Halide help please.

Well i was able to sell my everquest account today for 275 dollars, not as much as i had hoped for, but its free money so hey, what the heck.


i was planning on using this money to buy some better lights for my system. i have looked on ebay, and there is a guy named opti1 who sells retro kits. there is currently a system for sale that is set at 189 with buy it now up. it is a pfo 175 ballast, a reflector, 2-24" Normal output flourescents, and of course all of the sockets and everything. the reflector is 24" long, which means i can make a canopy for my 29, and later if i get a 4 footer, i will still have room to put in a second setup if i want more light.

it also includes a 5600k bulb, and 4 zoomed flour. bulbs, 2-actinic and 2-10,000k.

i am inquiring about having one custom made for me with a 250 watt ballast and bulb, and i estimate that this will put the price around 250 or so.

my questions is, has anyone either bought a retro in the past from this guy, or bought one from someone else who offers this value or better. it seems to me that aside from the fact that it is not vho, which i would prefer for actinic lighting, this is a pretty solid deal.

also, if anyone has any skills at wiring and would like to help me do a diy thing and think we can do it for less, i would be more than happy to do that and then we could split the difference and spend it on beer, pizza, corals, whatever.

is it possible to get a reflector, ballast, wiring, bulb, as well as vho ballast, endcaps, and bulbs for around 250 anywhere to do a diy?

last option was to see if rick still had those used 250 watt halides he took down, but as he isnt working the next few weeks, it is going to be hard to get through to him. anyone know him on a more personal basis than i do?

payment for the eq character is coming in tomorrow, so the money will start burning a hole in my pocket. quick response is a must lest i impulse buy something and get ripped off!

thanks in advance.