DIY Help For Lighting

[Vincenzo.]

so i have been doing some research and im still not sure on what light bulbs and stuff to use..i seem to get caught up in a few peoples DIY and loose track.. so a few questions

this is just a bunch of random questions so bare with me


1) can u use those 4pack of regular energy efficient cool white bulbs? they are like 23watt but say they are equal to 100watt.

they say they produce a total of like 4100 lumen and are like 10 000k

^ if thats the case just use 8? for a total of 200watt?

2)i have 2 ballasts that each can hold 2 T8/T5 FL bulbs (so a total of 4)
but on the ballast it say the highest watts is 32watt @ 120V

^so whats the best bulb i can put in this?

^can the ballast put out more watt's too?

3)at my job i came across a M57 MH 175 (this huge honking thing) - it's used for lighting in big stores and on this thing it says: CW auto transformer ballast 175W M57 MH lamp or H39 mercury lamp or 150W M107 MH lamp

says it goes from 120V-277V and has a 400V limit

^do i need this beast of a thing to run s 175MH? or by running this thing will i get more than 175W? or is that just the bulb?

^also it says it's currently wired up for 215Watts (will the bulb push that out even if it's 175?), does that mean it can push out alot more?

^if so where can i get a better bulb for this thing.

4) anyone have some DIY plans or blueprints for lighting i can look at?



.
.
sorry for the miss-mash of questions, but im not a electrician, and this S*%$ is confusing.

[reefdava16]

Ok first you need to tell us what you are trying to build this for;
Tank dimensions?
What type of lighting do you want?
What type of corals do you want to keep?

[Vincenzo.]

46gal bow..keep mostly all corals

[Hookup]

Just so you do not feel left out.. I do not know any of the above products so it's hard/impossible for me to make recommendations specific to your above questions... srry... I would also assume that most people will have similar hesitation, but your millage may vary... 

In theory, most of your lighting options should work, if you are pumping the appropriate PAR levels into your system...   

Here is a photo of measured par-values from a known lighting system that you could use as a reference if you DIY this lighting system... http://ovas.ca/index.php?topic=32288.0  (scroll down, it's the 2nd or 3rd post).

[Vincenzo.]

new question... i have 2 32watt ballast w/ end caps. the wattage from the ballast is different from the wattage from the bulb?

i read a 30watt ballast is good for 36'' tank?

will these 32watt ballasts be good enough for any T5 bulb, basically is my REAL question?