does anyone make a 48" T8 actinic?

[chewie]

All I can find are T12 actinic bulbs, also who makes the best 48" T8 NO 40w full spectrum bulbs?

[Smitty91]

Chewie

I use the Sylvania Coralstar Blue Actinic from Pet Warehouse (http://www.petwarehouse.com). The part # is 164404. For some reason, the description doesn't mention it being a T-8 bulb. It's only a 36WATT 4' bulb, though. I haven't seen any 4' T-8 40WATT bulbs. (not to imply they don't exist)

But, this is the only T-8 Actinic that I have found. All the rest are T-12's. Sylvania also makes the Luxline (6000K), the Aquastar (10K), and the Grolux (8.5K). All of these can be found at Pet Warehouse.

HTH

Smitty :)

[chewie]

would I need a different ballast for the 36w?

[Smitty91]

Chewie

I'm not sure. Which ballast model do you currently have?

The best thing to do is contact Pet Warehouse and tell them you have some technical questions regarding ballast compatibility issues with the Sylvania T-8 bulbs. They'll give you a number in return to contact someone regarding the ballast model #'s and compatibility issues.

HTH

Smitty

[chewie]

thanx smitty I'll do that! BTW it is a 80 watt ballast

[Avi]

i remember seing a t-12 to r-8 converter on petwhse. try looking there,

[Avi]

http://www.petwarehouse.com/webstore/webstore.nsf/fbd771ea8d7ff4fa852567da006d3cd2/f54a6d6ae6fdc841852569a2002f2b8c?OpenDocument there ya go.

[Smitty91]

If you do get the T-8's, don't forget to leave out these

http://www.petwarehouse.com/webstore/webstore.nsf/fbd771ea8d7ff4fa852567da006d3cd2/c3c6777e8fba751e87256723006a1a83?OpenDocument

Smitty :)

[PaulErik]

You can use a ballast rated for T-12 40-watt bulbs. In the USA we normally don’t use T-8 36-watt bulbs. They are very common in Europe. The T-8 36 watt bulbs replace 40-watt T-12 bulbs in Europe. They last longer and better if they are run on electronic 40-watt T-12 ballasts not on T-8 ballasts. The T-8 ballast here is rated for 32-watt 4-foot bulbs and should not be used for the European T-8 bulbs.

[Greg Moore]

Zoomed carries a full reef line of T8 bulbs, I use them on the coral prop tanks because they are more energy effecient. They are T8 but they are also the lower wattage so they need either electronic ballasts (commercial ones fine as long as made for T8) or the more expensive Icecap style. The lumen output is actually slightly higher per bulb then the higher wattage 40w T12 too. They have a 6500K, 10000K, 03 Actinic, a 50/50 and one other reef style.

look at http://www.zoomed.com/html/lites.html for their bulbs..

Greg Moore

[Smitty91]

Greg

Much thanks for the link! http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/images/icons/icon14.gif

Paul

Ya got my head spinnin! :D

The T-8 bulbs are 32WATT bulbs, not 36WATT (at least that's what the bulbs have printed on them). So, why would using a ballast rated for 32WATT bulbs, shorten the life of a 32WATT bulb? I would think overdriving it with a ballast rated for 40WATT bulbs would have more of an impact at shortening the life span of the bulb. Course, there are many variables here, as the IceCap ballast can run NO bulbs more efficiently then it can VHO bulbs for a much, much longer period of time.

I've never run T-8 bulbs with a T-12 ballast, so I can't speak from experience there. My question, why even make a T-8 ballast then if T-8 bulbs run off a T-12 ballast??

Smitty :)

[PaulErik]

The Sylvania Luxline, Grolux, Aquastar, Coralstar T-8 4 foot bulbs are 36-watt bulbs. The Zoomed 4 foot bulbs are 32 watt. The Sylvania bulbs are to be used on a 40 watt T-12 rapid start ballast. Here in the USA we don’t normally use 36-watt bulbs. They are energy saving bulbs. Used to replace 40-watt T-12 bulbs in Europe. The 36 and 40-watt bulbs are rapid start and pre heat only. The 32-watt bulbs are rapid start and instant start only. The 36-40 watt bulbs are made differently than the 32-watt bulbs. You shouldn’t run them on any ballast. The starting method is different for 32-watt bulbs than the 36-watt bulbs. The operating voltage is also different for 32-watt bulbs than the 36-watt bulbs. I hope this helps a little.

[chewie]

this helps me a great deal!! thanx to all for the info.

[Smitty91]

Paul

I'll have to check my ballast out next time I have my hood off. I asked for the ballast that runs the Sylvania T-8 bulbs. So, it could very well be a T-12 ballast. Although it is lighter and runs cooler than your typical T-12 ballast. The company I purchased the ballast from, is the same one that supplies the bulbs to Pet Warehouse. Which I don't understand why Pet Warehouse doesn't sell the ballast to run the lights they sell.(in this particular case)

I just replaced these bulbs after having run them a year. Actinics usually don't keep their spectrum as long as your white bulbs. I didn't notice any problems that I could physically see, indicative of premature burnout. Of course, we're not able to detect or pick up on such problems without the help and use of the appropriate equipment. This equipment isn't a standard household item, yet! :D Maybe it'll be the next rave for the Marine Industry! ;)

The recommended replacement of actinics are I believe every 6-8 months. So if there are any premature problems to the bulbs caused from the ballast I'm running, they are unnoticeable to the naked eye in that time span.

Just tell them which bulbs you want to run and they should send you the correct ballast.

Smitty :)

[Greg Moore]

Pauleric:

I did a pile of research before deciding on the lighting for our coral far, being softies, tubes made sence and with 32 4' bulbs, energy was a concern.

You have done your research very well. Of all the people that respond to threads like this with mis-leading info etc, the information you have provided in this thread is 100% bang on fact, good to see other people actually look into things before giving advice, well done!!

Greg

[sparkey]

T-8 are the energy saving counterpart to a t- 12 make sure youb have a t-8 electronic ballast

[Smitty91]

Hmmm, I didn't see anyone giving any mis-leading information here. I do see some good discussion.

Smitty :)