Electrical supply house confused.

[nytrillium]

Well i have my local electrical supply warehouse thuroughly confused now.... i went in asking about power compact fluorescentsand they had no clue what i was talking about. So i finally described the pin layout ( 4 square or straight) and the guy came up with a phillips bulb of style PLL. (4 straight) I assme these are the same as the PC that we would use on an aquarium but when i asked him about ballasts and wattage, the highest they weht to was 80 watts. (came in 9-18-40 etc.) He had never heard of a ballast for a 98 watt bulb which is what i want.
So i guess my question here is there any supply place that would carry this type of ballast for a 98 watt bulb? Is this even the same type of bulb/ballast? And if so is it worth buying a few of the smaller wttages instead of two 96ers?

 

[jasenhicks]

In my experience with lighting companies, and suppliers.. few know diddly about our hobbies, let alone the lighting. Most of them deal with home/office/industrial lights not ones tailored to our specific needs. Ocassionally they may know about the PCs, 96W Bulbs and ballasts, etc. but they rarely carry the special lights we need for our tanks, mainly bc they arent well known about and our niche is pretty small for them. Go to your LFS and im sure they can get you the 96W ballasts that you need. Plus, the systems designed for aquarium use will be a bit more freindly to the harsh enviornment they are in.

 

[nytrillium]

THanks,
Though my LFS tried to sell me a dual 96 watt fixture for $130, im only interested in the ballast... ill see if htey can help out.

 

[nytrillium]

I've been doing some research on the interweb, and i saw somewhere that T-8 fluorescent ballasts could run the power compact bulbs, just in a different configuration. Any Ideas on this. I want to power two 96 watt PC bulbs.

 

[nel621]

Originally Posted by NYTrillium
THanks,
Though my LFS tried to sell me a dual 96 watt fixture for $130, im only interested in the ballast... ill see if htey can help out.
Email me at nel621@optonline.net and I will give you the number of a place that carries all kind of fish light stuff. I just ordered a pair of 18 watt atinics and a ballast also a replacement 55w pc 10k for half the price of the local fs.
Nelson

 

[dogstar]

Originally Posted by NYTrillium
THanks,
Though my LFS tried to sell me a dual 96 watt fixture for $130, im only interested in the ballast... ill see if htey can help out.
Thats a good price for a fixture. You will need new bulbs later any ways.