250 watt MH

[Hermanus]

MH @ Hardware store 250 watt single ended will it be the same as MH bought at pet shops?

MH is MH all the same not true?

If you buy say 250wat bulb at the pet shop to get the correct kelvin it will fit to the MH unit bought at hardware store and work correctly?

What are your thoughts on this?

 

[mariusmeyer]

It will work.

 

[jaquesdp08]

yes its fine, used some of the builders warehouse units with the correct bulbs work nice and cheap.

 

[Reef Inmate]

They will make the lamp shine but the reflector is far from aquarium design technology.

 

[Nemos Janitor]

They will make the lamp shine but the reflector is far from aquarium design technology.

Please show us the difference between the reflectors and share this design technology with us so that we can mod these and other fittings.

 

[johanpm]

Tagging along

 

[Reef Inmate]

Please show us the difference between the reflectors and share this design technology with us so that we can mod these and other fittings.

Hi Nemos, I believe that most aquarium luminary manufacturers design their reflectors to enhance the reflection of light into the aquarium getting the most out of the lamps. The materials used for aquarium reflectors are far more efficient at reflecting the light than what is available in commercial/industrial luminaries which are designed for lighting large areas or factories etc. I have used both over the years and I prefer luminaries specifically designed for our purpose. On the other hand, although I haven't tried it, I don't think aquarium MH luminaries would work very well for lighting up large areas or factories either LOL.

I will post some pics sometime of a comparison between the two types that I have.

When it comes to modifying other units you can source the material (It is available in Jhb) and bend up or have someone bend up some reflectors that will fit in commercial units to suit your needs.

 

[Nemos Janitor]

Thanks @Leigh.

Some of those normal lighting units have a dimply type of reflector. Are you referring to the dimply effect or the material quality? Arcona have the dimply and normal adenoid. I do not remember a discussion on the two.

 

[Reef Inmate]

Here are some pics of commercial reflectors that I have used.

and some of purpose built aquarium reflectors - I am sure you will agree that there is a huge difference in physical appearance and quality.

A 150 watt DE reflector.

A 250 watt DE reflector.

A 250/400 watt SE reflector

and some T5 reflectors

Sanjay Joshi in the USA has done some intense studies into the properties of light and reflectors for use in marine aquariums. This seems to be a science on its own.
You can do a search and find the articles by him.

 

[Falcon]

MH @ Hardware store 250 watt single ended will it be the same as MH bought at pet shops?

MH is MH all the same not true?

If you buy say 250wat bulb at the pet shop to get the correct kelvin it will fit to the MH unit bought at hardware store and work correctly?

What are your thoughts on this?

It will work but tends to disperse the light more than aquarium reflectors so you have to mount them a bit lower so that you don't loose alot of light.You see in industrial usage the idea is to take the fact that the mh is a point source of light and disperse it enough to cover significant areas(radius wise) so as to replace/compete with fluorescent lighting but not always for further reach(i'e linear distance from globe)

In the much smaller confines of an aquarium we tend to want it to have great reach to penetrate depth but obviously we dont want it spill out of the tank,hence the need to mount industrial type fittings lower than hobby grade stuff,the reflective index on the aquarium type reflector is also usually higher hence resulting in greater efficiency for PAR per watt that reaches your tanks depths.

So to sum it up,yes it will work however hobby grade reflectors are much more efficient.