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Old 09/20/2007, 01:34 PM
pjf pjf is offline
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Join Date: May 2005
Location: Colorado
Posts: 2,227
Re: Overdriving T8's or T12's?

Quote:
Originally posted by Embowe
I have a question that has been buggin me for some time now...is it possible to wire up some NO T8's or T12's to get enough lumins to keep a good variety of coral...the most demanding I would be keeping would be my anem, and prolly a bubble......I am trying to do a lowbuget 55 tank....a starting with 2 48" shoplights from Home Depot..4 bulbs ...what kind of ballest(s) would I be looking at to overdrive them to the point that it would be worth it...(im out on disability for a while and need a "project" to do..)
If you want to "overdrive" a T12, all that you have to do is buy a T12-VHO. 4-foot long T12-VHO lamps can be driven to 110 watts. At www.marinedepot.com, you will find kits for both T5-VHO and T12-VHO.

If you want variable lighting from the same bulb, www.naturallighting.com sells dimming ballasts. In fact, they sell T6-HO bulbs that are rated for 32 to 55 watts. I've purchased T6-HO bulbs from this vendor and they do work at lower wattages. I had 4-foot T6-HO bulbs running with 40-watt ballasts. Here are some links:

VHO Kits: http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_Aquari..._subindex.html
Dimming Ballasts: http://www.naturallighting.com/web/shop.php?crn=623
T6-HO (32w-55w): http://www.naturallighting.com/web/shop.php?crn=704

The advantage of standard bi-pin T6 lighting is that it is plug-compatible with T8, T10 & T12 sockets. Beware of non-standard T6 lamps that are simply T5's with T6 endcaps. T5's are about 2 inches shorter than equivalent T6/T8/T10/T12 lamps.