yarquint Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 I'll throw this out there since I haven't seen it on here before. graybar.com is an electrical supply co. that sells most sizes and wattages of MH ballasts. From what I've read, you can order them by phone, or they often have local dealers-like through a hardware store or electrician supply store. I did not order mine through them, i went through prolighting.com. I got a 150w DE and a 70w DE for $98 total. as long as you know your watts and your ANSI code, you should be able to get what you want. they're magnetic, but I've read good reviews about advance ballasts, so hopefully these'll work out. They also come with an ignitor, which I've seen a lot of places sell them without this part. -hope someone else finds them useful- Link to comment
flugelnuss Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 So what's the verdict on these bulbs? http://www.specialtyoptical.com/catalog/uh...0aq_2931359.htm Can anyone chime in on if they are the same Ushio 70 watt HQI DE bulbs? Link to comment
Perpetual98 Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 That's the Ushio part number. I'm going to be ordering probably around 10 of those bulbs so I'll have some for sale. I can beat the price on that link you posted. Link to comment
flugelnuss Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 Right now I don't really need one, but how much can you beat it by? My bulb is just at 6 months old, so I need to start looking into buying one in the future. Link to comment
Perpetual98 Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 If I order 10 of them, I can probably get them out for around $50 shipped. Link to comment
flugelnuss Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 Can you only get the Ushio bulbs? How about the aqualine? Thanks. Link to comment
Perpetual98 Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 As far as I know, I can only get the Ushio bulbs from an electrical supply house that is an authorized Ushio distributor. I keep hearing about a different bulb that is an Ushio bulb but Ushio doesn't make it. Maybe it's the Aqualine. I haven't been able to track down whether or not the distributor and score those. I'd actually like to try them over my tank. I'm running 70W 10,000K now and I like how nice and white/bright they are. I'm also running a lot of actinic though too. Link to comment
flugelnuss Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 The only gripe I have with my ushio or it could be the aromat ballast is that every once in awhile it will turn off and then turn itself back on. sometimes, it can go months without happening, but then sometimes it happens numerous times in the day. Link to comment
Perpetual98 Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 I haven't noticed anything with my Ushio, but I'm not using an Aromat ballast. I'm using either a Magnetek or Universal, I don't remember which. I've got a WPI and and Aromat at home though that I'm waiting to put to good use. I might be selling 3 or 4 70W ballasts depending on if I get another 120G tank. Link to comment
Littleoceans Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Originally posted by flugelnuss So what's the verdict on these bulbs? http://www.specialtyoptical.com/catalog/uh...0aq_2931359.htm Can anyone chime in on if they are the same Ushio 70 watt HQI DE bulbs? I have been using these bulbs for over 2 years... 3 of them and they work flawlessly.... Littleo Link to comment
redparrotbubbles85 Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 For this project can you use any 70w ballast, and just get a 70w mh bulb that matches the requirements on the ballast? Link to comment
redparrotbubbles85 Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 Sorry for another reply, but on the ballast it says that it runs 70W M98 bulbs. Is M98 a specific tyoe of bulb or are all 70W bulbs this. thanks a lot. Link to comment
Samc Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 M98 is an ANSI code; you have to look at the list to find which code matches which bulb. Their is one available at reefcentral, I believe on the lighting forum, maybe the diy section. Your ballast should fire a 70w double ended bulb; the actual ANSI code is M85. Sam Link to comment
yarquint Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 pacing pacing...i just got my ballasts for my 150w mh diy/McGuyver-ing. hopefully there will be less explosions than on that show, but we shall see. and i scored a $35 XM bulb 10k, off ebay today too, so as soon as that gets here, i'm in bidness. By the way, this is heresy i'm sure, but I actually found southdown sand at my LFS (by local i mean roanoke, va) and didn't think to rinse the silt out...rrrr. totally not worth the amount of work i had to put in to get that silt out of my tank- stirred the silt like crazy, drained the whole thing down, let the silt settle in rubbermaid tubs, then resiphoned out my water back into the tank through standard size airline tubing and a 2l soda bottle...30gallons took a few hours, but clear now... will keep all updated on teh 150 mod... Link to comment
yarquint Posted January 26, 2005 Share Posted January 26, 2005 so got home and opened my box of ballasts...now usually, i expect to see black, white, green wires- or at least wires of different colors...nope- sola ballasts, magnetic- all the wires are white...all of them. all 12 of them...there are individual wires for different voltages, 120, 240, 277 and one more, then there is a wire that runs from the main ballast "box/cube" into the ignitor, half way the wire is exposed and wrapped with a wire coming from the ignitor, so it's kind of like a wire from the box to the ignitor and vice versa, joined in teh middle. This is labled A3, and then there's another wire labled A2 COM. supposedly, these go to the lamp, based on the ghetto diagram, and there's an extra wire, that says "com" on it,, which appears to be teh ground, since it just ends at a dot on teh diagram...I'm going to try and take this to an electrician nearby and ask- or call my uncle electrician, but wondered if anyone had used these before or if it sounds familiar- I have a little electrical knowledge ( I built a working remote control submarine with a real-time camera system that we sent to 100ft down) so i was a little suprised to find such a bizarre wiring set up... Link to comment
Samc Posted January 27, 2005 Share Posted January 27, 2005 Yeah, that is a very bad wiring diagram. That is one reason I suggest going w/ F-can style ballasts, since they have far fewer wires and are easier to wire, plus they are color coded (this one should be as well, sounds like you got jipped on the wire). I would see about getting a better diagram/contacting hellolights.com for some help, and an electrician would be good. Sam Link to comment
jojabis Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 OKay my ballasts came in this week (a little quicker then I expected), I have my fixtures but I need to get bulbs. Will all 150de bulbs be the same size? I ask because a local store carries 150de s in 3000K ??? and I was thinking of getting one just to make sure I cut the endcaps right and to check my wireing. tia, mj Link to comment
Samc Posted February 5, 2005 Share Posted February 5, 2005 As long as it is a metal halide-actually you could just test it on the halogen that comes in the regent, if you want to be sure on cheap bulbs! Sam Link to comment
ProFlatlander15 Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 i've just read the thread, and i would like some input on a 70W over a 10 gal. i think 150 is overkill, but i want my sps to thrive. i was thinking 70w 10K w/ a cheap actinic. Link to comment
yoshiod9 Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 if you want all species of sps to thrive....drop the money for a 150watter in 10k and add actinic. everything will live under that light. Link to comment
ravenmore7 Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 150 watt is fine - it's not any brighter on a 10 gallon than it would be on a 55 gallon. Also, I might recommend the XM bulbs - they have a boat load of PAR. A couple of my montis brightened up big time under them. Link to comment
ProFlatlander15 Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 heat will be a major issue with my tank, that is what i am worried about. i plan on havinf dual fans running when the light is on, because i plan to place the DE bulb inside a canopy... Link to comment
yoshiod9 Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 yeah, you better invest in a chiller...i'm willing to bet the temps are gonna get quite toasty in the canopy! oh, and an auto top off would be a nice touch as well. =) Link to comment
ravenmore7 Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 If you vent the canopy well (fans) there shouldn't be a problem with temps. I built a canopy for my parents tank. It's a standard 29 gallon with dual 70 watt halides and VHO. The lights are behind a pane of glass and I installed the fans in the same area - she's never had an issue with heat. Link to comment
ProFlatlander15 Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 ravenmore7, i was thinking of doing just that. i am going to slide a pane of tempered glass under the bulb and mount the fans in that area so the evaporation will not be as bad, considering how the fans are not cooling the space between the water and MH, but rather the space between the glass and top of the canopy. yoshi, i am trying to think of how to do and auto top off for my tank with it still being hidden from view...look at my pics here and if you have a good idea, lemme know. thanks Link to comment
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