The Planted Tank Forum - View Single Post - Cheap lighting

PikeLee · 04-01-2003, 05:04 AM

Gulf/Kor, Thanks for the replies. I knew what you meant by the endcaps and the evaporation. Good thing I won’t need that. I have a glass cover hood for my 90g. So my light strip won’t get wet from the evaporated water.

All of things got cleared up, thanks much, but then a couple of things got a little foggy.

So since the T8 and T12 can use the same endcaps, I will not be replacing them with new ones.

I’ll be getting a couple of wire nuts as you suggested. I wasn’t too sure if there were various kinds of wire nuts. When I bought my PC setup from www.ahsupply.com, the instructions given had different wire nuts for a specific purpose. I’m going to try and find those instructions and see if those wire nuts were just for size purposes or for actually current limitations that are going through it.

I’m glad to hear that you have the same light strip as I. That way I can relate my situation to yours and learn from your 1st hand experience.

OD
I’m surprised that you are using the T12’s on the F32T8 ballast. Didn’t you mention that this sucks up more energy and is not as efficient? Regardless, what would you say your dual light strip output is equivalent to? 120W, 160W…

I read somewhere in this post that a one 4x OD T8 Bulb is equivalent to 125w (but only consumes 80w)

Would you happen to know what one 2x OD T8 Bulb is equivalent to?

The same questions for one T12 bulb. 4x and 2x?

Sorry for all the questions. I’m really short on cash and would like to get the most for my money. That plus, if I use more light for a non CO2 tank, I’ll get an algae bloom.

Tom Barr Recommended that in a Tank of 3wpg or more CO2 is necessary. My 30g have a 96w PC bulb on it. My Hagen system ran out of CO2. And I learned that it ran out of CO2 from the bloom of algae. So that’s the reason for my resistance of going for more light. The 90G is going to be an attempt in a low-tech setup. High light goes too quick for me.

PC
When you suggest this ballast, 128w WH5-120-Long Case ballast, isn’t this for a PC light setup? It looks exactly like what I got on my 96W PC from ahsupply. It also looks like I can use this ballast for 2 PC 55W PC bulbs too.

Are you suggesting going the PC route, or hooking this ballast up to the T8 or T12s? My apologies for the ignorance. As I mentioned before, I don’t have a clue when it comes to these things.

Well, that’s it for now. Thanks a lot for the replies and the patience. Hopefully the light will soon flick on in my head when it comes to OD. :idea:

Cheers.

04-01-2003, 05:04 AM	#153 (permalink)
PikeLee Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: White Plains, NY Posts: 7	Gulf/Kor, Thanks for the replies. I knew what you meant by the endcaps and the evaporation. Good thing I won’t need that. I have a glass cover hood for my 90g. So my light strip won’t get wet from the evaporated water. All of things got cleared up, thanks much, but then a couple of things got a little foggy. So since the T8 and T12 can use the same endcaps, I will not be replacing them with new ones. I’ll be getting a couple of wire nuts as you suggested. I wasn’t too sure if there were various kinds of wire nuts. When I bought my PC setup from www.ahsupply.com, the instructions given had different wire nuts for a specific purpose. I’m going to try and find those instructions and see if those wire nuts were just for size purposes or for actually current limitations that are going through it. I’m glad to hear that you have the same light strip as I. That way I can relate my situation to yours and learn from your 1st hand experience. OD I’m surprised that you are using the T12’s on the F32T8 ballast. Didn’t you mention that this sucks up more energy and is not as efficient? Regardless, what would you say your dual light strip output is equivalent to? 120W, 160W… I read somewhere in this post that a one 4x OD T8 Bulb is equivalent to 125w (but only consumes 80w) Would you happen to know what one 2x OD T8 Bulb is equivalent to? The same questions for one T12 bulb. 4x and 2x? Sorry for all the questions. I’m really short on cash and would like to get the most for my money. That plus, if I use more light for a non CO2 tank, I’ll get an algae bloom. Tom Barr Recommended that in a Tank of 3wpg or more CO2 is necessary. My 30g have a 96w PC bulb on it. My Hagen system ran out of CO2. And I learned that it ran out of CO2 from the bloom of algae. So that’s the reason for my resistance of going for more light. The 90G is going to be an attempt in a low-tech setup. High light goes too quick for me. PC When you suggest this ballast, 128w WH5-120-Long Case ballast, isn’t this for a PC light setup? It looks exactly like what I got on my 96W PC from ahsupply. It also looks like I can use this ballast for 2 PC 55W PC bulbs too. Are you suggesting going the PC route, or hooking this ballast up to the T8 or T12s? My apologies for the ignorance. As I mentioned before, I don’t have a clue when it comes to these things. Well, that’s it for now. Thanks a lot for the replies and the patience. Hopefully the light will soon flick on in my head when it comes to OD. :idea: Cheers.