can I switch one of my t5's off?...

[dOGHAIR]

Hello all,
I bought a Hagen Glo T5 HO retrofit kit with two 39w T5 bulbs.
It has a remote ballast that has a switch on it that powers the two bulbs.
I would like to know if I can put a switch into one of the bulbs cords coming from the ballast and be able to turn one of the bulbs off and on without a problem.
I have another light fixture (cf) with one ballast that powers two lamps and one of the lamps broke and was removed. This didn't affect the remaining bulb from working but I wonder about the way ballasts provide the start up jolt/voltage and if I interrupt one of the two bulbs whether or not it will fire up when I turn the switch on, or whether it might cause some kind of damage.
thanks for any help.

[Sponsors]

[lauraleellbp]

With T5HO ballasts the bulbs are fired independently, so no harm done using only one bulb.

I don't see any reason why you couldn't add another switch if you're handy with electrical wiring?

How do you like your Glo fixture? I'm thinking of getting one, myself...

[dOGHAIR]

Here's the part where I get confusing, or clear things up :P
... and I would like to revisit exactly what I mean to say.
I saw that my cf ballast that normally ran two bulbs seemed fine when one was removed so I think that if I break one of the t5 lines with a switch I could replicate the same thing. (Like one bulb is simply not connected to the ballast)
My concern is that simply switching that line back on may not initiate whatever it is that the ballast does to fire that bulb up.
The other complication for me is this; putting the ballast on a timer works fine. Putting the second bulb on a timer is not as simple. If it works to interrupt power and then re supply it to the one line then I would have to do it with a relay or solenoid that does not supply 110v but simply breaks or connects that line.
The ballast only has one plug that goes to an electrical outlet (this might help explain what I'm getting at, if there where two plugs this all would be easy)
Working out the relay or solenoid is secondary to the question, "can you unplug a t5 bulb from a shared ballast with another bulb and then plug it back in and have it work?"
To answer your question about whether I like the glo or not; yes!
I bought the set up at my lfs. The ballast can handle two 24w bulbs or the two 39w bulbs that I got. The 39w bulbs are @36" long
My lfs had another hagen glo ballast that handles two 54w (48") for $2 more. It didn't list any other wattage bulb, plus I have a 3' tank so I went with the one I got.
The ballast was $50
the bulbs were $23 each
I got reflectors that were $40 for two (ouch!, although I checked online and found them for $30 a piece and so I guess I got a deal)
The lighting is very nice, very bright over my 40 gallon, I also have another 72w (2 x 36w cf) so my tank is blazing right now.
The major downside is the amount of wiring involved. Since there are two cords for each bulb it is pretty jumbled. I'm building a hood to contain all this and will see if I can get a picture up. It would certainly be worth finding an enclosed hood with separate switches for the bulbs if it were equivalent and didn't cost much different from the $90 I spent without bulbs.
Having an external ballast is a plus though (heat).

[dOGHAIR]

Laura Lee, I just skimmed through your 90g journal (1st page)
Did you sort out your canopy issues?
If you are looking to have a cover but the glass ppl think that 52" is too likely to break then why not just have two pieces of 26" each?
The amount of moisture that makes it up between them would be minuscule, you could even have a strip of glass that laps the joint (more strips could be used so you don't have a bump if you plan on having lights sit directly on top of the canopy).
edit; (omg! have you really posted over 4000 times since February?, I would like some of what you're taking...or maybe not )

[lauraleellbp]

LOL let's just say I had some unexpected turns in life that landed me lots of free time over the past several months...

I ended up selling that original tank and getting a used standard-sized 90gal for probably about what it would have cost me just for a custom canopy on that 52" monster LOL So now I've got a 4x54w 48" T5HO fixture over the new tank that I love

Fraid I just don't know enough about electrical wiring and ballasts to answer more about your lighting question, though. I suspect that you'd need an entirely separate ballast to be able to run the bulbs independently of each other, but that's totally just guesswork on my part...

[dOGHAIR]

kk,
well I will just have to blast my fish with the two bulbs for now.
here are two pics of my unpainted (but epoxy impregnated) hood with the wires relatively controlled.
So you have the 54w glo? (x2/4)
Have you documented this tank somewhere?
Are you a downoi expert by any cahnce, can't seem to get any answers around here.

[thefishmanlives]

Anyone have any experience with the HAgen glo fixtures? I am considering a 24x2 for my 29 gallon to use along side my 55x2 PC in place of an all glass 20x2 t12 fixture that im using alongside it now. Do you find it better then the Current ones? Im looking at those 2 because they are cheap and I only want to use it to light the back half of the tank so I dont need something that is awesome just something that will light the back half of my tank well enoguhto get really red reds. Im also considering the Coralife t5 18x2 aqualight. Another option is to retrofit the all glass with one of those t5ho ready fit retros that is 24x2 with nice reflectors, however its over $100. I have a feeling that this will be overkill alongside a 55x2 and that any of the other options i listed will be more then fine for half the price. Any thoughts?

[Oreo]

Easy way to test this... Just turn the ligh on, remove a bulb, & then put it right back in. If the bulb lights up on it's own then you'll have no problems putting a switch in line with it.

I just did this test to my 4x54w T5HO Nova Extreme the other day. Each bulb will light up on it's own & can be removed & replaced while the fixture is turned on without having to restart the lamp. I suspect yours will do the same.