Can anyone tell me what I've got here?

[Fish R.Ph.]

Hello everyone,

I picked up a 75 gallon tank, 48 inches long, with stand and canopy. Inside the canopy the seller threw in the following light fixture and ballast. But I am so new to these things that I'm not exactly sure what I've got!

I think the fixture holds 2 36 inch bulbs and 2 MH bulbs. It looks like this, and says "Hamilton Technologies" on it:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...e/IM000145.jpg

Two wires just sort of dangle out and I'm not sure what they connect to??

The ballast is an old, rusty-looking beast (it must weigh 30 pounds):

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...e/IM000146.jpg

It has 2 buttons on the front, and 2 power cords. Does one power the 36 inch bulbs and 1 the MH bulbs?

Anyway, do you think if I brought it to a LFS they would see if it runs? I tried running it with just the 36 inch bulbs and the actinic came on fine, but the other (not sure what it is) didn't light up. I'd like to think I could clean it up, and not have to buy another fixture, since I will surely need to buy new bulbs.

Or, should I just ditch the whole setup and look for something better?

Anyway, thanks for any input! You guys have been a terrific help to a newbie like me!

-Jason

[Reefland]

Hey Jason!

Definitely keep it, I am sure it will do you just fine. My intial thought was that the 2 wires hanging out for to connect to the VHO bulb (the 36" bulbs) ballast but if you connected the main ballast and one light came on then I am not sure what these are from.

For the VHO bulbs, if one lit and the other didn't it would mean either the bulb is not connected well in the end cap or the bulb is bad. If the ballast fires one bulb it will fire 2. Hamilton Technologies is a sponsor of ours so I would recommend that you go to their site via our sponsors page and try to contact their customer support. I am sure they will be helpful to you.

[Fish R.Ph.]

Thanks Scott,

I forgot they were a sponsor . I have sent them an email with pictures and my question(s).

-Jason

[Reefland]

Hey Jason,

I also dropped "my contact" an e-mail for you.

[charlie]

Not bad for a throw in
Clean it up and fire it up my friend, you can't beat the price. Even if you had to buy a new ballast, I think it would be worth the hassle. Great find!!!

[Fish R.Ph.]

Not bad for a throw in
Clean it up and fire it up my friend, you can't beat the price. Even if you had to buy a new ballast, I think it would be worth the hassle. Great find!!!

Thanks guys,

I hope I can make it work, because it fits really well in the canopy over the tank.

By the way, here is a pic of the tank. I had to sand the whole stand down and paint it. But with new hardware and a fresh coat of paint it isn't too bad now.

http://www.reefland.com/gallery/file...2/IM000149.JPG

I'll be having lots of questions soon. I'm working on a sump design.

See ya,

Jason

[charlie]

I'll be having lots of questions soon. I'm working on a sump design.

See ya,

Jason

Are you building it yourself?

[Fish R.Ph.]

Are you building it yourself?

Sort of.

The tank is a 30 gallon long which will fit under my stand (after I tweak it with my skill saw!!). I picked it up for 20 bux from a LFS that was closing 2 weeks ago .

I'll be doing the baffles. I've bought some acrylic already. Now I'm just working on a design that will make maintenance relatively easy. The tank will take up almost all the area under the stand. Great for volume...but challenging (at least for me!!) on design.

I need to decide on a skimmer and pump, so I have some dimensions to work around. But in the end, the design will hopefully be pretty simple: Input chamber with skimmer then 3 baffles then fuge then 3 baffles then output via Mag something or other... (7 or 9.5 is my thinking).

My wife thinks I should build the whole thing and leave it in a bath tub. I guess she has a sense for my plumbing skills!!

Handyman magazine has a "greatest goofs" section every month. I have no doubt I will be a contestant in the near future..

See ya,

Jason