Shaz Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 I was browsing through ebay for metal halide fixtures for me and I came across this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...3836320351&rd=1 It is a 400 Watt Metal Halide High Bays fixture. There are 70 available, and it says that they were just removed from a two year old, upscale retail facility. They are only $41.55 a piece, this seems liek a great dea lto me, but im new at MH and there might be a reasoning behind it... this quote i took from the item's desciption might be why they are cheap... "These fixtures were just removed as part of an energy efficiency fixture upgrade project and every single one of them were working just fine when dismantled. The lamps in the fixtures have a rated life of 20,000 hours. According to the original building plans, these fixtures were installed in December of 2002 and the business operated approximately 4130 hours annually. According to these numbers, these lamps have approximately 50% of their rated life remaining." The other thing that I can't tell for sure is if they include bulbs... if anyone looks at it, is there anything that im missing indicating if bulbs are included? If they were at 50% wear, and i could get 50% more wear out of them, what happened when they get all the wear that they can handle?... can you fix them or would I pretty much have to get a new fixture. Even if they are at 50% wear, I could buy four and use 2 at a time and get about 2 years out of each pair. I would still be saving a lot of money it seems like.. And if I had to buy the bulbs (if they are NOT included) wouldnt it sitll be worth it.? If there is anyone out there who knows a lot on this topic, I would love ot hear your opinion. Hopefully I finally found a good deal... :) :) ;) edited to add: The tank I would be doing is eitehr a 50 or 55 gallon (36" long or 48" long) Would 2 of these fixtures be good for these size tanks? Link to comment
Angel Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 I seem to remember a thread on a similar or same one listed on ebay not to long ago. I will see if I can find it real quick, but if I remember correctly, it was advised against because of the kelvin or something of that nature. Hopefully I can find it. Link to comment
Angel Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 I cannot find the thread that I was referring to. That deal actually sounds to good to be true and you know what they say about that. Maybe someone else will be of more assistance with this particular light. Link to comment
melbourne Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 They are M59 ballasts so you could can buy new SE bulbs for them and wire up the power cord and be good to go. Not sure how efficient the acrylic reflector is - probably not the best setup for a reef tank. A SE 400W 10k XM bulb will run you about $50. If you're paying for your electricity I would invest in a better reflector - since running a 400W does cost quite a bit. I run a 400W SE on my prop system. -Mike Link to comment
Shaz Posted September 2, 2004 Author Share Posted September 2, 2004 Would you suggest NOT buying this, or could i tweak it up to make it work good? Is it worth it? Link to comment
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