New to MH have a few questions.

[irahmatulla]

I just received a 400w MH care of MBachota! Thank you BTW. It is to my understanding I will need some sort of....skin(for lack of better word) or plate to filter the light so not to sunburn my coral. Does this make sense? Will glass work? If it is cloudy glass maybe? Second, I gotta wire the socket to the chord, the socket has blue, black and yellow with a green line. The chord has green white and black. Obviously they do not match, I know the black to black is the negative. I do not want to cross the wrong wires and blow the bulb/ballast. Also, the reflector is free hanging, can I zip tie this to a custom box, or are they going to melt? Last question, I know heat is going to be an issue, should I put a fan on the bulb area, or is the penetrating light going to be what heats my water? I guess, is it the bulb or the light that is going to heat my water to the need of a chiller?

 

[hnguyen]

I'm no good with electricity so I won't even attempt to answer the wiring for you. As for The "skin" part, that's just glass. Depending on your reflector, you can find the glass shield for it online. From what I understand, only the double ended bulbs need the shield and not the single ended ones. (I could be wrong)
You do NOT want to hold it with zip tie as it will either melt on you or dry up and crack over time and fail, use screws.

For the heat, you can aim a fan at the top of your tank having the air blow across the surface of the water. That will help remove the heat but it will increase your evaporation like there's no tomorrow. Depending on your tank, you may need a chiller. What size tank are you putting this 400w over? I had a 400w over my 93g cube and my temp was at 82 with a quad cooling fan fixture over it with the light 12" above the water. If you have a smaller tank then that, then you can expect to see higher temps.

 

[rdnelson]

The black is not the negative. That would be in DC. You are working in AC. In the cord, those are standard colors. However, you do not wire the socket straight to a plug. The socket wires to the output of the a ballast which in turn plugs into the receptacle. There should be a wiring diagram on the ballast that you need to follow.

 

[hnguyen]

You DID get a ballast didn't you? :unsure:

 

[irahmatulla]

The chord is the connection between the ballast and the socket. Not the socket and the plug. The reflector is a double ended one, I have a few pieces of old aquarium class that will fit it perfectly. When it comes to the heat, I have a small fan that I could set to blow on the bulb, vacating the heat out of the other side of the reflector. I would have to look again about the diagram on the ballast. I also guess I could look up the ballast wiring online. I was just curious about the different colored wires.

Edit: Yes, I did get a ballast, and I know I have to have a matching bulb. I.E. 400 = 400 and 250 = 250 and so on. I can not wait to get it set up. Like I said, I have a bunch of glass laying around and would like to get this set up, at least to check the heat put off, and try to gauge how far to keep it off of the water. That way, I can get the dims of my new hood.

 

[rdnelson]

Ok, I almost hate saying this because I don't want you to assume I think you are dumb but...... make sure that the ballast is not plugged in before you do anything. A ballast takes standard 110 volts and steps it way up. Hurts real bad if you get shocked by that. LOL

Now for wiring, as I said the cord wire colors are just standard colors. Not a big deal. Just make sure that the wire coming off the ballast eventually ends up at the right place on the socket per the wiring diagram that is on the ballast.

 

[irahmatulla]

No offense taken. Especially when water is nearby. I will try and make sure to wire the socket before I even plug it in. Thanks for all the info!

 

[hud3339]

rdnelson99;697078 wrote: Ok, I almost hate saying this because I don't want you to assume I think you are dumb but...... make sure that the ballast is not plugged in before you do anything. A ballast takes standard 110 volts and steps it way up. Hurts real bad if you get shocked by that. LOL

Now for wiring, as I said the cord wire colors are just standard colors. Not a big deal. Just make sure that the wire coming off the ballast eventually ends up at the right place on the socket per the wiring diagram that is on the ballast.

I found that out last week, good advise lol

 

[Jaycen B.]

You will need tempered glass for the sheild. The green and yellow with green stripe go together, the other two do not matter. Black is hot white is neutral.

That 400W ballast packs enough punch to shock the crap out of you even if you're not grounded, please be very carefull.

 

[rdnelson]

hud3339;697086 wrote: I found that out last week, good advise lol

LOL Yes, I saw your post. Someone said something about your "Little Guys" not swimming well for a while after that and I wonderred how I ended up with three daughters after 30 years in the business. LOL

 

[irahmatulla]

For everyone's information. Connected and lit, without putting the "little guys" in jeapordy. Running 14,000 k and would like a little more blue. Should I get a higher K bulb, or should I supplement more blue via T5? I am using the bottom of an old tank that has been pretty scuffed up, will this be a good enough filter? I could throw some screen down between it and another pane if that would work better.