[75sausage]

I do not want to install Binford 2000 50000000W ligthing system in my 55G just get a little more bang for the buck. I am ODing my 3 T12 right now to 2x each.
Great thread BTW.

1 question. I have 2 Advance 2bulb balasts. One is a F40T12 and the other one F32T8. The F40 has double leads for bulbs but the F32 (SC) only single. On the F32, do I just plug both leads to oposite sides of the end cap? Secondly, do I jumper both sides of the other end cap where the yellow lead goes? or just stick the yellow leads into opposite sides of it (the endcap). This is one thing I am not clear of after reading the related replies in this thread.

Thanks roud:

 

[GulfCoastAquarian]

I hadn't heard about a single lead 2-bulb electronic ballast yet. Interesting. Anyway, yep - I would definitely jumper the two pins together and connect them to the single lead. I'm not so sure you will be overdriving, though. With only one lead, the ballast will most likely sense the bulb length and power it as a single bulb.
Otherwise, when it would be wired for normal operation, every time a bulb blew, the other bulb would be overdriven. Try it, though.

 

[75sausage]

I'll post a pic later so you get a better idea of what I'm talking about.

 

[Amaster39]

Hello,

I am new to this forum and I have been reading up on lighting, I am a bit overwhelmed by it all.

I have a 55.Gal tank I just finished up the hood and added Co2. I have about 9 or 10 plants they look ok but I think they could look better. I am using the original lighting fixtures that came with the tank ( 15 inch bulb length)
I replaced the bulbs 8 month ago with 2 15 watt grow bulbs to help the plants.

I want to use 2 or 3 (36 inch) fluorescent bulbs staggered to get the most light I can. I don't think 48 inch bulbs will fit. it would be tight end to end.
I have a community tank with about 22 small fish and a 10 inch pleco.

So the questions is : what size ballets should I use and that type bulbs should I use. I have read you should have about 2 to 2 1/2 watts per gal. of lighting. Please keep in mind I am working on a budget so the latest and greatest is not an option. What am I looking at in terms of cost where can I get the parts, also is theur a diagram showing how to put it all together. I am a handy person so as long as I have a plan to go by im ok.

Thanks

Ken

 

[GulfCoastAquarian]

Unless you've got some oddball 55 gallon tank, the 48" tubes should fit over your tank quite nicely. If your tank is 36" wide, though, then I'd suggest going with either four 30 watt 36" bulbs overdriven 2x or 2-3 of them overdriven 4x.
With the four F30T12 bulbs each overdriven 2x, you'll end up with something like 3.2wpg, which will allow you to grow a considerable number of plants.
With two F30T12 bulbs overdriven 4x, you'll end up with ~2.2wpg which still isn't bad, but the bulbs will get quite hot.

 

[Amaster39]

Thanks for the reply,

No I have a normal 55 Gal. 48 inch tank, So 48 inch bulbs would fit ok?

The hood fits over the tank nicely I guess I was thinking that would be to tight. As I said I am a bit overwhelmed by some of the terms like "F30T12 bulbs or T8 ect..." I do have electronics in my background so I can follow a plan. is this something I can go to a Home depot or Lows to get parts. The bulbs I can order Just would like to know what to get. the 3.2 wpg sound good. What type of 48in bulb should I use, Should I use 3 bulbs or 4. what size ballets should I use. Sorry to sound so green here I am in the learning stages and enjoying it LOL

Thanks

Ken

 

[75sausage]

Ok I think I answered my own questions and TADA!!! im running 3 2xOD 40W T12s. Which in theory should give me approx 180W of light roud: !!!

Please just confirm my diagrams below. When I was asking about the single/double leads, I meant that there is only 1 lead going 1 side of the bulb like in the F32T8 diagram; for a regular 2 bulb hook up 2 blue leads on one side (need to jumper the endcap terminals) and only 1 red lead to the other side of both bulbs (need to jumper endcap terminals and both endcaps together).

INTENDED WIRING FOR A 2 BULB T8 (48" MAX) ELECTRONIC BALAST
( SINGLE WIRE PER BULB)

2X ODNO WIRING FOR A 2 BULB T8 (48" MAX) ELECTRONIC BALAST
( SINGLE WIRE PER BULB) :icon_bigg

IMPORTANT UPDATE
The particular balast model referenced below DOES NOT WORK FOR ODNO.
I have made this corelation regarding Advance balasts: I have seen Advance balasts advertised as Instant Start and Rapid Start. The above REL-2P32-LW-SC balast is Instant Start and WORKS. The bellow REL-2S40-SC balast is a rapid start ballast and DOES NOT WORK for ODNO in my experience. I have found that it will not light up a single NO bulb and you have to connect both bulbs for it to work in NO mode. If someone has some insight on this, it would be greately appreciated.
INTENDED WIRING FOR A 2 BULB T12 (48" MAX) ELECTRONIC BALAST
( DOUBLE WIRE PER BULB) :icon_roll

ODNO WIRING FOR A 2 BULB T12 (48" MAX) ELECTRONIC BALAST
( DOUBLE WIRE PER BULB) roud:

 

[75sausage]

Thanks for the reply,
No I have a normal 55 Gal. 48 inch tank, So 48 inch bulbs would fit ok?
Sorry to sound so green here I am in the learning stages and enjoying it LOL
Thanks
Ken

Ken, it seems you eaither have not read this thread fully (17 PAGES !!!) or you feel very intimidated. I would suggest taking the time to read this thread thouroughly as it answers most questions you might have including equipment and where to get it.
To give you a general idea for a 55 gallon, 3xT12 2XODNO each will give you approximately 180W of light give or take a few (I just finished this exact setup today). That's the ballpark you want to be in. You can even stick 2xT8 4XODNO each for an even bigger punch (as far as I understand it after reading this thread.

The setup I did in my 55G is running on 2 balasts. One is a 4 bulb T8 balast (F32T8) which I am using to drive 2 T12 40W bulbs (works like a charm). I got this balast from a local electric supply distributor. The 3rd buld is overdriven with a 2 bulb T12 balast.

Again study this thread and everything will start making sense.

To All, thanks for the great info in this thread.

 

[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). It's the most popular ballast for powering 55w Power Compact bulbs.
I'd buy two, and then use them each to drive a pair of 48" tubes 2x. (Like the diagram Raf posted above)

Then I'd use two different bulbs. One pair of Sylvania Gro-Lux (regular, not wide spectrum) F40T12 bulbs. They usually run about $5 a bulb at Lowe's.
For the other pair, I'd find a pair of F32T8 daylight bulbs. I saw some at Home Depot the other day on clearance for $5 a pair. They were 6500K so they should provide a brilliant white light that will balance well with the pinkish color-enhancing hues of the Gro-Lux.
You should end up with about 3.9wpg with this setup, and have an incredible amount of flexibility for future upgrades/changes.
I calculated the estimates wpg as such:
50% increase (2xODNO) on 40w tube -> ~60w, times 2 bulbs = 120w
50% inceease (2xODNO) on 32w tube -> ~48w, times 2 bulbs = 96w
Note: This is a very general estimate since most ODNO users have actually found overdriven T8 bulbs to be brighter than T12 bulbs.

Congrats on your successful setup, Raf!

 

[75sausage]

Thx Sam, maybe I can finally grow glosos and dwarf sags. :wink:

 

[lumpyfunk]

I just have to put in my $0.02 I like Overdirven x4 cant say enough about it!

I have 2 f32t8 ballasts powering 2 (1 each) t8 bulbs 5600k I think and it puts out more light than my compact flouresent that runs 4 55 watt 10,000 k daylight bulbs. Plus it was farily easy to wire everything.

Home Depot has a 4' shoplight on sale for $7 and that is what I am using as a tempoary reflector. I just gutted it and plan on using the ballast that came with it to light a 20 gal

 

[sly]

Is it possible to "overclock" ( computer term) a 20" Coralife CF lightstrip?

I know, I didn't read the entire 16pages! But i'm attempting to do so now.

roud:

 

[GulfCoastAquarian]

I tried overdriving a single 20" tube and it didn't seem to make a difference. Others have tried it, though, and reported better results. With such a small tube, it seems the ballast is trying to limit current as much as possible. I've had better success putting two of the 20" tubes in series and tricking the ballast into thinking it is a bigger bulb.

 

[Azimuth]

I'm going to be overdriving my lights soon, so I can get the most out of the C02 I'll be getting.

I have a 55 gallon tank. I made a fixture for it and wired in four F32T8 bulbs...two 10000K Ocean Sun bulbs, a 50/50 reef sun bulb, and an 8700K max plant bulb. I’m running them all off 2 ballasts. I’m going to buy a third ballast and attempt to overdrive the 2 10,000K Ocean sun bulbs and leave the other 2 at NO for evening and morning settings. I'm currently at 128 watts. Or about 2.3 watts per gallon

If I read this right, the 2 bulbs at 2X overdriven will give me about 50% more light for those 2 bulbs? So....64 watts for the NO bulbs plus 85 watts for the OD bulbs should give me about 2.7 watts per gallon? If I did the other 2 bulbs and changed them to 10000K bulbs I would have about 3 watts per gallon?

I'm not sure what the optimum levels for plants are. In particular glossostigma (I want to get a nice carpet of this stuff), but will 2.7 watts per gallon be enough, or should I overdrive the other 2 as well?

 

[75sausage]

I am not sure how much light glosso needs. Some say in the right environment (high CO2) it doesn't need that much but it seams to me that with less light glosso becommes stringy or elongated and grows slowly.
Your setup sound like a good choice I would opt for some changes though:
1. OD the 2 OD bulbs to at least 3x and perhaps 4x.
2. Get rid of the 10000K bulbs in lieu of cheap GE or Sylvania plant bulbs.
I am only suggesting this because I ODd 3 T12 2x which gave me 3.2 and glosso seems to like it so far; it grows fairly steadily.

 

[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.