DIY 175-250w MH for under $100 :)

[jaustin]

I just thought i'd share an example of my DIY MH. I built mine about 2 months ago and it cost me $95 for everything from the cord to the bulb.

I bought the balast from ebay for $25 shipped, it's a Advanced magnetic ballast for MV or MH 175w. If you wanted a 250w it would be like $10 more.

I bought a reflector from http://www.hellolights.com">www.hellolights.com</a> that cam with the mogul base and mounting hardware with about 8" of wire with two wire caps. It came out to a little over $35 i think.

Now the real kicker is the bulb, i bought it for $17.99 shipped form ebay seller trust_deals. It's a 14K MH light and is beautiful! He has 10K and 20K available usually. The 250W cost the same and the 175W.

I then bought a three pronged extensio cord and about 6ft of high grade wire from a local hardware store for about $10. I wired everything up and fired the bulb. It took about a week or so for the bulb to burn in. It was more like a 10K for the first week but it now gives off a blue/purpleish color that's breath taking.

I mounted the balast under the tank on a piece of aluminum i had laying around so it would halp cool and to insolate it from the wood a bit. It gets hot but not hot enough to set fire to anything, but i wouldn't put a rag soaked with gasoline on it...lol. The balast isn't loud either, i've heard people say that magnetic balasts are loud...not the case here, atleast not the 175w Advanced balast.

Well I'll get pics up some time soon, take care everybody!
Jason A

 

[jefft]

I did about the same thing except for the reflector. I bought the same stuff just for a back up in case my on tank setup fails. Nice to have spare parts that don't cost to much.

 

[jaustin]

I think i'm going to do three 175W MH, i'll put the 14k in the middle and two 10k on the end. I would love to get ahold of a par meter to see how well these bulbs work. My tank is 22" deep with softies on the bottom, LPS about 8-10" down and SPS 5-6" down

 

[blind1993]

i might do that if i sell my game cube for that much. thanks

 

[jaustin]

blind1993;79794 wrote: i might do that if i sell my game cube for that much. thanks

No problem, I just wanted people to know that MH can be had for cheap! I have softiees, LPS, and SPS that are growing real niceley. My new montipora frag has new growth on all edges.

The good thing with the SI bulbls is that they are already UV shielded; therefore they don't need glass in-between the bulb and the water. Also most parabolic reflectors come with a mogul base and they mount to the top of the canopy in about 2 minutes. It's the simplest retrofitting I have ever done.

If there are any other DIY MH out there please share your info.

Jason