[APD] Re: Metal Halid for my tank

[Bill Wichers <billw at waveform_net>]

> I just built a new suspended hood for my tank, using 3X70W MH, and 2x54W T5
> tubes. This works wonders in the tank, but the problem is that it's so darn
> heavy it's a pain to lift up when I'm servicing the tank. So, I have been
> wondering if I should just by a nice suspended fixture of some sort. But my
> tank is 150x40x60cm, and all the fixtures that I have seen with 3 bulbs in
> them are atleast 150, and many even longer. I would like something that's
> around 120 long, and I'm guessing something like 3x150W, or maybe 2x150W 
> 1x70W
> (but I'm guessing nobody makes this...). So, does anybody know where I can
> find something like this? Also, singel suspended MH lamps would work I guess.
> Does anybody know here I can find this cheap?
>
> Kind regards,
> Hanzo

If you have the ballasts mounted in the hood, you could save a *lot* of 
weight in the hood by remote-mounting the ballasts in a separate enclosure 
and connecting them to the bulbs with a cable assembly. That might be a 
cheap and maybe easy thing to try before you go rebuild your entire 
lighting system, especially if you are happy with the appearance of your 
tank with your current lights.

I'm not sure where you would find cheap MH fixtures in Norway, but I would 
suggest trying to find a commercial electrical supply house that is willing 
to sell equipment in small quantities since the supply houses will usually 
be the cheapest sources for parts. Also, consider looking at 175w MH 
fixtures as well since that is a standard wattage that is made in *huge* 
quantities and is often very inexpensive. The 150w MH bulbs are normally 
the HQI type lights (double-ended) which tend to be more expensive per unit 
than the 175w fixtures/ballasts/bulbs.

Also, if you are going to mount the lights higher over your tank, you'll 
find that fewer light fixtures will be needed to provide the same even 
coverage of lighting (not intensity, but even coverage). Basically that 
means if you use pendants, try two before trying three :-) One MH 
pendent-type fixture can typically cover about a 2x2 foot square area 
(about 61 cm x 61 cm). You would probably be able to light your tank well 
with a pair of MH pendents if you go that route.

        -Bill


*****************************
Waveform Technology
UNIX Systems Administrator

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