DIY Halide - Anyone done it ?

[Pinkfish]

As you all know Halide lights for all us Reefers are a nightmare (sell ya soul to the devil to afford one).
I was woundering if anyone here has gone down the DIY route and actually made their own Halide lighting system.
Is it possible that any of you wise and all knowing reefer gods know how to make one or get all the componets to make a cheap halide unit ?

Im sure with the money one would save that one could also aquire some SPS corals to admire his/her handywork.

Mike

[Kev]

Now I would not be able to sleep at night knowing my DIY skills. No way for me!:eek:

[MR Teee]

There is nothing complicated about a halide.

The components are a ballast, an ignitor and a capacitor, a bulb holder and a reflector.

For a single ended E40 halide setup, pop down to an electrcal wholesalers and ask for a ballast for a metal halide bulb. NOT a mecury vapour ballast.
They will also supply you with an ignitor and suitable capacitor. Get a box to house all this in and wire it up according to the instructions.

I would say a certain degree of electrical competancy is needed along with some DIY skills.

If you want to take it any further let me know and I will go into some more details.:D

[eskimoigloo]

Get one 2nd hand... I found my dad one for 100 quid for a twin 150 Watt Arcadia professional.

[Kev]

My DIY skills are terrible. It would result in disaster!:D

[Tangman]

Hi Mike I agree with you about the price of these things, have you thought about using lowbays they use halide lamps and cost under £100 if you have a look on here it will give you a idea. www.fastlight.co.uk HTH. Eric

[SteveS]

id be very careful about making your own lighting unit, the units we buy are designed and tested before put on sale, they have a bs number and are safe to use. diy units must be carefully thought out, taking into account load of the unit, starting currents, heat, protection from salt water, type of wiring etc etc....

imo buy second hand, and replace the lamp

steve

[mousehunter22]

i wondered about buying a normal outdoor flood light and just changing the bulb for a marine lamp,but i have so far had no success in finding out if marine bulbs run under the same wattage and stuff

[Kev]

I would agree with Steve. I personally would leave anything like this to a bonifide lecky person.

[Tangman]

i wondered about buying a normal outdoor flood light and just changing the bulb for a marine lamp,but i have so far had no success in finding out if marine bulbs run under the same wattage and stuff

Hi If you go to www.fastlight.co.uk you will see lowbay lights that are like the ones that are used as outside lights. HTH. Eric

[mousehunter22]

ive got a friend who is a qualified electrician and even he doesnt know if you could just swap the bulbs because he recons the ballast in an outdoor light could be a different resistance,wattage,omes ect so i guess im gunna have to dig deep an spend to find out lol :)

[Tangman]

ive got a friend who is a qualified electrician and even he doesnt know if you could just swap the bulbs because he recons the ballast in an outdoor light could be a different resistance,wattage,omes ect so i guess im gunna have to dig deep an spend to find out lol :)

Hi The ones sold by fastlight are all ready to use on marine tanks and have got the correct ballast etc fitted. HTH. Eric

[MR Teee]

ive got a friend who is a qualified electrician and even he doesnt know if you could just swap the bulbs because he recons the ballast in an outdoor light could be a different resistance,wattage,omes ect so i guess im gunna have to dig deep an spend to find out lol :)

Chances are an outdoor floodlight is not even going to come close to being suitable for a marine tank, even with the bulb swap. If it was everybody would be using one.:eek:

Your electrician friend is right, if you found a flood light that would take the correct bulb you could not guarantee the innards would be suitable. Also if it is a double ended bulb you have to think about suitable UV protection.

As Eric has said you will not find a metal halide setup cheaper than the ones from fastlight that have been already linked to.

For a piccy of what they look like have a look at my tank build page, because I use exactly the same ones.

Ad.

[Macca]

I have used fastlight in the past and currently have a few of their DIY units. They are so simple to setup and what I love about them is if anything goes wrong you replace that part.

Lamp holder, bulb, timer, contractor???, or the ballast.

James

[Geecee]

My work has just thrown out about 25 factory light units which were metal halide. I managed to rescue 5 ballast/capacitor/starter units for 250W halide bulbs but they are HEAVY!!

You cannot use any other starter/ballast combination other than those specifically for MH lights neither can you just change the lamp wattage either as they are matched.

The wires for the lamps should be kept short so it means the heavy leccy bits would probably need to be in the hood - careful is all you can say about that!

Even now I look at the rescued parts and wonder if it is worth it.

Geecee

[jon m]

As you all know Halide lights for all us Reefers are a nightmare (sell ya soul to the devil to afford one).
I was woundering if anyone here has gone down the DIY route and actually made their own Halide lighting system.
Is it possible that any of you wise and all knowing reefer gods know how to make one or get all the componets to make a cheap halide unit ?

Im sure with the money one would save that one could also aquire some SPS corals to admire his/her handywork.

Mikeask criss at mt he will sort you out a nice cheap one if you ask him nice.......as for making one it s not worth burning your house down

[Blue]

Fastlight are great, as James says and very, very reasonable.:)