Halogen Lights?

[EQCM2B]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I just came from Home Depot looking for playsand, found it.It is not Southdown as mentioned before but it is there premium sand so I hope it is good to use, if not please let me know.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#While I was looking around I started looking at DIY lighting. My question is...................... Could I use Halogen lamps for my tank that I would like to eventually put corals in or is this not in the correct spectrum of light needed? I know that heat might be an issue but it seemed a lot easier to fix the heat of one halogen lamp than try to find multiple flourecsent lamps of lesser wattage. My guess is that the halogen is in the wrong spectrum or else everyone else would already be doing it.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[dakar]

Actually halogen lights are really a bad idea, the coloring is way off from what our animals need to survive and the heat they produce would be next to impossible to deal with. Halogen's lifetime are VERY short, not to mention the colors will shift rapidly with age. Least of all the amount of electricity they consume will amaze you, sure you may get 500w of light but you also get about 400watts of heat per bulb. The only thing useful in them I see so far is maybe the enclosure, maybe the reflector, and the endcaps. (going to hack one to make a 70w MH pendant)

Now if you are really looking to do some off the HD shelf you type of stuff you can find HPS (high pressure sodium) fixtures to hack on that are a little higher color temp that may work for you for around $30 or so, they will be quite yellow. It's been done before successfully, I think Peregrinus still has a tank setup that he's using them on.

But from the sounds of it, we have another DIY junkie on our hands :)

[dakar]

If you are looking for some ballast and stuff do check through the For Sale section, I know SIrpat just posted a pair of MH ballasts up there, those I can personally vouch for them being in great shape (I helped him retro his current setup), all sorts of goodies around to be had for cheap.