lights...

jwhitlow1031 · 04/25/2006, 07:43 PM

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http://pic18.picturetrail.com/VOL906/4312776/9621154/142202543.jpg

what do u think of these lights? its two 150watt bulbs, brand new, never used. bulbs, fixtures, and doul balast... said when he bought the set up it was about 1200$ worth of stuff, their 5500k bulbs, here his the info of off the balast...

beard · 04/25/2006, 08:11 PM

$1200 lol I dont think it cost any where near that. If you are going to keep corals I wouldnt keep the 5500k bulbs. also I would change them unless you like algae. A 5500k bulb is far to low on the kelvin scale a 5500k is more like a plant grow light then a aquarium light. You can get a 2 bulb retrofit kit from petwarehouse.com for $299 and it looks the same as what you have. I hope you didnt pay more then that for yours.

jwhitlow1031 · 04/25/2006, 08:27 PM

i havn't bought it yet... just wanted to see what people thought before i did...

beard · 04/25/2006, 08:34 PM

If its under $299 + s/h it would cost from petwarehouse or other places then it a good find. Just remember you will want to change the bulbs. As for the price he said he spend eather he got screwed or he is full of it. Looks like a nice setup other then that just dont spend more then you need to!

jwhitlow1031 · 04/25/2006, 08:54 PM

yea.. he also has had them for a bit of time... so that could be it too, if i got new bulbs what should i get? where at, whats the diff. between say 10000k and 20000k, whats better?

beard · 04/25/2006, 09:08 PM

Low kelvin rating give more coral growth but the light is more yellow. Higher k rating is bluer but corals dont grow as fast. Most people now use between 10000k and 20000k The 10k are more true white and 20k are more blue. Asking what bulbs you should get is giong to give you 100 different opinions just look for some in your price range and go from there. When it comes to k rating the choice is up to you do you want yellow white or blue look to your tank. Where to buy is another tricky question IMO I like petwarehouse.com they have reasonable shipping and great customer service.

jwhitlow1031 · 04/25/2006, 09:18 PM

hmm, yea.. i was thinking about maybe just saving some money and getting a better retrofit system, i think it was their site... two 250w mh with 10000k bulbs and two T5 actinics would be a nice set up... either way...

beard · 04/25/2006, 09:27 PM

If you are looking to really save some money look at the diy threads on MH lighting. You can get stuff at local hardware or lighting stores wire it your self (not hard at all) add your own socket reflector and lamp cord and save a bundle of money. I setup a 175w MH ballast for under $125 with a 14000k bulb. If you look you can find t5 ballasts at your local hardware or lighting stores for under $15 a piece also and these all work as good as what people spend top dollar for IMO. Just my 2 cents.

beard · 04/25/2006, 09:40 PM

If interested in building your own MH ballast check out this link. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=624185

jwhitlow1031 · 04/25/2006, 10:47 PM

thanks for the idea

04/25/2006, 07:43 PM	#1
jwhitlow1031 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Elk Grove, Ca Posts: 455	lights... PHP Code: `http://pic18.picturetrail.com/VOL906/4312776/9621154/142202543.jpg` what do u think of these lights? its two 150watt bulbs, brand new, never used. bulbs, fixtures, and doul balast... said when he bought the set up it was about 1200$ worth of stuff, their 5500k bulbs, here his the info of off the balast... __________________ Some call it an obsession, i call it...well, yea its an obsession : ) To see pics of my tank click the little red house. Current Tank Info: 54 Gallon Corner tank, 130 watt pc lighting, 150watt MH, 140+ pds live rock, 2.5 inch sandbed, 3 powerheads and wavemaker, skimmer, etc, etc...lol

04/25/2006, 08:27 PM	#3
jwhitlow1031 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Elk Grove, Ca Posts: 455	i havn't bought it yet... just wanted to see what people thought before i did... __________________ Some call it an obsession, i call it...well, yea its an obsession : ) To see pics of my tank click the little red house. Current Tank Info: 54 Gallon Corner tank, 130 watt pc lighting, 150watt MH, 140+ pds live rock, 2.5 inch sandbed, 3 powerheads and wavemaker, skimmer, etc, etc...lol

04/25/2006, 08:54 PM	#5
jwhitlow1031 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Elk Grove, Ca Posts: 455	yea.. he also has had them for a bit of time... so that could be it too, if i got new bulbs what should i get? where at, whats the diff. between say 10000k and 20000k, whats better? __________________ Some call it an obsession, i call it...well, yea its an obsession : ) To see pics of my tank click the little red house. Current Tank Info: 54 Gallon Corner tank, 130 watt pc lighting, 150watt MH, 140+ pds live rock, 2.5 inch sandbed, 3 powerheads and wavemaker, skimmer, etc, etc...lol

04/25/2006, 09:18 PM	#7
jwhitlow1031 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Elk Grove, Ca Posts: 455	hmm, yea.. i was thinking about maybe just saving some money and getting a better retrofit system, i think it was their site... two 250w mh with 10000k bulbs and two T5 actinics would be a nice set up... either way... __________________ Some call it an obsession, i call it...well, yea its an obsession : ) To see pics of my tank click the little red house. Current Tank Info: 54 Gallon Corner tank, 130 watt pc lighting, 150watt MH, 140+ pds live rock, 2.5 inch sandbed, 3 powerheads and wavemaker, skimmer, etc, etc...lol

04/25/2006, 10:47 PM	#10
jwhitlow1031 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Elk Grove, Ca Posts: 455	thanks for the idea __________________ Some call it an obsession, i call it...well, yea its an obsession : ) To see pics of my tank click the little red house. Current Tank Info: 54 Gallon Corner tank, 130 watt pc lighting, 150watt MH, 140+ pds live rock, 2.5 inch sandbed, 3 powerheads and wavemaker, skimmer, etc, etc...lol

04/25/2006, 08:11 PM	#2
beard Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 86	$1200 lol I dont think it cost any where near that. If you are going to keep corals I wouldnt keep the 5500k bulbs. also I would change them unless you like algae. A 5500k bulb is far to low on the kelvin scale a 5500k is more like a plant grow light then a aquarium light. You can get a 2 bulb retrofit kit from petwarehouse.com for $299 and it looks the same as what you have. I hope you didnt pay more then that for yours.

04/25/2006, 08:34 PM	#4
beard Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 86	If its under $299 + s/h it would cost from petwarehouse or other places then it a good find. Just remember you will want to change the bulbs. As for the price he said he spend eather he got screwed or he is full of it. Looks like a nice setup other then that just dont spend more then you need to!

04/25/2006, 09:08 PM	#6
beard Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 86	Low kelvin rating give more coral growth but the light is more yellow. Higher k rating is bluer but corals dont grow as fast. Most people now use between 10000k and 20000k The 10k are more true white and 20k are more blue. Asking what bulbs you should get is giong to give you 100 different opinions just look for some in your price range and go from there. When it comes to k rating the choice is up to you do you want yellow white or blue look to your tank. Where to buy is another tricky question IMO I like petwarehouse.com they have reasonable shipping and great customer service.

04/25/2006, 09:27 PM	#8
beard Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 86	If you are looking to really save some money look at the diy threads on MH lighting. You can get stuff at local hardware or lighting stores wire it your self (not hard at all) add your own socket reflector and lamp cord and save a bundle of money. I setup a 175w MH ballast for under $125 with a 14000k bulb. If you look you can find t5 ballasts at your local hardware or lighting stores for under $15 a piece also and these all work as good as what people spend top dollar for IMO. Just my 2 cents.

04/25/2006, 09:40 PM	#9
beard Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 86	If interested in building your own MH ballast check out this link. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=624185