OxInYourBox Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 Awesome! Thanks Vincerama. I'll have mine up soon (two diffferent kinds of enclosures) once my Ushios get here. Link to comment
Mr_NanoReefer Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 which of these ballasts would be better for a 70w setup? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=2370374741 -- or -- http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=2585682189 One is labeled for 75watts and the other 70... I'm not too sure if this really matters. Any feedback is appreciated. Link to comment
Von digity Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 Aromat is better because it can be mounted much further away from the bulb than the wpi or whatever one can be. Aromat has like a 30 ft limit, wpi has like a 12 or 24 inch limit. All I remember is that the maximum distance that the Wpi one can be from the bulb was very limiting. *edit* wpi must be within 24 inches of bulb, aromat is 25 feet Link to comment
Mr_NanoReefer Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 Thanks "Von digity"... considering I will be mounting my Regent fixture on the wall, 24 inches clearly isn't enough distance from ballast to bulb. Has anyone else had any trouble removing the screws to their Regent qf300? I stripped one screw trying to open it up. Guess I'll be sending it back to Home Depot for a new one. Link to comment
wetworx101 Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 I know some may disagree, but it seems the 70wattDE ballasts, in order of best to worst, would be as follows: 1. Fulham high-horse 2. Aromat new style 3. Aromat old style 4. WPI ballast (not electronic like the above) I think PFO makes a 70watt ballast as well, but havent heard much on it, as I think it is a magnetic as well, not as desirable as the electronic fulham and aromat ballasts. Link to comment
Mr_NanoReefer Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 Thanks "wetworx" for your list of top ballasts. I could be wrong, but I think the WPI ballast is electronic as well. Also, what's different between the old and new Aromat? just curious... Link to comment
wetworx101 Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 I dont know for sure, but usually with new rev's on e-ballasts there are performance upgrades to run the bulbs they know are currently compatible better, as well as run different types of bulbs. I remember someone else talking about it here, dont remember where... Link to comment
adinsxq Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 what about the advance ballasts? any good? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=46571 Link to comment
Von digity Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 That advance ballast looks good. I did a little yahoo search on it and got a spec sheet. They look pretty good. They have a maximum bulb-ballast distance of 5 feet (thats all I really care about, since those wpi ballast suck), but they say something about being able to mount it further (up to 15 ft) using a low gauge wire, mumbojumbo. Link to comment
Von digity Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 Not that it makes any difference, but Mr_Nano is right, the wpi ones are electronic too. However they seem to be kinda old. The one I bought off ebay a few months back seems to have been made in 97. Link to comment
oceano Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 Some halogen sockets have short metal contacts; make certain that the nipple at the tip is high to the top so it can fit a fat bulb. The ceramic part of the sockets could be broken VERY CAREFULLY by a long nose plier. Break a very tiny bit at a time; patient is the key. The 500 watt work light from HD looks better than the Regent,IMO. It does not have mounting hardware sticking out and it is more symmetrical. This work light carries many brands, but they all look identical except different colors. I personally prefer flat black over bright yellow or hot red. Commercial Electric brand is available at HomeDepot. Link to comment
smaug Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 http://www.freewebs.com/smaugs_reef/index.htm Link to comment
Vincerama Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Smaug, I like your pendant! I have the same ballast (from the same guy). YOu know you can unscrew that black metal plate...it the three screws just attach that plate to the ballast, they don't open the ballast up! What I did was, to keep things tidy, find an old computer case power supply and gut it. Then you have a nice grounded and mostly emf shielded housing. If you find one with a power switch, even better! Then you can use a normal computer power cord to plug into your ballast box, and you won't have exposed wire connections! V Link to comment
Reefer_Buddha Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 got any pics of that vincerama? Link to comment
smaug Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I am building a borad taht will go beneth the desk with individual timers for all the lights and will be adding 2 10000K PC More the marrier. Pics we want to see it all. Link to comment
Vincerama Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I'll post a picture when I get home. V Link to comment
Vincerama Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Here is a dark crappy picture of the ballast in a PC power supply case. I took the lid off to photograph it, of course! V Link to comment
smaug Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 looks good perfect fit i just trew out an old on. Link to comment
Vincerama Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Yeah, if you can find a newer one with the power switch (the old AT power supplies generally didn't have a power switch on the power supply) then that's even better! I see old computers lying in the streets all the time. Drop by a goodwill and you could probably find one for a dollar! Works good at keeping the ballast tidy anyway! V Link to comment
Reefer_Buddha Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 thats a really cool idea vince thanks for the pics im seriously considering doin what you did. Link to comment
Reefer_Buddha Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 quick question for ppl with WPI ballasts. Is it true you cant run the wire from bulb to the ballast more than 2ft? if thats the case then ill just sell it and get an aromat. Link to comment
Von digity Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Originally posted by Von digity Aromat is better because it can be mounted much further away from the bulb than the wpi or whatever one can be. Aromat has like a 30 ft limit, wpi has like a 12 or 24 inch limit. All I remember is that the maximum distance that the Wpi one can be from the bulb was very limiting. *edit* wpi must be within 24 inches of bulb, aromat is 25 feet I've always wanted to quote myself Link to comment
Reefer_Buddha Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 time to sell the wpi Link to comment
Derek_setter Posted January 25, 2004 Share Posted January 25, 2004 well some strange going on for me-- I am doing the 70 watt fixutre with the regent EQ300 fixture. I took out the stuff so i can makes some fent holes, and i noticed that the cermaic end caps for the builb seem to have already been drilled down. they look just like the one somebody showed pictures of early in the post after they were shaved down.. I also got on eof those WPI ballasts, and i guess I will just mount it above the fixture since i can't do it remotely... oh well do you think that will prove to be a heat problem. It will be mounted on a 15 gal. open top, and will hang fromt the ceiling (i coudin't beleive my grandma is going to let me do that ) is that going to be safe?? and if i use a 10k, will i need actinic supplement?? Link to comment
reefgrl Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 Hi Everybody This has been a great post to read.I am currently in the process of buying all the equipment I will need for my 75 gallon tank.I am going to build 2 acrylic frag tanks 24L X 18W X 12H,that will be on either side of my 75gal tank.I would like to go this route for the lighting for them,but I prefer the 150watt version over the 70watt. Big question.Where can I buy an aromat 150 watt ballast at?I have been searching the net for 3 days and cant find any place that sells them online.Can someone help me out with this one? TIA Reefgrl Link to comment
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