40 gal w/sump

[RandyFolds]

Congrats on getting a nice deal. Think about rigging up some sort of canopy that hangs from the ceiling and houses the lights. I have a pendant style reflector that hangs on really thin steel chains, though for just a single bulb. It makes it super easy to make height adjustments or raise it out of the way. It is probably the cheapest option, but maybe not the prettiest. Depending on the bulb style and reflectors you get, there may even be bare lighting cases you could order and fit them into, making it into a nice little package.

[Bergy]

sounds great...

I might have waited till after the tank tour before buyin ghte lights, so you can get ideas...

but, either way, i'm sure you will be much happier with them

dont forget to take some pics of the tank tour and post some here...

and also, hows about recruiting some of the local ut's to join this forum????

[KYLE.801]

Ya I kind of jumped the gun a little on getting the lights but I feel like I'm getting a pretty good deal.  I probably could have waited since "deals" in this hobby come and go all the time but he was selling and I was looking hehehe. Ill for sure have some pics posted this weekend after the tour.  Ill let you know how the recruiting goes!   ::)

[Bergy]

i was thinking more in line of how to mount and all that stuff...

as long as you are happy wiht the price then it is all good..

[KYLE.801]

well I picked up the lights, they dont seem very bright at all but maybe cause the bulbs are 7 months old but still im kind of wondering...oh and Bill you were right, mounting these is going to be very interesting.  Im going to probably have to find or build a canopy.  The guy I bought the lights from said the person that was going to pick up the tank never showed so maybe ill get the canopy from him after all. 

[psykokid]

did you let the bulbs heat all the way up? halides arent bright when you first start them. It takes them a few min to get up to full intenisty. Once they are warmed up you should have a hard time looking directly at them.

[KYLE.801]

Ill try warming them up oh and the other thing they really arent what I was expecting but if i get em rigged up in a canopy then thats all I care about. 

[KYLE.801]

here are the pics I also got the medal reflectors to go over the lights basically they are just pieces of metal ill have to screw in above the light fixtures.

Oh i let them warm up that was much better hahaha moron kyle..

[psykokid]

is that mogul socket in the second picture screwed to a piece of wood? And do you have a case for the second ballast? Start looking around on craigs list for case you can put the ballast into, looks scary open like that..

[Bergy]

ummm yea, that is the basic RETRO fit setup... but there should be a reflector of some type!!!

but, again, i think that your desire to get something outweighed your patience and ability to research... 

you will be best served to remember this for future 'deals' and do your homework...



I kinda think you ave been lucky so far with the stuff yo uhave gotten recently.  I think the lfs that you got the tank from is doing ok so far... maybe you should talk with him prior to purchasing stuff nt he future???

[RandyFolds]

Make sure you clean up all the wiring and get some sort of housing for it. Saltwater and open transformers are trouble. You should be able to pick up some real cheap but effective reflectors and shove them in some sort of fixture without too much trouble. Too bad you are in UT...someone just gave me a bunch of aluminum reflector material that can be bent into shape. Probably not as effective as a professionally manufactured and tuned reflector, but better than nothing. Maybe look into that option to keep it cheap.

Once again...hydroponics on craigslist. Someone somewhere is taking down a massive grow with 20 lights, and all of them have reflectors.

[psykokid]

true, my reflector is a flat shiny aluminum sheet that came with a hamilton power compact retro kit. I imagine if i had a "proper" reflector and room for it in my hood that would be another story all together. but alas, i dont so i dont. :) Works so far so it is what it is.

[KYLE.801]

The wiring thankfully is actually pretty long and my brother owns his own electrical business so im going to see if he has some wiring covering laying around if not ill go to a hardware store.  Since the wires are long ill be able to place the transformers in the bottom of my stand.  He did give me the pieces of aluminum he was using for reflectors but ill probable see if i can get a sheet of metal and cover both lights instead of having two pieces.  They guy had it set up with white on one side and actinic on the other side and i think that kind of made one side of the tank more blue when the actinic was on.  Im going to see if i can rig it with one if front and one in back to make the color more even....but anywho ya Im a dumbass i wanted to spend less money but its going to be more work.  I really hope I learned my lesson this time  :'(  hahaha oh man this is going to be interesting.  anyone want to buy some retro 2x175 watt mh lights?!?! jk hahaha

[Just_Greg]

Oh i let them warm up that was much better hahaha

another hint about MH:

if you turn them off, let them cool for about 10 mins before trying to turn them back on or the arc may not strike.

[psykokid]

patience is a virtue in this hobby. If you wait long enough you will stumble onto great deals.

I found an ice cap 250W ballast for 30 bucks, going to pick it up some time in the next few days. I'll compare the ice cap with the standard M58 cap and coil ballast with two different bulbs to check colour temperature. I'll finally be able to get that huge PFO case out of my stand. What I probably will do is put the 250's back in the dual case and replace the switch and save it for a future upgrade :)