Cheap lighting - ODNO

[Azimuth]

I was thinking about overdriving 4x, but I'm a little worried about the heat. The alaumium that I used for the reflector sits about 1/4 inch away from the wooden canopy, and thats with the fixture sitting directly on top of the glass. I don't have space to riase the fixture without loosing the canopy, and asteatics of the tank are just as important to me as the plants in the tank. I might be able to cut a few holes in the back of the fixture and wire some computer fans.....but I would rather not.

How much heat would two 4X overdriven lights produce (generally)...enough to char wood?, enough to significantly raise the water temperature of my tank?

[75sausage]

I do not think you are going to char anything at all. From my experience the balast produces much more heat than the bulbs. As far as specific temp raise maybe someone with 4xT8 can chime in.

If you have low space between glass and the bulbs then you would need some ventilation. I set up a 80mm comp fan per instructions found in the DIY section of this forum, which made a big difference in under hood temps.

[GulfCoastAquarian]

4xODNO bulbs definitely get hot. No hotter than PC bulbs, though, if you can use that as a reference. That said - there is no way I'd run a 4xODNO setup without a fan or two. You can pick up 80mm Fonsan 12v fans on Ebay for a buck a piece, or less (in bulk).

[Azimuth]

Well, I gave overdriving a try this morning. I rewired one of my ballast to overdrive one of my 10000K Ocean Sun bulbs 2X. I put the other 10000K bulb in the fixture at NO. With the two bulbs sitting side by side (one OD and one NO) the difference was amazing. The light from the OD bulb made the NO bulb look like a shadow.....

I made of list of equipment I needed and went out and bought a few more 2 bulb ballast to rewire my entire fixture 2XOD. After spending all day wiring the fixture, mounting the junction boxes, ballasts, timers, and a power strip on a sheet of plywood, I was ready to turn it all on. No more then 10 minutes after the new lights were on the tank; my swords started producing a stream of bubbles from the center. I’ve never had this happen before.

Everyone makes references to tank lights by watts per gallon. According to calculations, I have 4.65 watts per gallon....but that can't be right...Does anyone know how many watts per gallon realistically have with four 2X overdriven 48" T8 bulbs over a 55 gallon tank?

[75sausage]

From ksand (member on the forum) earlier in this thread regarding 4x ODNO:

got a device called a "Kill-aWatt", which anyone can get at Dr Foster & Smith. It measures power consumption over time. Here are the results for my 2 ODNO setups:
This arrangement of two GE electronic ballasts driving two 4-foot 32 Watt T8's draws 140 Watts (1.13A). Each lamp is rated at 2,550 lumens, and light meter measurments show the ouput doubling, so this setup yields 10,200 lumens.

he goes on to say that even though the current is less than 4x32W in the above setup, the light output is double. This confirms the assumption that 2xODNO will shine approx 50% brighter than NO which for 32W bulb would be equivalent to 48W per bulb. If you got 4 bulbs you would end up with 192W which in 50G water column rtanslate into 3.84 WPG.

[Saltydog]

For those of you with a bit more ODNO experience than I:

I currently have a GE ballast made for running 4 F32T8's = 128watts(max). From reading I understand that it can also run 3 F40T12's = 120watts or 2 55watt PC's = 110watts. All 128 watts or less.

I know the ballast is designed to run bulbs 48 inches in length or less. F32 and F40's are 48 inches in length...no problems there. So the main question: can the ballast safely run setups that are more then 48 inches? I would like to apply it to 3 15 watt bulbs connected in series for a total of 54 inches and 45 watts. What would 72 inches of bulb do, as in 2 36 inch bulbs in series?

[75sausage]

I believe that this setup will not work but you never know untill you try it. It should not damage the balast.

[ridns]

I have experienced a heat rise (about 6 degrees F) when placing the fixture directly on top of the glass. This was solved by raising the fixture 1 1/2" (the thickness of a 2x4). I cut 2 peices of 2x2 and glued them under the ends of the fixture to allow airflow between the fixture and the glass. The temp. then returned to set point and remained constant. Since then I have gone to PCs but I keep my ODNO fixture on standby, just in case.

[Amaster39]

[QUOTE=GulfCoastAquarian]Raf's advice is good. Read through everyone's experiences and try to decide which way to go. Not to influence you, or anything, but if it were me setting up ODNO for a 55g tank right now, here's the setup I'd use.

Ballast
Workhorse 5
I know you can use the Advance ballasts from Home Depot, but the Fulham Workhorse is far more flexible and has a higher power factor (=more light). QUOTE]

Sam, Raf,

Ok I found time to read all 18 pages "WOW" can you imagine when this gets to be 30 pages long!

A Lot of good info, I have a much better understanding now. I am thinking about going to Home Depot but before I do I need to ask how much less power will there be with the Advance ballast. Is this a huge difference between the Advance ballasts and the Workhorse or marginal.

Thanks

Ken

[GulfCoastAquarian]

I don't think the difference will be huge, Ken. If I recall, the power factors were within ~10-20% of each other.

[ridns]

The Workhorse is much lighter though !

[lumpyfunk]

I used the advanced ballast from HD and wow!! I keep my tank downstaris and the first couple of days kept wondering how the sun was shining at that part of the room (when you look down the stairs) they are plenty bright! Maybe I will try the workhorse next, but the HD ballasts were easy to get and about the same price

[GulfCoastAquarian]

You probably won't notice much of a difference switching to the Workhorse. I usually recommend them to people anyway for their added flexibility and slightly higher power factor. All at pretty much the same price.

Glad it's looking good, though!

[lousybreed]

ok i went out and bought a 4F32T8 GE-432-max-n-ip e ballast from home depot and wired up for 2x and the bulbs were super dim!!!!!!!! is this one of the e-ballasts that dont work????? this ballast can also drive 4 or F32, F25, F17's. i am going to find an advance ballast to solve this!! it is like it sensed the improper wiring and then when in safety mode. please help. i double checked all connections and everything and found nothing!!!!!!!

[lousybreed]

Has anyone tried to use a new T-5 HO e-ballast on T-8's. Each channel pumps out 54W. The ballasts only have 2 channels. If you just wired 1x that would still be more juice than wiring a regular ballast 2x