Different Kind of Lighting Question

[VegasDealr]

I've got a PFO dual 250 setup with Iwasaki 6500s. I'd like to suppliment with some actinic lighting. I was thinking PC. Just wondering if Home Depot or Lowes or any of those type of places might have PC ballasts I could use with a couple actinic blue PC bulbs. I would rather do VHO, but I'm slightly cramped spacewise with the two halides. And I just want to ever so slightly offset the color of the 6500 Iwasaki's.

Any DIY or ideas of any sort would be greatly appreciated.

VegasDealr

 

[MattM]

PC's normally take a high output ballast, which most home improvement centers don't carry.

If you go with ballasts from Advance Transformer, the ones we use are:

2 x 96W: REL-2S-110
2 x 55W or 65W: REL-2P-60
2 x 28W or 32W: REL-2P-32
4 x 28W or 32W: REL-4P-32

We have wiring diagrams for these ballasts online at http://www.inlandreef.com/diy.html.

We also sell the ballasts online, but your price from a local electrical supply house should be cheaper. Then again, if you only buy one and you don't have an account there, maybe not.

[ July 21, 2001: Message edited by: MattM ]

 

[gagnu]

Reeffanatic.com has a 2-96 watt PC DIY kit, with bulbs for $129. I purchase the kit but haven't set it up yet. Also I think there is a discount for reefs.org members. Here's the url.
http://www.reeffanatic.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=l_pcp&item=KIT_RFPC96&type=store

 

[srbayless]

Howdy,

None of the Home Depot stores near me have anything other than really cheaply made NO fluorescent ballasts. Mind you, these are brand new, mega HD stores, and they still have the same crappy crap for sale.

I even asked the lihgting guy if they carried VHO, PC or Metal Halide. All I got was a blank stare and him telling me to check with a local electical supply company. Unfortunatley HD has put all those supply places out of business in my area.

Anyway, check out ahsupply.com or lampsnow.com for their PC retrofit kits. I found that they are cheaper than comparable stuff from custom sealife, but not enough to make it worth while in my opinion.

It's worth extra the $100-$200 to get a system prewired and ready out of the box. Then again, I don't like working with electricity

If you are handy with AC, go for it and save the cash.

Good luck,

Scott.