Metal Halides

[Ancelot]

lately i begin researching into metal halides. there are questions i need answeres.

first question : reflector. my tank is only 2ft by 1ft. supposingly i get one metal halide to serve as lighting, where can i get the best refecltor to fully ensure that the lights dont cause hot spots nor flood out my tank. i have spoken to alvy about the spider mod reflector. seriously, i agreed with what he said about the spider mod reflector being too big! for a 2ft tank it is gonna be very ugly! so what second options do i have to go about getting this reflector? anyone got other options to share with me other than the spider mod reflector?

2nd question: UV. does all metal halides' bulbs release UV? IMO, yes, it is true metal halides resemble sunlight as close as possible. but surely does all metal halides' bulbs release UV? if they do, should i get a UV protector? UV protectors are mainly in what material? glass? or what?

3rd question: capacitor. other than ballast, bulb and the holder, is this fellow a need in my diy project?

4th question : aluminium box. i heard from alvy too that for normal commercial metal halides u get to see a aluminium box inisde the lightings. any way to diy this component? or is it a market product that can be bought? cos i thought if the spider mod reflector cannot work. i think might as well look for this fellow? mind people that this aluminium box is the kind of box in parabolic shape inside the casing of most commercial metal halides.

[Ancelot]

sorry couldnt finish this message this morning so i finish them now. haha..

4th question : aluminium box. i heard from alvy too that for normal commercial metal halides u get to see a aluminium box inisde the lightings. any way to diy this component? or is it a market product that can be bought? cos i thought if the spider mod reflector cannot work. i think might as well look for this fellow? mind people that this aluminium box is the kind of box in parabolic shape inside the casing of most commercial metal halides. if u peep into Gies.. or other brand metal halides u should be able to find this kind of a box in there...

i think that should be about everything i can think of for now. this is an open topic. comments are free to come and free to go so do cool ideas! i dont mind anything...just keep posting!

[Tanzy]

1) Double ended reflectors tend to be smaller. I'm sure you can find a simple SE parabolic reflector for a 2' tank too.

2) All MH bulbs produce UV. Difference is amount. You will definitely need UV shielding for DE bulbs but it's not compulsory for SE bulbs.

3) You are short of an ignitor.

4) There are commercial MH pendants available. Either low bays or high bays. There are some box type pendants that are used in carparks and warehouses.

[seareefer]

hi there,

i have finish my diy Mh housing. YOu can get some of the mh housing at

your nearest electrical dealer down your industrial park and they are quite cheap i built mine at a cost of around $150 which inculdes the bulb(6500k)

its better to separate yor ballast unit from your lamp housing trust me after some accident.

[seareefer]

hi there again,

A CAPACITOR PURPOSE IS TO TO CORRECT YOUR POWER FACTOR ON YOUR LIGHTING CIRCUIT . WITHOUT IT , YOUR CCT WILL BE DRAWING MORE aMPS IN ORDER TO KEEP THE LAMP RUNNNING.

[Ancelot]

hi there again,

A CAPACITOR PURPOSE IS TO TO CORRECT YOUR POWER FACTOR ON YOUR LIGHTING CIRCUIT . WITHOUT IT , YOUR CCT WILL BE DRAWING MORE aMPS IN ORDER TO KEEP THE LAMP RUNNNING.

so is capacitor a need? still very blur, if u all experts say yes! then i go get it..otherwise i wont! SERIOUSLY

"There are commercial MH pendants available. Either low bays or high bays. There are some box type pendants that are used in carparks and warehouses. " ~ tanzy

what is a pendent? and its usage in mh? issit sth very important?

" Double ended reflectors tend to be smaller. I'm sure you can find a simple SE parabolic reflector for a 2' tank too."

any idea or lobangs where i can get this reflector?

thanks for comments but i do wish to hear more!

[Tanzy]

A pendant is the thing which you house the bulb in.

A capacitor is compulsory as is the ballast, ignitor, socket and bulb.

[Fireclown]

Then what's an ignitor for? What I understand from a few websites are that MH bulbs increase their current intake as it's being on ad the ballast is there to limit their current intake to prevent the bulb from burning out. Please correct me if i'm wrong. Not very sure about MH.

[pospeh]

An igniter provides +4KV or more of voltage to the electric probe, thus starting the electrical arc that lights the gas inside the tube.

Some MH bulbs (mostly US bulbs) do not require an igniter. It depends on whether they have a probe which replaces the function of the igniter.