Compact Florescent Socket Choice?

[khurley]

Ok, I am currently redoing a hood for my 10g nano.  In the past I've used 4 NO T8 bulbs and decided to up the lighting this time and am looking at CF's (I don't want to deal with the heat of a 175W MH in only 10g).  I have the ballests numbers and diagrahms to wire up a 4X28W CF setup using the 4-pin square type sockets.  The 28W bulbs are less than 13" and I have 20 to play with.  I can step up to 36W CF bulbs as they are less than 17" long which would really excite me...especially if I could also cram 1 or 2 NO actinics in the hood  (that might take some creative use of space).  

 

however, I have yet to find 36W bulbs in anything by the straight 4-pin arrangement.  So I have a couple of questions I would like to hear advice on:

 

1)  The 28W square-pin socket bulbs are easy to find.  I only have found two sources for the straight-pin 36W bulbs.  Anyone else using these bulbs?  Are they hard to come by?  Am I better to stick with the square-sockets or try the straight-line sockets?

 

2)  Do the 35W CF bulbs come in a square-4 pin socket?

 

3)  I know the Advance Ballasts REL-2P32 and REL-4P32 will fire 2X and 4X28W bulbs respectively.  Anyone know what ballast would fire 2X or 4X36W bulbs?

 

Thanks for the help,

 

Keith Hurley

[NanoReefer53]

The only 36w PC bulbs that I know of come in straight pin arrangements. These arn't hard to come by, really easy to find. As for sockets, I don't have a socket but instead little wire connecters that allow me to use square or straight. Basically, it's the the wire attacthed to a lil tube. There's 4 tubes and each one goes over on of the pins.

[Dave ESPI]

I use custom Sealife Square pins. They are more readily availble in the USA, but more technological advances are rhumored to be in the straight pin design... The school is still out of sesstion on that one though....

[johnst65]

Try www.hellolights.com