gobies Posted July 24, 2002 Share Posted July 24, 2002 I was looking at ballasts at Home Depot the other day, and couldn't make sense out of most of the abbreviations. T8 and T15 I know, but some of the boxes' descriptions are written in code. Anyone know of a "handy decoder guide" for NO and CF ballasts? Half the time I couldn't even tell if I was looking at an NO or a CF ballast! Link to comment
Cam barr Posted July 25, 2002 Share Posted July 25, 2002 home depot stuff is kinda crappy number one all the lighting stiff they sell is for home stuff not reef stuff and all the stuff thats equivlent to metalhaild is not the right temp nor color juat my 2 cents but happy hunting if you want some cool cheap diy stuff for reef aqueriea go to hellolights.com Link to comment
gobies Posted July 25, 2002 Author Share Posted July 25, 2002 I'm not looking for metal halide stuff. Just the CF ballasts. The things are so bloody heavy that I'd like to avoid paying shipping charges if I can. Also -- what's the difference between a ballast made for aquarium use and a ballast not specifically made for aquarium use? I don't plan on housing the ballast in the hood; that would make the hood too heavy. Link to comment
dattack Posted July 25, 2002 Share Posted July 25, 2002 I don't even look at the CF ballast at homedepot. I think there were only a handlful but most of the electronic fluorescent ballast will run CF. Just make sure that it is within a few watts of the intended lamp. Also, most of the HD ballast are made by advance and they do weigh a ton. I have had good results with workhorse ballasts. They can run VHO/PC/NO all within a certain max wattage. It's very light also. But if you want it prewired, I guess hellolights is a pretty good deal. Check out the specs of the workhorse at www.fulham.com It cost me $21 for a workhorse 5 and $33 for workhorse 7. I am actually running VHO's with the WH7. Link to comment
Nishant3789 Posted July 25, 2002 Share Posted July 25, 2002 jw, but if i baught a workhors 3 rated at 65 watts, io could power a 36 watt powercompact bulb? if so, how would i connect the bulb to the ballast? and if i need a socket, where would i get one? thanks nishant Link to comment
dattack Posted July 26, 2002 Share Posted July 26, 2002 Well this was the drawing on the fulham site for the WH3. You can get waterproof endcaps with wire for $9 at www.hellolights.com Link to comment
gobies Posted August 1, 2002 Author Share Posted August 1, 2002 I just picked up a MagneTek ballast at HD for sixty cents. I looked at the bulb code and was clueless, but for under a buck, I figured what the hey.... Turns out it's for a circular 22w bulb. But hey, you can get those in 5000K and 6500K varieties. I figure I'll mount it over a refugium at some point. These things regularly retail for $25. I am amused. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.