Disecting a lowbay

[Nathan]

Hi, would like to know how those of you who have taken a lowbay to bits went about setting it up. Am thinking of getting them for a 42" setup, but due to their length I'd have to remote site the ballast to be abble to fit 2 in the hood.

Thanks

[MadSi]

Hi Nathan,

U should have messaged me - would have got back quicker http://www.ultimatereef.net/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

All I did was strip the guts out completely so all you are left with is the ballast & holder. Then I got some silicone mains cable (heat proof) & ran a length from the fitting into my cellar where the ballast was located. I put it in an area where it's exposed to the air in order to keep it cool.

I took the reflector & stapled it to the underside of my hood.

All working well three months later i'm pleased to say & i'll be adding another when funds allow

Regards

Si

[tlp]

why not just get a reflector from maxibright, and the ballast & blub separately from HH? I looked at 400w blv today - 140quids for the lot including P&P. not bad.. and you get better reflector than the low bays

[Nathan]

thanks Si, i'm in no rush http://www.ultimatereef.net/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

tlp, thought about this but cost is a very big deal to me (student on a year out!http://www.ultimatereef.net/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif, so I'd prefer to do a bit more work on a cheaper unit.
But, if I did go for your suggested option would I need to get a capacitor and ignitor as well or is all that in the ballast???
I've also been looking into this today and got a bit confused as to what I'd need.

On the reflector front, £40 seems a bit steep for a sheet of bent metal. Would it be OK to get a sheet of aluminium and bend it to the correct shape???

[youngc]

Hi All,
Would it be possible for someone to post a Idiots guide to this type of lighting setup? Like what is a ballast and what kit is involved. For a newbie like myself it's a bit confusing.

TIA
Chris

[nathan clark]

Hi Nathan
Look at the post i di
metal halides for 100$ there is a link on there on how to put one together

[Nathan]

That's where my confusion started http://www.ultimatereef.net/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
The article goes on about wiring up the ballast and putting it in a metal box, but from what I've seen on the web, any ballast would come ready to plug in, and the reflector/socket combination would come ready to plug into the ballast.

Anyone want to clarify how much work is involved in a DIY halide setup?

[tlp]

Err.. not a lot! Apart from mounting the unit/reflector, the rest is plug and play (or can be). A lot of DIYers can take things a bit too far - I'm more of an 'assembler' really.

[Nathan]

That sounds good to me. Think I may try my hand at a bit of 'assembly' then http://www.ultimatereef.net/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif