urgent ballast questions

[chevron tang]

ooh here goes.
allright i called home depot, only to talk to a moron who didn't even know how many watts the ballast could put out. so anyone who knows, how many watts can the ge ballasts put out?
next question, what are ALL the downfalls to having a tar ballast?
next, i am thinking 2 blue and 1 50/50 vho 96w bulbs for a 30g long. 3 foot of course. what are you guys opinions on this?

 

[predator]

Well, I'v been told by more than 1 person that that GE ballest will in fact run VHOs. I just can not remember who that was. Hopefully the will key in soon.
Tomorrow night or what?

 

[kelly]

It was Ren, and the thread is <a href="https://www.saltwaterfish.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=12&t=010158" target="_blank">https://www.saltwaterfish.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=12&t=010158</a>
Good luck, I could not find the ballast in my Lowes in Pennsylvania.

 

[chevron tang]

yeah if you would read the post (first meeting tomorrow at 6:30). oh when you get a chance i need to ask you a couple questions. otay

 

[chevron tang]

ok someone help. recapping what i understood of what ren said. i can buy two cheap ballasts and run 3 three foot 96watt bulbs with no problem. i know that's not exactly what he said cause he's using 110w but am i correct. can i do this?

 

[fishead]

3 foot fix. from there is 60 watts double bulb NO, you could maybe run a single VHO on it.

 

[chevron tang]

i'm gonna cry. ok will my tank be sufficient with only 3 96w bulbs. and how was ren running 4 4' 110w bulbs on the two ballasts?

 

[kelly]

Be patient I am sure Ren will chime in, if not start a new thread stating "Ren, Need Help!!!" and keep it near the top.

 

[chevron tang]

my idea exactly

 

[lilmojo79]

What exactly is your question? I have built my own Metal Halide Ballast. And I am going to be building a ballast system for VHO's soon. The major downfall to tar ballasts is the heat. The ballast themselves get pretty hot to the touch. The major thing is matching the watt output of the ballast to the number of watts needed for the bulbs. If you have any other questions let me know and I'll try to answer them.

 

[jakepilot]

the thing about home depot is they have a great return pollicy...try buying the GE and then if they dont work with the VHO bulbs just return the ballast, you will already have the bulbs, then you can try plan "b" a cheap vho ballast

 

[predator]

Chevron, you can up to 3 bulbs on that single ballest. All you need is the ballest,power cord, end caps and bulbs. I'll wire everything as soon as you get it. Just knuckle up and let's get it done.

 

[yardrat]

hey don't forget about me.. i need to get with you guys and figure out what i need.. man i should have done it tonight before i went to home depot, could have picked it up then.. got 100lbs of sand for $6.50.. hope my plan goes ok.. just don't wanna screw up my tank

 

[ren]

Hi-ya - Ok - i'm running 2 GE electronic ballasts. My URI VHO bulbs state that they are FO40 type bulbs. The ballasts says it will run 3 of these however I am only running 2 bulbs per ballast. 2 URI superR actinic on 1 ballast and 2 ?aquasun (I think) on the 2nd ballast. The ballasts are wired to handle 4 bulbs - think its 4 yellow for 1 side and 2 red and 2 blue wires for the other sides - I ran like 2 red to 1 bulb (1 side) and 2 blue to the other bulb (1 side) then the 4 yellows were all common to other sides. I got the ballasts from our local Lowes - just make sure they are 110V and electronic-not magnetic. There isn't a wattage rating on them but there is an amperage - 980mAmps.
HTH and lemme know if any more info is needed.
PS - the ballasts are seperate from the lighting section I found em by the florescent bulbs in our store.

 

[mrswv1956]

ok been trying to find some answers to my lighting promblems to,so i have been following u guys what are these ballasts you guys are talking about,my tank is a 55 gal,has to hoods, not one long one, bulb size is 18 inches,and i want to up my lighting do i need to get a differnt hood for my tank one that will fit a long bulb or can i do something with this one,didn;t mean to butt in on you but would like some advice.thanks

 

[chevron tang]

hey you didn't butt in ask away. that's what we're all here for, to help each other. from what i understand yeah you'll probably have to get one 36" hood instead of the two 18".
ok thanks for your help guys. i just didn't want to buy these ballasts and them not work. if i have time i may go tomorrow before the club meeting and get them. Then Predator and Yardrat we can all figure out how to wire it together.

 

[ren]

Np mrswv1956 - I made my canopy for about $35.00 in materials - 12" side boards place the bulbs about 8" above the water. The back is fully open for air circulation. Now its still unfinished cause I'm debating on making a access door in the front to keep from raising the lid everytime I go into it. Pics link below.

 

[ramey70]

Again, running VHO bulbs on a GE NO ballast will not produce VHO quality light. FO40 bulb type is just that. At type of bulb. It means the bulb is T12 size 48" bulb. FO30 would be T12 36", FO20 is T12 24" etc. The ballast will only send 40 watts of power to each bulb regardless of the amount of bulbs. A VHO ballast takes the incoming electricity and steps it up so that the VHO bulbs can be fully taken advantage of. Keep in mind that although VHO bulbs will fire and illuminate with a NO ballast they won't be putting out VHO quality light.

 

[ren]

Well to each his own. I'm just passing on what I've found. Icecap are NOT the only ballasts out there. When I first got my VHO's I had HO 40watt bulbs running. I put in the VHO bulbs and they wouldn't fire up - kinda blows that they will run but not at the output? And no not to many corals since I didn't have the light before. When I do open my hood I do see spots lol and they light the house up kinda purpleish like a black light - maybe its just the reflection from the paint on the walls? Another ? is with the FO40 type - I understand that its a type of bulb but ... why only 3? when it says it will support 4 HO bulbs? I'm not a lighting expert but do know electronics- the amperage I'm running is more than the icecap 660 can run for 4 equal bulbs - and its the amperage for the current to fire em off no?

 

[ramey70]

Amps does not equal watts. And you are right Icecap is not the only ballast out there, I use the electronic ballast from Hello Lights. They will be bright and you will see spots because of the phosphors on the bulb emmiting UV rays. UV rays will be emmited regardless of the ballast type just not at the frequency of a VHO ballast. Flourescent lighting is not just electricity + bulb = light. Flicker rates are also important and a VHO ballast sends these to the bulb at a much higher rate than a NO ballast. The basic point is a NO ballast cannot produce VHO quality light by just adding VHO bulbs. It's like putting Ferrari wheels on a Volkswagon .