DIY MH/VHO Retrofit

[Andy]

Well, I'm pretty excited about my new lighting system for my 280 gallon reef. I've been lighting this reef with 6 VHO fluorescents for the last year and a half and haven't been all that satisfied with the colours of my sps corals. I get great growth with the VHOs but so so colours. I'd gladly trade off growth for colour. My new lighting setup is completely DIY. Many thanks go out to a couple of people. You both know who you are. I've decided to go with three 400 watt Radiums and two five foot VHO actinics for early morning and late night viewing. The lighting is mounted on a polished stainless steel reflector which I am told will never rust. Something about the impecable quality of the stainless steel. The ballast box is custom built and contains 3 son agro 430 watt HPS ballasts. The ballast box is cooled with an internal fan. Two of the ballasts are hooked up to one plug and the third to a second plug for staggered on/off lighting. I'll be plugging each plug into separate 15 amp circuits. The ballast box also contains an internal timer. Can't wait to get it mounted into my hood. The VHO setup will be sold once I'm convinced this is the lighting setup for me. Something tells me I won't be looking back. I've attached a few pics of the lighting and ballast box. I felt like I needed a welders mask when I took the shot with the MH lights on. I wonder what kind of heat I'm gonna generate. Hope my Ice-Cap fans can keep up. I'll post more pics once the lighting system is fully installed.

Andy