How-to: Make your own 70w MH Pendant

[dasstheboss]

im just not sure about the 250w cus thats IMo looks too much. And plus i might just keep corals that need more light on top.

I will most likely not be getting the canopy posted but i do want a canopy made of wood snce the aquarium is going ot be in the lving room and needs to looknice.. i will have a cabinet too.. mght have it custom made but they usually dont look as good as ones that are manufactured for this purpose.

Any ideas on which canopy might work better for my case.. i just want a canopy that will look nice on a 40G reef and is not too expensive(i.e. doesnt need ot be made ofrosewood or smthing)

[dl5]

Hey guys, just wanted to see what you all think of this wiring job. thus far i've wired a power cable to the ballast. I wanted it to be as clean as possible and so i put the connections inside the ballast. does anyone fore see any real big problems? the heat shouldn't be that intense to cause problems right?

 

 

also, any worries about heat regarding where i mounted the ballast?

 

 

thanks for helping a newb out!!!

[dl5]

oh and the ballast is like the op's 70w NAiS Electronic MH Ballast

 

i'm so excited, i'm just waiting on my 70watt astralux to come in and then i can gut my current fixture.

[Seanfg89]

Ok I have a new lighting plan now, instead of getting a $$$$$$$$ Current USA CF fixture, I'm gonna bite the bullet and dive into MH. I'm planning on getting 2x Security Fixtures from Walmart, ballasts from www.ballastwise.com (the only 70w MH ones they have), and I'll get some higher end 14000K HQI bulbs. Does anyone have any experience with www.ballastwise.com and if so, are they reputable and are there ballasts good quality and will they give good performance?

[epicfish]

Yes, yes, yes. They won't give as much light as magnetic ballasts, but they won't burn your fingers either. And they're not heavy as hell.

[Seanfg89]

Disregard

[alexmurovec]

hey guys, i currently have a 20H and a 65W compact flouresant fixture on it. the tank is still cycling, but after looking into this metal halide business i think it would be best to upgrade now, before i add corals and what not. question is, do you think a 70W would be enough? with the 70W, all i need to do is get a new ballast and the bulb. i was also thinking about going 150W, but this way i need to get new endcaps for the security light pendant. plus, will the endcaps even work and fit in place? thanks for the help in advance, alex.

[reefone]

hey guys, i currently have a 20H and a 65W compact flouresant fixture on it. the tank is still cycling, but after looking into this metal halide business i think it would be best to upgrade now, before i add corals and what not. question is, do you think a 70W would be enough? with the 70W, all i need to do is get a new ballast and the bulb. i was also thinking about going 150W, but this way i need to get new endcaps for the security light pendant. plus, will the endcaps even work and fit in place? thanks for the help in advance, alex.

 

id go with 150. i think if u get a 500w security pendant the 150w bulb will fit right in with no mods.

[alexmurovec]

id go with 150. i think if u get a 500w security pendant the 150w bulb will fit right in with no mods.

 

meaning all i need is the bulb and ballast. anyone else know if this is true?

[yardboy]

I've got two fixtures, a 350 and a 500, and the 70w fits right into them. From what I've heard, the 150 requires working on the ceramic holder with a pair of pliers to enlarge or remove a tab so the 150w MH bulb will fit in.

[reefone]

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...p;p=entry

[alexmurovec]

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...p;p=entry

 

thanks dude. i'll check out this link and make a decision. my only worry would be about heat. i just dont want anything to explode, haha.

[dl5]

well just wanted to give everyone an update on my fixture.

 

i gutted my fixture, relocated the ballast brackets and used them to mount my socket for the MH. for the wires, i wired the socket to the leads from the existing wire that went to the ballast. i cut off the female end of an extension cord and wired that to my ballast so now i have sort of a quick disconnect.

 

in the middle of the project:

 

 

i really do hope i don't burn my house down.

 

finished!

 

here's all the stuff i took out:

 

i was able to zip tie the stock moonlights to the ballast brackets. i also installed a second fan. the stock one was on the left side of the fixture blowing air out. i installed a second one on the right side to suck cool air into the fixture. there is def more air flow.

 

if anyone sees any problems please do let me know!

 

my only concern is that the thin wires for the fans might melt. does anyone see this happening?

 

oh and i'm replacing the acrylic splash guard with a glass piece tommorow. everytime i go to pick up the light, i'm so surprised at how much lighter it is now.

[epicfish]

Can we see some pics of the female end of the extension cord and the wiring?

 

Specifically, where you said "for the wires, i wired the socket to the leads from the existing wire that went to the ballast. i cut off the female end of an extension cord and wired that to my ballast so now i have sort of a quick disconnect."

 

Thanks.

[alexmurovec]

so you basically retro fitted your own diy halide into an existing light strip? that may be another way to do it. i would be interested if i could fit the components (endcaps, reflector) from the Regent pendant into my existing CF fixture. i guess there isn't much of an advantage, but a sleeker design. then again, do you really want the MH sitting 2 inches off the water?

[epicfish]

so you basically retro fitted your own diy halide into an existing light strip? that may be another way to do it. i would be interested if i could fit the components (endcaps, reflector) from the Regent pendant into my existing CF fixture. i guess there isn't much of an advantage, but a sleeker design. then again, do you really want the MH sitting 2 inches off the water?

 

With the design of the Current USA fixture legs, it's closer to 4-5" off the top of the water. If the tank is high enough, light spread will be even towards the bottom of the tank. I'm retrofitting my fixture also...but the difference is that I'll have actinic (and possbily some 50/50 bulbs) supplementation which will hopefully help to balance out the dark spots from the MH.

[dl5]

With the design of the Current USA fixture legs, it's closer to 4-5" off the top of the water. If the tank is high enough, light spread will be even towards the bottom of the tank. I'm retrofitting my fixture also...but the difference is that I'll have actinic (and possbily some 50/50 bulbs) supplementation which will hopefully help to balance out the dark spots from the MH.

 

 

yeap, epic is right, the legs raises the splash guard of the fixture 3.5 inches off the surface of the water, and the bulb itself sits at about 5.25 inches off the water surface. i also have a 15g high and there is a about 6 inches of water before you see any live stock. so hopefully i'll have enough spread with the height. i do wish that i could squeez a PC bulb in there to make sure i don't get any shadows, but i can't win them all. i'll pick up my bulb tomorrow and power things up and let you everyone know.

 

oh here's the picture epic. the wiring to the ballast is a bit sloppy, i used the twist cap sort of things to connect the wires, i ran out of wire crimps =/ sorry about that, and i went ahead and use e-tape to try to keep moisture out.

 

 

regarding the wire power wire inside the fixture, there were two wires that went to the stock ballast, a white and a black wire. i disconnected the ballast from those wires, and connected the wires to the ones on the socket. so i pretty much used what was there.

[epicfish]

So sockets --> male end of power cord with 3 prongs.

 

Female end of power cord with 3 prongs ---> ballast.

 

And then those two just connect to each other for a quick disconnect?

[dl5]

So sockets --> male end of power cord with 3 prongs.

 

Female end of power cord with 3 prongs ---> ballast.

 

And then those two just connect to each other for a quick disconnect?

 

yeap, unless i'm using the term "quick disconnect" wrongly haha. seriously, am i? i would hate to give people inaccurate advice.

[Esper]

a good way to widen the distribution of light is to use the Lithonia Lighting 300w "Wide Profile" floodlight from home depot ($18.95 or something). It is PERFECT for my 20L and its only about 3.5 inches above the waterline right now. I just removed the socket and reflector from the Lithonia fixture and put it in a current sattelite fixture as described above.

 

I have used other reflectors from lowes and was never able to get such a wide spread of light.

[dl5]

i know exactly which fixture you're talking about, and if i'm not happy with this one, i'll make the change! thanks for bringing that to mind esper!

[alexmurovec]

as for retrofitting a MH into my light strip, i dont think it'll work. i only have a single CF tube fixture made by coralife. i could get the extended legs to make it sit higher above the surface, but even then, i dont think it has room to fit MH.

 

and just a quick question about MH lighting for you guys; do you need to supplement with a actinic or other 50/50 bulbs? i'm looking into doing one of these projects with a 150W, but dont really have the room over my tank for an extra actinic or two. don't 14000k bulbs give off a pretty wide spectrum of blue and white, so you do not need any extra CF retrofits and what not?

 

 

 

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US...sp?pn=100036746

 

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US...sp?pn=100028776

 

after a little searching on the home depot site, i came across these. they are lithonia MH lights. maybe a bit pricy, but its still cheaper than the fish brands. i beleive they are both SE bulbs, but can't you get all the same bulbs in SE as DE? anyways, i thought this would be a pretty sleek unit, because its got the ballast and all, all you need to do is change the bulb. just a thought.

[kchisler]

here's all the stuff i took out:

everytime i go to pick up the light, i'm so surprised at how much lighter it is now.

 

 

Just curious, do you have any interest in selling the bulbs, reflector and ballast from the original Current light? If so please let me know.

 

Thanks-

[dl5]

here's all the stuff i took out:

everytime i go to pick up the light, i'm so surprised at how much lighter it is now.

Just curious, do you have any interest in selling the bulbs, reflector and ballast from the original Current light? If so please let me know.

 

Thanks-

 

 

as of right now, i'm not going to be selling it for a few weeks as i want to see how my retro works out. if i were to sell the the parts how ever, i'll let you know, i'd probably just sell the ballast and reflector for like 50 bucks obo starting. i don't want to sell the lights because i've had them runnning for like 11 months now, and i also don't want to worry about shipping.

 

thanks for your interest, i'll keep you in mind.

 

I just picked up my bulbs and my glass splash guard today guys, i'll post when i get home this afternoon and put in the final touches.

 

again, please lets hope my i don't burn down my house!

[Esper]

as for retrofitting a MH into my light strip, i dont think it'll work. i only have a single CF tube fixture made by coralife. i could get the extended legs to make it sit higher above the surface, but even then, i dont think it has room to fit MH.

 

and just a quick question about MH lighting for you guys; do you need to supplement with a actinic or other 50/50 bulbs? i'm looking into doing one of these projects with a 150W, but dont really have the room over my tank for an extra actinic or two. don't 14000k bulbs give off a pretty wide spectrum of blue and white, so you do not need any extra CF retrofits and what not?

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US...sp?pn=100036746

 

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US...sp?pn=100028776

 

after a little searching on the home depot site, i came across these. they are lithonia MH lights. maybe a bit pricy, but its still cheaper than the fish brands. i beleive they are both SE bulbs, but can't you get all the same bulbs in SE as DE? anyways, i thought this would be a pretty sleek unit, because its got the ballast and all, all you need to do is change the bulb. just a thought.

 

 

that looks good for a cheap setup (definetely replace the bulb) but the reflector looks terrible. you can tell that the lowest part of the reflector will just reflect light straight back into the bulb, doing nothing.

 

(some of the most efficient reflectors are a simple V shape. even these still reflect light back into the bulb, though, which lumenarc reflectors attempt to compensate for)