[jtravapd]

hello everyone, right now i have a 180 gallon tank with just a powercompact lighting system...all my corals seem to be doing fine do to good setup and placement..however i want to upgrade soon....im nervous about metal halide lighting a family friends house burned down and the fire orginated from his fish tank.....i have a wooden canopy top, but im afraid to just mount the lights to that, for some reason i feel the systems that are all inside one strip are safer...is this true?....but then again i saw on ebay a metal halide system with 3 250watt halides and 4 96 watt actnics, and 8 moon lights for like 500 bucks all enclosed in a case...are there certain brands to beware of buying?...i feel asking peoples experiences with different items can save me money and my house from burning down..lol....

[Six-line Wrasse]

Retrofitting into a hood can be dangerous business if you're not careful. The #1 reason for fires concerning a fish tank is most likely due to water getting onto electrical wires that are not protected or grounded. Ballasts, loose wires, and uncovered lighting are probably the three most likely candidates for house fires due to aquariums.

When retrofitting make sure to heat shrink or water-proof cap all exposed wires. Your outlets should be off the floor and at least four to five feet away from your system. All equipment supplied with power should have GFI (pardon if I got the acronym wrong) plugs attached to them. Lastly, due water-resistant or water-proof end caps for your bulbs. I can't tell you how many people I've seen ruin their systems because they didn't spend the extra $5 an end cap for water-resistant/proof end caps.

Other then that, you can pretty much use to mantra "You get what you paid for" with good accuracy.

[jtravapd]

So would you say that buying the all in one systems might be a better bet?..even though its more expensive?....

[jvharding]

I retro fitted my MH on my 75G Oceanic wooden cap. I used Good Reflectors. and a thin Insulation I have 2 175 Watt Blue Line bulbs with Mogul Sockets. This system uses Red Sea Ballasts! I also Have 2 110W VHO Bulbs power by Ice Cap 660 Ballast This runs very cool the ballast that is. I noticed in one of your other threads you had heat Issue. A Chiller is in your future if you plan on upgrading your lighting. My retro fitted system has been running for about 5 years. Proper installation will make a safe system. Even the inclosure's can fail. I think in most cases User Error comes into play. I say building your lighting system can be beneficial if done correctly I have a full size reflector under my hood with the addition of reflector Shells for MH. I am considering replacing my hardware only because of age.