[Jadenlea]

I bought a t5 duel lamp fixture that comes with 2 21 watt bulbs. (10,000k daylight and bluelight)

I know I need to at least change the blue light for plants but my question is, do I have to stay with 21 watts. No instructions came with the fixture!

 

[OverStocked]

You should buy the appropriate bulb for the fixture.

How long is the fixture? Any bulb that fits will "work" but will be driven to the wattage of the ballast, not the bulb. It could shorten the life of the bulb

 

[Jadenlea]

is there a way to find out what the wattage of the ballast is? There is no manual and the box does not say.

 

[OverStocked]

Can you tell us what fixture it is? There are no t5HO bulbs that are 21 watts, that I know of. is it t5NO?

EDIT: you never said HO, so I'm sorry there. Looks like a 3 foot bulb. You should be able to use ANY that will fit.

 

[2in10]

You will need to look at the ballast. It may have a chart on it or the manufacturer and model number. You can then use that info to look it up on the web and find out the ballast's capabilities.

 

[Jadenlea]

thanks. I will give it a good look inside .

 

[OverStocked]

Why don't you jsut tell us what the name of the fixture is and we might be able to answer for you. I assume it is one of the ebay type(I have an odyssea).

Screwing around with these ballasts isn't child's play.

 

[Jadenlea]

overstocked it is Corallife, aqualight t5 dual lamp fixture.

It came with 2 21 watt bulbs. One 10,000k daylight and 1 of the blue lights.

I was hoping I could up the wattage since I was afraid it would not be enough for my 46 gal bowfront.

I did at least go get the 6700k daylight bulb tonight to replace the blue light. Still 21 watts.

This is not an HO .. or at least it does not say it is anywhere on it.

 

[2in10]

No it is only NO and the ballast most likely is only for NO bulbs. I would suggest adding a single bulb T5NO or T8 fixture to the one you have.

 

[evilc66]

Increasing the wattage is possible (it's called overdriving), but as mentioned before, will drastically reduce the life of the bulbs if not cooled correctly. You could do a complete T5HO refit, but it would be cheaper to buy an additional fixture at that point after bulbs and ballasts.

 

[Jadenlea]

I ended up returning this fixture for a t5ho.