Non-HO tube in fixture with HO ballast?

[cubequeen]

I have a Glo T5 fixture whose bulbs have just burned out. I will be switching from fluorescent to LED and have found plug-and-play retrofit bulbs I can use in the fixture. They come in both HO and non-HO. The fixture has a HO ballast. I am thinking of switching to non-HO bulbs to tone down the brightness a bit as this fixture is now over a 10-gallon tank that will house a betta. The fixture uses 2 bulbs. I cannot just use one bulb, as two are required for the fixture to light up. Will using non-HO bulbs with HO ballast be okay?

 

[dougall]

I would honestly replace the whole thing with a cheap aquarium LED fixture rather than using something designed for general use retrofitted into an aquarium fixture.

give yourself the color control and the dimmability you can get with a dedicated fixture

and no.. I would not try using a fixture designed for less power in a fixture that provides twice as much.

replacing the ballast so it works as expected, and isn;t a fire hazard over a box of water will make it less plug-and-play.

 

[cubequeen]

Welp, nevermind! Just answered my own question by reading the product page more carefully, and it specifically states you cannot put the non-HO tube in a HO fixture. Duh! Anyway, yeah, I could just replace the whole thing, but I REALLY like the fixture and it how it fits over the tank. I'll probably end up gutting it and installing an American Aquarium Products AquaRay like I did the other one.

 

[dougall]

If you are going to retrofit, I would make sure that enough air will circulate to let the LEDs cool.

But the reflector is going to be useless with LED lighting, so you are making the fixture 4 or 5 times taller than it needs to be, I'd look for one of the generic chinese finnex-type fixtures on eBay or wherever, or use something like the Fluval V3 or such, I think most come in an 18 or 20" fixture to fit correctly.

 

[cubequeen]

If you are going to retrofit, I would make sure that enough air will circulate to let the LEDs cool.

But the reflector is going to be useless with LED lighting, so you are making the fixture 4 or 5 times taller than it needs to be, I'd look for one of the generic chinese finnex-type fixtures on eBay or wherever, or use something like the Fluval V3 or such, I think most come in an 18 or 20" fixture to fit correctly.

I have seen Finnex recommended by many. I guess I'm old school and having trouble letting go of the fluorescent fixture way of doing things. I will check out Finnex.

 

[dougall]

Spend some time and look around..

Power won't be as much of an issue as how the color appears, there's a huge range of variety... Just take a look of folks posting photos with them.