 Posted September 20, 2010 Share Posted September 20, 2010 I have a question for the people that have done this DIY project and have had it up and running over their tank for a least a few months. How is the light working and are you getting the outcome that you expected from it? For those that are growing SPS, are you getting good growth? Do you feel that this DIY project is just as good as the expensive MH retrofits? Sorry for all the questions, but I am interested in adding MH to my Biocube 29 hood and I want to make sure that this DIY project is worth the time and the money. Thanks Link to comment
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