Whats the dif between commercial and aquarium grade halide?

[jacksprat]

Hi been looking at MH and tehy are considerably cheaper in 70w and 150w versions for anything other than reef use... if thsi because of UV rays getting through or heat etc? If so i can install fans and UV protective glass.

This mays ound nooby but just need to know as if i cannot use these i will make my own out of a security floodlight and some aquarium grade gear.

Also last question. If it is an industrial MH and i change the bulb for aquarium grade will this make a difference?

Im not bothered about fitting or looks because i can adapt these myself just the functionality and quality etc oh and SAFETY!

TIA guys n gals

[simon garratt]

generally speaking there is no difference in the 'mechanics' of an industrial flood lighting lamp compared to a specialised Aquatic lamp. The issues are over colour rendition. ie the K rating.

Aquatic lamps need to be rated to within ageneral range of 6.5K - 20K with a dedicated peak in the 420nm region, which is the main area the corals and algae use for photosynthisis (they do use other sections but this needs to be a deffinate chunk of the output) Most commertial lamps lack this dedication so are unfit for aquatic animals that require it.


Probably more to the point is that cheap commercial halide units commonly use cheaper Mercury ballasts, instead of the more dedicated SO/MH ballasts. this can cause problems with exessively wandering outputs and UV peaks that can severly damage corals etc.

All in all your far better stumping up the extra cash and getting youself a proper lighting set-up that is dedicated to marine tanks.


regards

Si.

[kim]

I'm gonna disagree a bit...

If by "aquarium grade" lighting systems, you mean the elegant units such as Giessman, Arcadia, then understand that a large part of the price comes from the build quality of the canopy, rather than the components. If you don't need a nice looking unit, that's a waste of money. You can buy the components separately, and much cheaper. I'm not saying these designer-label units are overpriced, just that they are aimed at people with other priorities.

Though as Si says, you need to be careful at what you buy (eg you want genuine halide/sodium vapour ballasts, not mercury vapour), and you might prefer electronic rather than tar ballasts. Plus you might want a lamp which is manufactured for the aquarium trade (eg BLV 10,000 K lamps are made for industry, but if you want something "bluer" then you might need something from a specialist source).

Reflectors can be either from industrial or hydroponic sources (some sponsors here sell them if you don't have sources yourself). Most from the latter will be for single ended lamps, rather than the more compact double ended type. That's another choice.....

If done carefully, you can have a better lighting set-up (because the design won't be driven by aesthetics but by performance, and can be tailored to your needs) at a much lower cost.

kim