Need help wiring retrofit T5HO lighting

AUvet14 · 07-21-2012, 08:34 PM

I just got a fulham workhorse 5 fluorescent light ballast and endcaps, power cord, etc. that I need to retrofit my lighting in my new canopy. I've looked at the wiring diagrams provided on the fulham website for wiring 2 39W T5HO tubes but there is one thing I am hung up on. I have to ground the ballast somehow. My power cord I am connecting to the ballast has a hot lead (black), neutral (white), and grounding wire (green) but the ballast only has a hot (black) and neutral (white). Does anyone know what I need to do to properly ground the ballast?

livingword26 · 07-21-2012, 08:57 PM

Hook the green wire to the bolt or screw you use to attach the ballast to whatever it is attached to.

AUvet14 · 07-21-2012, 09:14 PM

So it's just that simple? That's what I was thinking I had to do, but I wasn't confident enough in that to go ahead and do it without verifying that first. Thanks.

PlantedRich · 07-21-2012, 11:53 PM

The ground is a pretty technical point that many don't really have options to use. In this case it can act as a case ground. Just connect it to the metal of the ballast or reflector. Often the mounting screw will be a handy thing to use. The ground and the white will both go back to the same point in the breaker box but it just doubles up on grounding.

07-21-2012, 08:34 PM	#1
AUvet14 Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (7/100%) Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Auburn, AL Posts: 442	Need help wiring retrofit T5HO lighting I just got a fulham workhorse 5 fluorescent light ballast and endcaps, power cord, etc. that I need to retrofit my lighting in my new canopy. I've looked at the wiring diagrams provided on the fulham website for wiring 2 39W T5HO tubes but there is one thing I am hung up on. I have to ground the ballast somehow. My power cord I am connecting to the ballast has a hot lead (black), neutral (white), and grounding wire (green) but the ballast only has a hot (black) and neutral (white). Does anyone know what I need to do to properly ground the ballast?

07-21-2012, 08:57 PM	#2
livingword26 Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Wichita, KS Posts: 978	Hook the green wire to the bolt or screw you use to attach the ballast to whatever it is attached to. __________________ 29 gallon, Fluval 306. Aquatop PF25-UV Power Filter, 1x39 watt T5HO 7" above tank. P.F. Sand, Pressurized CO2, 5 Glowlight Tetra's, 3 Halequin Rasborah's, 3 neons, 2 Oto's, 5 Cherry Shrimp, 4 Amano Shrimp.

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07-21-2012, 09:14 PM	#3
AUvet14 Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (7/100%) Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Auburn, AL Posts: 442	So it's just that simple? That's what I was thinking I had to do, but I wasn't confident enough in that to go ahead and do it without verifying that first. Thanks.

07-21-2012, 11:53 PM	#4
PlantedRich Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Pflugerville, Tx Posts: 1,513	The ground is a pretty technical point that many don't really have options to use. In this case it can act as a case ground. Just connect it to the metal of the ballast or reflector. Often the mounting screw will be a handy thing to use. The ground and the white will both go back to the same point in the breaker box but it just doubles up on grounding.