regular metal halide balasts?
 

In my job as an electrician I have access to regular metal halide ballasts for practically free... ok they are free. will they work fine? also wondering about bulb brightness, anyone know the K of a regular sylvania 175w???

Can't see me paying $3-400 for something i work with every day and can get fo free

4000k - 5000k

Yes those ballasts are just fine...same ones I use and practically get for free....(perks to the job)....

But the bulbs are all the wrong spectrum...they are to yellow!

I've used lots of regular tar ballasts...there are plenty of bulbs that will run on them.
I've used hamiltons and vetures no problems.
However I always had probs firing XM bulbs.

mine have fired the xm's without problem

Cool. I am making a hood for my 30g FW. Think I'll add a 175 in there.

As long as it's the right ANSI code (M57 for 175w probe and M137 for pulse) I don't see why not. I'm using an "industrial" dual M80, in fact.

Ahh, thats what the M57 is for LOL. I know, I know, an Electrician and I didnt know that?? Well, I mostly do PLC programming/troubleshoting now, so dont work much with lighting and never paid attn to the code LOL

why are you putting a 175W metal halide on a fresh water tank??

umm i dunno acctually. i know it needs more light for the plants and well i dunno lol its cheap hehe

Cheap is good to a point, the K rating for the off the shelf halide bulbs at say Home Depot etc.. is usually 2600k or in about there. Waaaayyyy to yellow to be of use in a plant tank or anything other than an emergency light. For a daylight colour you can find hydroponics shops who sell 5000k to 6500k bulbs. A lot of people think they can use halogen work lights, because they are cheap but again the colour is completely wrong for anything water related other than generating heat and usually to much of that.

Doug

be careful with how much light you have over a planted aquarium. you need to ballance the following three things:

1. light
2. nitrate
3. CO2

if you increase the light but aren't dosing nitrate and carbon you'll have lots of algae. I'd say don't bother lighting it with MH unless you're willing to get into CO2 and nitrate dosing.