Running a larger bulb on existing ballast...

[kraphtymac]

Okay... well, I recently invested in an 18 gallon M-Tank from Finnex. The unit comes with a 2 x 36W PC fixture, and I would like to upgrade this hood for obvious reasons (it's not enough!)

 

My question is this. In taking the fixture apart as far as I can without removing the rivets, I noticed that this unit incorporates starters rated at firing between 4-65W. Does anybody know if I would be able to put 2 65 watts bulbs in this hood without any troubles with the ballast? This would be the cheapest upgrade for my money. Thanks ahead of time!

 

 

Here is a link to the tank, just for info:

http://www.finnex.net/pages/product/MTank.html

 

And a related nano-reef thread for some more pics and info:

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...ighlight=finnex

[Daemonfly]

If it has starters, I'm guessing it's a magnetic ballast, which usually won't run bulbs that they weren't rated for.

 

You could get a electronic ballast that would work for around $20-$30. The Fulham Workhorse 7 would be a good example.

[Rikko]

Nope, won't work. The bulbs determine the power in the circuit, not the ballast. If you put 2x65W bulbs in there, odds are the ballast will either overheat and melt internally, or overheat and melt externally.

 

You might want to peek inside and see what the ballast is rated for, though. If it's up to 65W you're good to go. A ballast can exceed the wattage rating of the bulbs and work just fine (case in point, I was playing with my Workhorse 7 like Daemonfly mentioned, which can power 4x54W bulbs and had a single 9W tube in there - zero problems), but it's unlikely that they'd give you such an overrated ballast and sell an economical fixture.

 

But new ballasts are cheap and easy! I'd recommend the Workhorse series as well, though the 7 is probably overkill. Check www.fulham.com and see what they say. I think running 2 65W PCs needs nothing more than a WH5.

[RobinsonFam1]

if you have a 55 watt ballast and put on a 65 watt bulb you will only get 55 w of light.

since the bulb is not burning at optimum power then one would only think that the bulb is not putting out the lighting spectrum you had intended for.

 

I do know that you can run a larger bulb on a smaller ballast without causing harm rather than vice versa.

 

i do not know for sure if it will change the light spectrum and maybe someone else could chime in on that one!

 

HTH