70w DIY Metal Halide Light

I started building this last week and just finished it due to waiting on the bulbs to get here. Everything except the bulb have been purchased locally or recycled.

I started with a 500w halogen work light, and gutted what wouldn't be used.


Next I wired in the cord from the ballast to the light.

Then I wired and mounted the ballast in an old computer power supply.

(guts from power supply) Wired in the on/off switch, power in, and fans.

Then closed it back up.


Upon fire-up

Final product

 

good job! I love the DIY!!!! hey...take those wheels off your filter. they're known to be nitrate factories and when I took mine off within a few weeks my tanks nitrates did go down! also, do you have the lid to that filter? might want to put it back on, all that light coming in might cause an algae bloom.

 

That is an older pic, the wheels are gone now. The back of the emperor 400 is half filter half hob fuge.

 

ahhhh 10-4 then! Good Job on the light!!!

 

Thanks! I love the diy stuff, thought i would give it a try. It took me longer to try to figure out the BAD ballast wiring diagram than it did to actually do the whole project.

 

Man thats cool.. !!!

We need more DIY on lights, with the way prices are..
How much money you think you have in them..??

Thanks, Larry

 

$82 dollars total. The bulb is just a cheap one for now, buy one get one. I payed $25 total for 2 and sold the other for $20 so about $62 after that. They are just a temp until I can find another I like.

 

Great job! 8)

What kind of bulb are you using? Someone was asking about 70w halides recently and I could not remember what I used.

 

just a cheap ebay one for now. livestock seem to be liking it, and i wanted to see how cheap i could do it.

 

Very nice, love the idea of using a computer power supply as the ballast case.