This ballast can run the 75w VHO bulbs or CF bulbs as well right? So if down the road I want to try something different I'm not stuck with a $30 ballast. Just checking
Time to get lights
- Thread starter superjohnny
- Start date
it can run any bulb or combination of bulbs as long as its under 128 watts.
meaning you could run 4x25 watt fluorescents bulbs or 1x96 watt CF...
Im using one currently to run 2x54 watt T5s.
meaning you could run 4x25 watt fluorescents bulbs or 1x96 watt CF...
Im using one currently to run 2x54 watt T5s.
Originally posted by slipknottin
of course Gumby, you could always go nuts and retro in 1 or 2 54 watt T-5s
Sure but standard T5's (not U tubes) are pretty scarce, if they exist at all up here. If you are lucky you can find 3 temperatures of T8's. (Besides I understand U tubes/Aquarium bulbs lumen output drops off rather dramatically with time).
A cheapo 4' fixture with _magnetic_ ballast runs you close to $30 Canadian. And you have to assemble it!
I need something I can go to the local store and economically replace the bulb when it dies (or, gasp, before the output drops off). Buying it on the internet doesn't cut it.
Gumby
I went to a (not so) local fish store this weekend and they had a ton of CF light strips, but they all cost $200+ 
I haven't been able to find VHO daylight bulbs anywhere. The VHO bulbs I've found online are around $40 shipped (OUCH!) That 96w kit from ahsupply is looking pretty good, but they haven't emailed me back from 2 days ago.
Where do you get your VHO lights slip?
I haven't been able to find VHO daylight bulbs anywhere. The VHO bulbs I've found online are around $40 shipped (OUCH!) That 96w kit from ahsupply is looking pretty good, but they haven't emailed me back from 2 days ago.Where do you get your VHO lights slip?
I'm just wondering what everyone's experience/opinions of IceCap Electronic ballasts and how they claim how much more efficient these systems (ballast, encaps, etc.) are? Why have I heard more about Fulham on this thread? Is Fulham cheaper, better quality, both?
I thought I was starting to understand how lights worked, then I read this thread and heard about the "factors" and such! Now I need some more learning. Man, anyone want to run through the whole shebang with me? Or point me at something explaining this 70% to 90% factor? I only see 4' VHO tubes being sold in T12 sizes.
Basically I have a 55 gal that I'm going to heavily plant and want 3w per gal (or thereabouts). I plan to inject CO2, and I'm trying to figure out the most price/energy/availability combo for my needs. I really want to get my money's worth out of the thing, and I understand that sometimes it's better to put down cash up front in order to save in the long run. For this reason I also plan to go pressurized CO2.
I don't really want to wear out my bulbs faster than normal, but I'd be willing to use NO (normal output) flourescent bulbs with an electronic ballast if it works fine. I am going to (DIY) build my own suspended wood canopy and plan to have it hold up to 4 tubes (maybe 5 if necessary). I was looking at the IceCap model 660 (so I'd have room to upgrade in future for larger tanks) It also only costs slightly more than the 430 model. These systems seem very versatile as they can acomodate NO, HO, or VHO bulbs in any combo. Are all electronic ballasts the same? Any I should stay away from? Any advice would be nice. I'm sure others would benefit also. Thanks for info so far, BTW!
I thought I was starting to understand how lights worked, then I read this thread and heard about the "factors" and such! Now I need some more learning. Man, anyone want to run through the whole shebang with me? Or point me at something explaining this 70% to 90% factor? I only see 4' VHO tubes being sold in T12 sizes.
Basically I have a 55 gal that I'm going to heavily plant and want 3w per gal (or thereabouts). I plan to inject CO2, and I'm trying to figure out the most price/energy/availability combo for my needs. I really want to get my money's worth out of the thing, and I understand that sometimes it's better to put down cash up front in order to save in the long run. For this reason I also plan to go pressurized CO2.
I don't really want to wear out my bulbs faster than normal, but I'd be willing to use NO (normal output) flourescent bulbs with an electronic ballast if it works fine. I am going to (DIY) build my own suspended wood canopy and plan to have it hold up to 4 tubes (maybe 5 if necessary). I was looking at the IceCap model 660 (so I'd have room to upgrade in future for larger tanks) It also only costs slightly more than the 430 model. These systems seem very versatile as they can acomodate NO, HO, or VHO bulbs in any combo. Are all electronic ballasts the same? Any I should stay away from? Any advice would be nice. I'm sure others would benefit also. Thanks for info so far, BTW!
I heard a lot of good things about the IceCap ballasts at reefcentral (in fact I think they are a sponsor so be careful what you read). I (finally) found the Fulham Workhorse 5 ballast at a local Eoff's electric for $19.94. I think the IceCap's cost a bit more than that.
I'm going to take slipnottin's advice and go with a VHO 95w fulorescent tube as opposed to the CF because they are a little more cost effective. Since these ballasts support NO, HO and VHO output I should be covered if I want to change to CF.
So $20 for the ballast, $30 for a light and ~$15 for end-caps and misc pieces I should have a nice setup for around $70... if all goes as planned that is.
I'm going to take slipnottin's advice and go with a VHO 95w fulorescent tube as opposed to the CF because they are a little more cost effective. Since these ballasts support NO, HO and VHO output I should be covered if I want to change to CF.
So $20 for the ballast, $30 for a light and ~$15 for end-caps and misc pieces I should have a nice setup for around $70... if all goes as planned that is.
Hope this all works out well for you SJ. I'm still confused about the whole lighting thing. Seems like the more I read, the more questions I have.
For instance: How many Lumens do I need to cover a 55 gal tank? I can understand the 3w/gal rule, but Lumens isn't explained here. I know people are trying the new screw in PC bulbs and I only see lumens listed for these. I also am confused about how if VHO or PCF lights are supposedly more efficient then how does the amount of Watts compare to planted aquariums then.
Another question came to mind when I went to this web site and saw the screw in PCF light bulbs. There is one that is a 55w bulb that says it "replaces" a 250w bulb. Now there is clearly a difference between the output of each watt in this instance. Anybody got an explanation?
For instance: How many Lumens do I need to cover a 55 gal tank? I can understand the 3w/gal rule, but Lumens isn't explained here. I know people are trying the new screw in PC bulbs and I only see lumens listed for these. I also am confused about how if VHO or PCF lights are supposedly more efficient then how does the amount of Watts compare to planted aquariums then.
Another question came to mind when I went to this web site and saw the screw in PCF light bulbs. There is one that is a 55w bulb that says it "replaces" a 250w bulb. Now there is clearly a difference between the output of each watt in this instance. Anybody got an explanation?
I researched this for a bit before I went and bought the lamp and I feel like I have a decent handle on it. To date I've built one lamp for one tank. Slip seems much more knowledgeable on the subject and I imagine there are some other folks out there as well. So that's the grain of salt, this is my understanding of it…
How many Lumens do I need to cover a 55 gal tank?
Lumens are a measure of what we see -- it doesn't really have anything to do with what plants use. You could have a bulb with plenty of lumens and very little photosynthetically useful light. Some bulbs will have a PAR rating, which is basically lumens for plants. Can't remember what it stands for. Most folks just go by watts per gallon of flourescent light…
…so if you see something that says "There is one that is a 55w bulb that says it 'replaces' a 250w bulb" they are comparing flourescent to incandescent. I replaced my old 60w bulb with an 11w screw-in flourescent.
I also am confused about how if VHO or PCF lights are supposedly more efficient then how does the amount of Watts compare to planted aquariums…
It took me a staggeringly long time to wrap my head around this (much too thick ). All flourescents are equally efficient with regards to output. The difference is in the amount of bulb it takes to get this output. I think an a 15w NO bulb is about 18" long. My 36w CF bulb is also about 18" long (a little shorter actually). I'm not getting more light out of the watts, I'm getting more light out of the space. The 95w VHO bulb was likewise only 36" long.
You could put 4x55 watts of CF very neatly over a 55. Likewise the VHO. I don't think you could fit that many NO bulbs over the tank. The screw type (curly) bulbs are just a way of getting a longer (brighter) bulb into a smaller space: I think as far as tanks are concerned you are losing a lot of light into the center and blocking light bouncing back from the reflectors and that at the end of the day you're better off with straight and thin. In a light fixture or a table lamp they're great.
AH Supply uses Fulham ballasts in their kits, which is how they came up. My impression is that they're well-regarded, as are the Ice-Caps. Both good quality. Not really that familiar with the ballast market.
I found an article on ballast factors that I still only vaguely understand but it had this point: "It is important to note that the ballast factor value is not simply a characteristic of the ballast, but of the lamp-ballast system. Ballasts that can operate more than one type of lamp… will generally have a different ballast factor for each combination."
I was under the impression that all flourescent saw a fairly significant drop after the first little bit and then evened off. Not sure how the various types differ here…
HTH
How many Lumens do I need to cover a 55 gal tank?
Lumens are a measure of what we see -- it doesn't really have anything to do with what plants use. You could have a bulb with plenty of lumens and very little photosynthetically useful light. Some bulbs will have a PAR rating, which is basically lumens for plants. Can't remember what it stands for. Most folks just go by watts per gallon of flourescent light…
…so if you see something that says "There is one that is a 55w bulb that says it 'replaces' a 250w bulb" they are comparing flourescent to incandescent. I replaced my old 60w bulb with an 11w screw-in flourescent.
I also am confused about how if VHO or PCF lights are supposedly more efficient then how does the amount of Watts compare to planted aquariums…
It took me a staggeringly long time to wrap my head around this (much too thick
). All flourescents are equally efficient with regards to output. The difference is in the amount of bulb it takes to get this output. I think an a 15w NO bulb is about 18" long. My 36w CF bulb is also about 18" long (a little shorter actually). I'm not getting more light out of the watts, I'm getting more light out of the space. The 95w VHO bulb was likewise only 36" long. You could put 4x55 watts of CF very neatly over a 55. Likewise the VHO. I don't think you could fit that many NO bulbs over the tank. The screw type (curly) bulbs are just a way of getting a longer (brighter) bulb into a smaller space: I think as far as tanks are concerned you are losing a lot of light into the center and blocking light bouncing back from the reflectors and that at the end of the day you're better off with straight and thin. In a light fixture or a table lamp they're great.
AH Supply uses Fulham ballasts in their kits, which is how they came up. My impression is that they're well-regarded, as are the Ice-Caps. Both good quality. Not really that familiar with the ballast market.
I found an article on ballast factors that I still only vaguely understand but it had this point: "It is important to note that the ballast factor value is not simply a characteristic of the ballast, but of the lamp-ballast system. Ballasts that can operate more than one type of lamp… will generally have a different ballast factor for each combination."
I was under the impression that all flourescent saw a fairly significant drop after the first little bit and then evened off. Not sure how the various types differ here…
HTH
I called them yesterday and asked them what kind of ballasts they use. They said they have the ballasts made specifically for them and the ballast used in the 96w kit is a 110w ballast.
Maybe Fulham makes them?
I appreciate the input, Carpguy! I think I'm starting to soak it through my skull now.
What would everyone do in my boat? I can fit 4 NO bulbs over my tank and get 160 W of output (that's almost perfectly 3w/gal).
I also am wondering whether or not I should buy an electronic ballast to use with those NO bulbs (should I get IceCap?) and do I need to get some fancy endcaps with my order? I am trying to not lose any output through my "ballast factor", which I'm understanding will be about 70% with T12 bulbs. Will that only give me around 112 watts of power? (about 70% of 160)
Another option is to go with 32 watt T8 bulbs (4' also), or even 34 watt T12 (4', energy efficient I believe).......man, this stuff gets confusing! The main thing throwing me off now is wether I'd get more light out of a 32W T8 (90% BF), 40W T12 (70% BF), or 34W T12 (70% BF?) all using some type of electronic ballast (maybe IceCap). Which of these gives more raw photosynthetic light? From what's been said, I'm understanding that with a lower BF I'm getting less actuall light output, regardless of wattage. Am I misunderstanding? This explenation should conclude my Flourescent Lights 101 coarse
Man, this thread sure was needed for me!
What would everyone do in my boat? I can fit 4 NO bulbs over my tank and get 160 W of output (that's almost perfectly 3w/gal).
I also am wondering whether or not I should buy an electronic ballast to use with those NO bulbs (should I get IceCap?) and do I need to get some fancy endcaps with my order? I am trying to not lose any output through my "ballast factor", which I'm understanding will be about 70% with T12 bulbs. Will that only give me around 112 watts of power? (about 70% of 160)
Another option is to go with 32 watt T8 bulbs (4' also), or even 34 watt T12 (4', energy efficient I believe).......man, this stuff gets confusing! The main thing throwing me off now is wether I'd get more light out of a 32W T8 (90% BF), 40W T12 (70% BF), or 34W T12 (70% BF?) all using some type of electronic ballast (maybe IceCap). Which of these gives more raw photosynthetic light? From what's been said, I'm understanding that with a lower BF I'm getting less actuall light output, regardless of wattage. Am I misunderstanding? This explenation should conclude my Flourescent Lights 101 coarse
Man, this thread sure was needed for me!
