DIY MH 6500k,250w for $100

[echeeze]

All,

I just found this DIY article online and it looks reasonable to me. Let me know if you thinks this is viable.

http://aquarium.union.rpi.edu/articles/DIY_MH.html

Hopefully it is and we can all start spending less money on our MH lighting.

Take Care!

Eric

[mps9506]

That was my very first metal halide setup. Same advance ballast and 'saki bulb combo. It works great, but most people like the whiter/blue look from 10-14k bulbs now over the yellowish cast from the 'saki's.
You can purchase true metal halide ballasts for not much more than 60-70 bucks now, so you don't save much by going with the MV ballast in my opinion and you are stuck with one type of bulb.
I will say having a 400watt iwaskai in your house is like having the sun over your tank though, nothing grows frags nearly as fast

[DaveK]

Well, it is possible to build this project, but it does have some downsides.

First, a 6500K MH bulb does give you a lot of PAR, but it's also a very yellow light. There is no way your tank is going to look like the picture in the article, unless you add a lot of actinic 03 light or use a 10000K to 15000K bulb.

Second, the project uses a coil and core ballast. I can't recommend these for several reasons. An electronic ballast will run cooler, weigh less, and use far less electricity. The last point is very important. You'll save more than the price difference between the coil and core ballast and an electronic ballast in the first year.

So while it's a possible way to go, if you are going to go the DIY route, use a much hight K bulb and an electronic ballast. Yes, this can almost double the cost of the project, but you'll be glad you did.

[Whiskey]

I also upgraded from magnetic ballasts to electronic ones,.. another thing to consider is that electronic ballasts don't quite drive the bulbs as hard which makes them last a touch longer.

Whiskey