Can these MH work?

[c4haskett]

I'm wondering if I could use these as lights over my tank? They are 400 watt MH.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Wow, I'm not trying to be funny-- are those for theatrical stage lighting? Or a basketball court? I'm trying to imagine hanging them, so they don't ever come crashing down on your tank. Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[PPBlimpy]

I would look at the voltage. A lot of the high bay lights may run multi tap ballasts. Not many parts are useable.

in my opinion the reflectors are not going to do anything good for you with how bulky they are. the balast can be used possible along with the sockets.

I personally wouldn't waste the time. i have converted these fixtures for use and its a bunch of work.

what kelvin bulbs are you looking at running?

I have started to use the newer 315W Ceramic Metal halides found in hydroponics, they have adjustable output ballasts. 50/75/100/110% setting but the highest kelvin bulb is only a 10k.

With the stock reflectors @ 50% setting( approx 204W) I am seeing 540par half way down my 24" tall tank. 240 on the sand bed and 780 2" from surface measured with an apogee 420x.

At 100% in the same spots I measured half way down 730, sand bed 400, 1080 2" below.

I am running Noopsyche k7 IV for blue supplemental

I run 1 over my 54g corner with 2 noops
And 3 over my 7’ 210.

paid $150 for 5 MH fixtures and $59 for each bulb on amazon.

don't mind the cloudiness of the tank, only had water in it for 2 hours before i pulled out the apogee. couldnt help myself

 

[c4haskett]

Wow, I'm not trying to be funny-- are those for theatrical stage lighting? Or a basketball court? I'm trying to imagine hanging them, so they don't ever come crashing down on your tank. Inquiring minds want to know!

I'm not sure to be honest, they look like they were used as shop lights. Didn't know if it was worth the effort to try and use these on the tank. They are cheap, so I was just curious.

 

[c4haskett]

Thanks, I was just curious. They are selling them for cheap. Didn't know if it was worth the effort or not to convert these to use on the tank. I don't really know much about the specs on these lights, but I'll just pass on them. I have been interested for awhile on trying MH but didn't want to invest a ton of money in case I didn't like them or not a good fit for my tank. I appreciate the feedback. How are you liking your Noopsyches? That is what I run on my tank. I've tried several different brands, but really fell in love with the spectrum of those lights. I now run a total of 5 of them and really happy.