Captain,
LOL, I actually did exactly what you are talking about and it worked out fine, but I did make a few changes!! First, this is on my 75 gallon with a custom hood, so I had more space to work with and it sounds like you will also. Instead of buying the shoplights, go to the HD lighting section and just look at the bare ballasts. You can pick up a ballast that will power the 2 T-12's for like $12 ea. Then, get a pack of the ends for like $1.50 ea and your in business!! These ballasts are better than the magnetic ones, but still get pretty hot. I ended up mounting mine on the back side of the hood on the outside so they get plenty or air. Then I just bought some of the ultra-daylight bulbs (yes, the 2 for $4 kind!) and it has worked great! one trick that I recently found out about was that even with the 6500K bulbs, if you throw in one or two real actinic bulbs, it makes it look even 'cooler'! I love the look! So for my 75 gallon to make a hood that will have 6 4' T-12 (or T-10 if I can find them!), the total cost was under $75 and that's because I added some individual switches onto each pair!
Good luck,
Bill C.
LOL, I actually did exactly what you are talking about and it worked out fine, but I did make a few changes!! First, this is on my 75 gallon with a custom hood, so I had more space to work with and it sounds like you will also. Instead of buying the shoplights, go to the HD lighting section and just look at the bare ballasts. You can pick up a ballast that will power the 2 T-12's for like $12 ea. Then, get a pack of the ends for like $1.50 ea and your in business!! These ballasts are better than the magnetic ones, but still get pretty hot. I ended up mounting mine on the back side of the hood on the outside so they get plenty or air. Then I just bought some of the ultra-daylight bulbs (yes, the 2 for $4 kind!) and it has worked great! one trick that I recently found out about was that even with the 6500K bulbs, if you throw in one or two real actinic bulbs, it makes it look even 'cooler'! I love the look! So for my 75 gallon to make a hood that will have 6 4' T-12 (or T-10 if I can find them!), the total cost was under $75 and that's because I added some individual switches onto each pair!
Good luck,
Bill C.
