- Joined: March 2002
- Location: Tampa, Florida
- Post Count: 827
I just bought the icecap 660 and while on the icecap website there was an article by Sandy Cohen about how the icecap ballast can overdrive NO 40 watt bulbs SAFELY and produce 80 watts with the same intensity of VHO bulbs. Now I know nothing about flourescent lighting and this could be Icecap propoganda so I thought I would post the question here and see if anyone has tried it. My LFS told me the bulb would blowup but soon changed his attitude once I told him Icecap is posting it on their website. I tried a search on SWF but only came up with wiring instructions so if this topic has been discussed I apologize. I have been holding off from buying the icecap ballast because I just bought 4 new bulbs and, if possible, using them with the icecap would save $100.
55g, w/d with 110 capacity, protein skimmer, 440watts VHO, 60lbs of LR, 3'dsb, 2 types of toadstool leather, finger leather, red, green striped, metallic blue & green spotted mushrooms, button polyps, green star polyps, colt, 2 bubble corals, pearl bubble coral, hammer coral, branching hammer,...
- Joined: June 2002
- Location: San Dimas,Calif
- Post Count: 250
I read this on hellolights i don't thinks these are icecaps but the same whould aply
Q. Can I use 40 watt bulbs with this ballast?
A. We don't recommend this. A "Normal Output" (NO) bulb will indeed fire on our ballasts, but you will diminish the bulbs lifespan, and they might cause a warmer operating temperature.
125 gal. tank
4 175 watt 10k MH
2 165 watt VHO Actinic
155 lbs live rock
150 lbs live sandWill post the rest later
- Joined: March 2002
- Location: Tampa, Florida
- Post Count: 827
The article did mention the downside as being a shorter life for the 40 watt lamps but said it would last close to a year AT WORST. Although the last part of this was still non-confirmed. There was nothing mentioned about warmer burning temps but that makes good sense in light of the lamp being in overdrive. I would cut n paste the whole article here but it is rather long. For those of you who know more about this check out the article and let me know if this is complete BS.
Web Address:
http://www.icecapinc.com/famaarticle.htm or go to
www.google.com and type in icecap. It is a red hyperlink with in Icecap's introductory paragraph.
55g, w/d with 110 capacity, protein skimmer, 440watts VHO, 60lbs of LR, 3'dsb, 2 types of toadstool leather, finger leather, red, green striped, metallic blue & green spotted mushrooms, button polyps, green star polyps, colt, 2 bubble corals, pearl bubble coral, hammer coral, branching hammer,...
- Joined: March 2002
- Location: Tampa, Florida
- Post Count: 827
Sorry it is the first red hyperlink in the introductory paragraph although the second has some interesting info too.
55g, w/d with 110 capacity, protein skimmer, 440watts VHO, 60lbs of LR, 3'dsb, 2 types of toadstool leather, finger leather, red, green striped, metallic blue & green spotted mushrooms, button polyps, green star polyps, colt, 2 bubble corals, pearl bubble coral, hammer coral, branching hammer,...
- Joined: July 2002
- Location: Warsaw, NY
- Post Count: 27,076
AGS,
I've done this many time. It really works great. I don't believe it diminishes the bulbs lifespan in terms of a reef. It may burn out prematurely, but it puts out intense light for a full year, just as it would on a NO ballast.
I had some wild configuration with IceCap 660's and I've yet to stump it. The downside to most NO bulbs is the lack of an internal reflector. The upside is the price. The power consumed doesn't go up much at all.
You can also mix & match. ie. VHO Actinics and NO Daylight bulbs. This is a great compromise IMO if $$ is running short.
PH Buffers do not fix PH.
They are Ocellaris Clownfish, not false percs.
If you don't know how to spell "Anemone" you haven't done enough research to keep one.
Water changes during the cycle keeps Live Rock alive.
GuynWarsaw@Yahoo.com
- Joined: July 2002
- Location: Sterling VA
- Post Count: 116
I have mixed NO and VHO bulbs with my 430 with good results. Icecaps are great for their flexibility. I find that VHO bulbs still work best, but NOs are fine in a pinch, like when your VHO bulb needs to be changed, but you do not have a VHO bulb available (lack of planning:rolleyes: is my specialty!)
55 gallon Reef- 15 years old!
Corals: Acopora, Montipora, Porites, Bubble Coral, Branching Hammer, Favities, Frogspawn, lobophyllia, Anthellia, mushrooms (Actinodiscus sp), Colt, Cladiella, Sinularia, Cabbage (Lobophytum crassum), GSP, various zoanthids.
Inverts: BCS, Peppermint Shrimp, various...
- Joined: March 2002
- Location: Tampa, Florida
- Post Count: 827
That is good to hear because after dropping the $ for the icecap I could not afford to drop another $100+ on bulbs.
Quazi and Bang Guy,
did ya'll have any problem with heat? I called Icecap and they said the only two drawbacks were heat and diminished life span, as coral boy posted. Ya'll make any special arrangements due to the heat or did ya'll rely on cooling fans? Thanks for the help.
55g, w/d with 110 capacity, protein skimmer, 440watts VHO, 60lbs of LR, 3'dsb, 2 types of toadstool leather, finger leather, red, green striped, metallic blue & green spotted mushrooms, button polyps, green star polyps, colt, 2 bubble corals, pearl bubble coral, hammer coral, branching hammer,...
- Joined: July 2002
- Location: Warsaw, NY
- Post Count: 27,076
Well, yes, the bulb put out more heat than when run on NO. Was it twice the heat? No way. Grabbing a NO bulb is quite warm. On the Icecap (putting out twice the light) it was hot but I could still easily hold it. Probably about the same as my VHO. This could be a problem with soft plastic endcaps. But my 3-piece hard plastic ones didn't have any problems.
If you can find some waterproof endcaps you should try a T-8. WOW, those burn almost as intense as PC from what I saw.
PH Buffers do not fix PH.
They are Ocellaris Clownfish, not false percs.
If you don't know how to spell "Anemone" you haven't done enough research to keep one.
Water changes during the cycle keeps Live Rock alive.
GuynWarsaw@Yahoo.com
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