schgr.cube Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 I got a free 24" coralife 2 bulb T5-HO, without bulbs. Im setting up a pico so I was wondering if I could just chop it in half, and plug in some 12" bulbs into it. Is this going to be epic fail? Link to comment
StevieT Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 12" bulbs will be lower wattage, so ballast will be over powered Link to comment
Deano Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Ballast won't be over powered but the bulbs will be by the ballast Link to comment
evilc66 Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Not necessarily. Many ballasts will automatically adjust to the bulb that is attached to it. I'm not guranteeing that the Coralife ballast will, but many do. If it doesn't work, Workhorse 5 ballasts are dirt cheap and will definitely run the 12" bulbs. Link to comment
Grape Nuts Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 My coral life EZ ballasts will/have worked from 12" to 48". I would personally try it. Fire! Link to comment
schgr.cube Posted January 29, 2011 Author Share Posted January 29, 2011 So worst case scenario, I won't burn down my house? Any potential problems with the nano tuners 12" bulbs, or should I play it safe and test with cheapies? Link to comment
FishTacos Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 why not sell your fixture and buy one that is the right size with that money you make? Link to comment
schgr.cube Posted January 29, 2011 Author Share Posted January 29, 2011 why not sell your fixture and buy one that is the right size with that money you make? Tried selling it before with no bites, seems like a 24" 2 bulb isn't very popular. Anyone want to buy it? Link to comment
schgr.cube Posted January 29, 2011 Author Share Posted January 29, 2011 Well the guy who gave it to me gave me the bulbs for the light, everything is brand new. I guess I'll try to sell it again. If anyone is interested, here is the thread: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=259188 If nothing pans out, I'll just chop it apart and start trying make it a smaller fixture. Link to comment
schgr.cube Posted January 30, 2011 Author Share Posted January 30, 2011 So I realized a problem with the Coralife mini lamp today...the bulbs are only 9". This wouldn't be a problem necessarily, but that pretty much forces me to use coralife bulbs only. If I still decide to go the original route and chop the fixture, am I going to run into problems attempting to try the nano-tuners 12" UVL V-HO bulbs? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Just size the fixture to fit the largest bulb size, and adjust the bulb placement in the fixture accordingly. Then you can use whatever you like, up to a point. Link to comment
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