dimmer switch?

[mr_X]

Has anyone tried a dimmer switch on a metal halide light?
I am thinking it might be nice to be able to gradually change from day to night (it always looks like my fish are freaking out when i blast them with light after an almost dark tank).

 

[ChrisRD]

It would be a bit more complicated that using a dimmer switch. You'd need a special (dimmable) ballast to make it work. These ballasts are available for commerical lighting systems but it's possible that they may not be compatible with many of the lamps intended for the aquarium hobby.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, you need a dimmable ballast *and* a bulb that can work with it. MH is more complicated than heating the hell out of a piece of wire to give off light.

 

[mr_X]

I purchased my 400 watt MH from a hydroponics distributor. It has an external ballast. Comparable lights with the word "Aquarium" infront of them were 3 times as much. Actually, it should be arriving today.
Here it is:
http://www.gchydro.com/sunsystem/SXH_M40.asp

I'll alter it to fit my hood of course.
What do ya think?

 

[Anonymous]

Should be fine. I use the sunlight ROIII DE pendants. I have heard of a few others using there ballast for reef tanks.

 

[mr_X]

got my light today. set it up, and it's plenty bright. it lacks a fan, which i can correct pretty easily, but it's not as bright as i though it would be.
hmm..do you think i can over-do the lighting?
my thought was a pair of these(for a total of 800 watts).

 

[Anonymous]

What size is your tank?

 

[mr_X]

75 gallon

 

[Anonymous]

Well, I light a 60 gal with 2X400 MH and 2X96W PC, and I don't really see how much difference did it make compare to single 400W. Light probably was not a bottleneck for me in that setup. For your 75gal, if it is 4ft wide, I think a single 400W should be fine. If it is wider, then you may want to use 2X250W to make the light more even. Other than that, IMHO, I don't see any big payoff with dual 400W. Purely personal preference when it come to these things.

 

[mr_X]

well, at this point, i do need to even out the tank. what's your electric bill like with those dual 400's?

 

[Anonymous]

Utilities are included in rent, so I don't know. With the current house, and electric rate, my guess is that it would triple my usual electric bill if not more. There is no guess there, actually. With 1000W, it would burn 1kWh per hour. With rate of, say, $0.25, at ten hours per day, it is about $2.50 daily, or about $70 per month. This does not include pump, etc.,

My current setup is using much less than that, and it is 150 gal+60 gal sump.