What do you think about 250 MH - can't afford Nova Pro

Thanks RyanG.

I'm looking at some pictures from tanks on the web to see how it is done. All the ones I have seen have the glass on all sides. I was wondering if it had to be on all sides.

I'll also be looking for a DYI on it. Hopefully something will be out there. It will make it interesting when I go to cut the glass for bow front. I do almost everything myself around the house, replaced windows, built a shed, drywall, wiring, etc. However, I've never cut glass before. I'll pick up enough glass for a mistake or two ... or three.
 
lightcs4 said:
Thanks RyanG.

I'm looking at some pictures from tanks on the web to see how it is done. All the ones I have seen have the glass on all sides. I was wondering if it had to be on all sides.

I'll also be looking for a DYI on it. Hopefully something will be out there. It will make it interesting when I go to cut the glass for bow front. I do almost everything myself around the house, replaced windows, built a shed, drywall, wiring, etc. However, I've never cut glass before. I'll pick up enough glass for a mistake or two ... or three.
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:bounce: Only the walls that are to be protected from bowing need the glass strips. Which means only the long walls. The others glass trimmed edges put on on a glass tanks edges that do not have plastic trim provide a finished a appearance and a larger ledge to place lights and glass tops and such on, they are not needed to provide strength. They do not need the bracing for strength unless some fairly thin glass is being used to make the tank. Typically the whole tank building trade, even the custom builders all use the same thickness glass as they use what is commonly available. No tank manufacturer is going to pay the cost to have manufactured a custom thickness of glass sheets just to make tanks for the pet industry, and few people will pay the extra cost to increase the glass thickness above what is needed. The plastic edges on a tank are mainly placed there to protect you from the glass edges, to protect the glass edges from you, and to actually hold the glass in place while the tank is being assembled. Only the cross brace out of all that plastic is there to provide increased strength, and there are many, many tanks out there with out those cross braces. :^:
 
OK, so two long strips of glass, one straight piece for the back, one curved piece for the front. Is plexi just as good for this? The reason I ask is I am getting a buying a new piece of plexi for my kids backboard - they cracked it over the winter - and could just order extra.
 
The curved glass is already ready strong enough due to its curved surface, essentially it is prestressed. The flat panel is the panel that will want to bow out. Glass siliconed into place is the best choice. I would ask a local glass shop for a one inch wide strip of 1/4 inch thick glass with the edges of one cut side sanded to where the edges are rounded over to prevent cuts. Also have them grind the entire ends of the strip. The other cut edge (or factory edge) should be left unsanded as you want square edges for best contact surfaces between the two pieces of glass being siliconed together. The bonding of acrylic or plexiglass to glass with silicone can be very iffy.
 
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The lights came in today. They are actually Odyssea brand lights. They make a huge difference in how the tank looks. The ballast stayed cool after an hour and a half of use. However, I would still normally be hesitant in buying lights from E-bay.

Another thing the lights did was highlight the ich that my Singapore Angel now has. It is very little, but I will stop at the store for garlic in hopes of getting rid of it fairly quickly. I think the weekend may have stressed it. I fed the fish Friday afternoon, left the lights on, and was out until Monday. I think I'll be putting the lights on a timer and checking with a neighbor to feed the fish at least every other day next time. Live and learn.
 
I won't keep a close eye on your lights, they are known to have problems, research them a little bit and you'll see what I mean. The new models have electronic ballast now though not magnetic
 
The new electronic ballast runs fairly cool. However, I will continue to keep an eye on the set. I did a lot of research before purchasing the lights and realized that I would have to settle for less quality than I originally wanted. However, I heard decent things about them since they changed the ballast. I will simply mod them in the future if there are issues, even though that would end up costing more in the long run.
 
I am actually interested in getting one for the same reason, let me know how it works, I would assume the 150 would run even cooler? I know some people just replace the fans and it works better too
 
While I am happy with the purchase so far, I would still recommend a solid name brand. I took a gamble as it was either this model or none at all. However, I may loose the bet if I ever need service. I also need to order the HQI bulbs on line as my LFS doesn't carry HQI yet (there are several on-line vendors though). I almost decided to stretch it for the Nova Extreme Pro's (and probably would have if they included shipping). I don't want to come accross as hipacritical (sp?), just want to be straight forwardand give something to think about.

One more thing ... I have heard replacing the ballast with Icecap ballasts can make a huge difference. I'm sure other ballast may give similar results. You won't end up saving any money by doing this, but can spread the expense over time (which is what I will likely do). The Icecap ballasts run between $130 and $150 for the 250 watt HQI units.
 
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lightcs4 said:
While I am happy with the purchase so far, I would still recommend a solid name brand. I took a gamble as it was either this model or none at all. However, I may loose the bet if I ever need service. I also need to order the HQI bulbs on line as my LFS doesn't carry HQI yet (there are several on-line vendors though). I almost decided to stretch it for the Nova Extreme Pro's (and probably would have if they included shipping). I don't want to come accross as hipacritical (sp?), just want to be straight forwardand give something to think about.
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You found a U.S. outlet for 175 watt HQI bulbs? I haven't searched throughly, just the large regular sites, like Marine Depot and Drs. Foster and Smith, and they do not carry them. I really do hope that the market gets better for good lighting systems in HQI halide. I get a pretty good discount buying in bulk, but I can not get an AquaLight Pro as cheap as an Odyssey 4 foot fixture. Have you found compatible ballasts for a 175 HQI, magnetic or electronic either one would work for repairs/replacement if needed?
 
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I haven't looked for the 175's. I'm looking around for the 250's. I'll keep an eye out for US outlets for the 175s and post if I find anything.
 
lightcs4 said:
I haven't looked for the 175's. I'm looking around for the 250's. I'll keep an eye out for US outlets for the 175s and post if I find anything.
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:frustrat: I am sorry, I am getting the threads confused again. I thought you bought the Odyssey 175 HQI halides with PC and moon lights that have the electronic ballasts in the fixture. They are sold cheaply but I have not found any U.S. source for bulbs are replacement ballasts for a 175 watt HQI, only standard mogul 175 watt halides. They are made in China, and originally were having problems with electrical fires and burnt up ballasts. They have 50 Hz power we have 60 Hz power. We had the same problems when we initially started getting HQI lighting systems from Germany. American firms now produce HQI ballasts and bulbs only in 70, 150, 250, 400 and maybe 1000 watt. :sfish:
 
I run a 2x 250 MH / 14k on a 75 gallon tank. The only big change I have seen is how fast your water is going to evaporate. I have to replace about
2 1/2 gallons of water a day. I also run a fan over the top of the water to maintain fairly consistant temp. My tank can fluctuate between 78 and 81 with the fan.
 
newbeemike said:
I run a 2x 250 MH / 14k on a 75 gallon tank. The only big change I have seen is how fast your water is going to evaporate. I have to replace about
2 1/2 gallons of water a day. I also run a fan over the top of the water to maintain fairly consistant temp. My tank can fluctuate between 78 and 81 with the fan.
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:bounce: A little more flucuation than is desireable, but the high and the low are both within a good temperature range. It is diifficult to kep flucuation to any less than that without a good temerature controller however. Most people would be estatic to be able to run temperatures that stable and within that range with halides.
:^:
 
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