Samc Posted August 7, 2004 Share Posted August 7, 2004 You can attach it to the drywall in the ceiling-they make special drywall hooks that have springs that pop out to secure them in the ceiling. Where in your house do you have a place in the eiling to secure it to? Do you get to choose where exactly your tank goes (I'm pretty sure someone else has a major influence on that decision and if they don't, your lucky)???? Positioning a light and a tank based on some ceiling supports isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world, and these fixtures don't weigh 900lbs (the ballast is remote). Sam Link to comment
nalbar Posted August 7, 2004 Share Posted August 7, 2004 samc, you put the bolt into a support and then 'loop' it over where you want. that way if the drywall fails the light will not fall down. while it 'may hold' anybody who does electrical work (like me) or any contractor (like me) would not EVER put a fixture in without support. this is particularly true with a high heat fixture (MH) over water. 'but its hard' just does not cut it. its not the 90% that it works that matters. its the 10% that it does not work. just like gfci. nalbar Link to comment
myfisharemean Posted August 7, 2004 Share Posted August 7, 2004 For all of that work you might as well buy a bell-pendant, which look pro for $200, lol, but really cool DIY! Link to comment
Samc Posted August 7, 2004 Share Posted August 7, 2004 It really isn't that much work. You can save a bunch of time and just buy the $12 endcaps and mount those in the frame. That makes everything more simple and easy, no dremiling or such. Also, we do contract work and building and the works-so, telling me that you have to find a support because the light COULD fall in the water is B.S-I have had much more success with the drywall hooks holding than finding a beam and screwing in a hook, to find that it can't hold s###t and pulls out-most of the drywall hooks are much better. I understand what you are saying though, and one must be carefull when hanging these things (I hung a 110 watt pc fixture over my 75 with two drywall hooks, they never pulled out and the drywall showed no sign of cracking at all and this 48" fixture weighs easily twice as much as the mh pendant). Sam Link to comment
Deleted User 8530 Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Well I have one ?. CVan you buy like 5000k-70000k Bulbs at HD? I would assume they would be cheaper than the Pet styores bulbs. Link to comment
Maxvan1 Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 were did you get the balast? Link to comment
jmt Posted January 2, 2005 Author Share Posted January 2, 2005 MRK: Probabaly not. MV: eBay Link to comment
Samc Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 You need aquarium specific bulbs to use this over a tank-read above (first port on this page). Sam Link to comment
kbxiong67 Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 Why can't I use this and just get a bulb?? http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US...dgjj.0&MID=9876 Link to comment
CAUSEOFHIM Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 OK I have the same ballast. I'm trying to wire it up but am a bit confused on the wiring. The scematic on the ballast is not clear. Can you post pics on your wiring? Or at least explain what is wired to what. Thanks:( Link to comment
yarquint Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 kbx...your link just goes to HD's page. I haven't seen anything at HD that really works though- they don't sell lights that hit the right K scale, nor do they sell MH ballasts that i've seen anyway. you might find the fixture by regent on there, but a friend has had a very bad time trying to get them to order her one- even if by contract they're required to place an order for her... Link to comment
jmt Posted January 21, 2005 Author Share Posted January 21, 2005 I thought I posted a wiring schematic in another thread, but I guess not. You want to get a 3 prong/3 wire heavy duty cord. Cut it into two sections, leaving enough space for it to be plugged into the wall. The green cord in the ballast is the earth ground. This is very important. Run the green cord will need to run to the ballast case, and then from the ballast case up into the pendant itself. It should be mounted to the metal in the pendant, not the endcaps. The black and white wires are for the alternating current. The black wire will hook up to the 120v "In" wire on the ballast. The lamp wire (usually red), will run from the ballast to one of the endcaps. The white wire will run directly from the wall to the other endcap. That should be it. To test it, throw in the cheap halogen bulb that comes with the light. If it lights, proceed to test it with the DE bulb. If not, check your wiring. Make sure you wipe down the DE bulb in rubbing alcohol prior to firing it up. This is to clean the grease from hands, etc. off, which can cause a premature burnout of the bulb. -jmt Link to comment
MadTownMax Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Originally posted by jmt I've thought about it, but it doesn't bother me any. At leats not right now. Hey dave, have you seen these? http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/m...ode=icespotpend Do a search on RC for "Japanese Tanks" they use Halide spot lighting (Ice Cap's new reflectors are designed for these http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_lighti...ght_pendant.asp?) w/ different K bulbs for different corals so that they can get the best color rendition for each coral's individual color - 20K for greens and blues - 6.5K for yellows/pinks/reds/oranges, etc- of course your lighting set-up ends up costing about $20K -Nick Link to comment
ojyarumaru Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 What does it mean to ground the fixture? Link to comment
ojyarumaru Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 Here are some pix when I diassembled it. Some questions... Why are there 3 wires here? What is the bronze colored one for? Closer pic of the bronze wire..??? Where am I supposed to drill the hole?? I also cut the bracket in half (middle hole).. correct? Link to comment
Samc Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 Bronze wire is a ground. Your ground from fixture to ballast to wall. Their should be a grounding spot on the ballast where both grounding wires come togethor. I THINK you drill the holes in the part that bends. Also need to chip away at the ceraique. I saved myself the trouble and ordered the right mount from hellolights.com, along with my bulb. Still going strong after 8 months. Check the other thread and beggining of this for more details. Sam Link to comment
ojyarumaru Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 What is this.. "ground" or "grounding"? Link to comment
Samc Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 You actually have to pay attention in middle school to understand this.... I won't go into details. Basically, your entire house is wired into the ground (if you have three prong outlets). The third prong is the ground. It is a fire safety thing, and allows any extra electricity from higher usage devices to discharge safely into the ground. Thats all you need to know. In order to wire this thing up, buy two extension cords at lowes, hd, etc. I used a flat cord rated at 15 amps to run to the fixture. At the other end, I used a normal round cord (all black) rated above 15 amps (anything around 15 is fine, don't go lower than 13 though) to connect the ballast to the fixture (a short section, using the female end). The fixture was wired to the flat extension cord, with the female end cut off and used to wire to the endcaps, and the male end run to the ballast. The male end of the round extension cord was used to run to the wall. Follow the wiring diagram on the ballast. In this way, I have a quick disconnect feature built in to my setup. Have fun! Sam Link to comment
ojyarumaru Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 Can I use a cord rated @ 13 amps? I need a reply ASAP. Link to comment
ojyarumaru Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 Can I use a cord rated @ 13 amps? I need a reply ASAP. Link to comment
neanderthalman Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 how 'bout a little quick math. 13A @ 120V is just over 1500W. My quick estimate, a 150W MH would draw under 2A. That cord is plenty big enough, provided it has THREE WIRES. Lack of grounding in your fixture could kill you or cause a fire. Link to comment
ojyarumaru Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 My cord is 13 amp 3 wires. What does "grounding" mean? Link to comment
jmt Posted June 27, 2005 Author Share Posted June 27, 2005 I'm going to have to reccomend that you get an adult to help you. Link to comment
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