what does a ballast do

You mean a ballast?

Unless you are runing incandescents, spiral power compacts, or burning a lantern, yes, you do need one.

I can't help you on the last one. What kind of light are you running?

I think this may help you. Rex's Guide to Planted Tanks

Ballasts are what send power to your bulbs, essentially.

Yes, you'll need one to run your light. If yours is bad, you'll have to rule out: 1) bad bulbs, 2) faulty connections first if it's a DIY project. If it's a pre-made fixture, the ballast is probably bad if you KNOW FOR SURE your bulbs are good but they don't fire.

...this is in very basic terms and just serves as a guide for you. What are you trying to accomplish? Did your fixture go out, or did you try to wire one, etc...?


edit: Damn, I've been ninja'd!

epicfish said:

edit: Damn, I've been ninja'd!

Click to expand...

Score I finally got one!

well i bought this used from a friend of mine. let it site around for a month the bulbs do fire up but then the go out after about 15min so i dont think the bulbs are bad. the ballist is the only thing i can think that is wrong with it. should i just take it up to my lfs and have them point me in the right direction. i just wanna get this thing to work. mine is a dual strip flouresent light.

A ballista is an ancient weapon much like a oversized crossbow. It would have no true use for aquarium lighting.

A ballast on the other hand is a different story. Wikipedia is your friend.

Electrical ballast - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rex Grigg said:

A ballista is an ancient weapon much like a oversized crossbow. It would have no true use for aquarium lighting.

Click to expand...

Hahhaha, Rex. That was great.

well i have 2 25watt bulbs that are in there right now. Do you guys know what kinda ballast i will need to get for it.

and what does ninja'd mean

chrisoneal said:

well i have 2 25watt bulbs that are in there right now. Do you guys know what kinda ballast i will need to get for it.

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For best service, please post the model number of the light fixture or the ballast. A picture of the ballast would be wonderful. One we have that information, we can then tell you what to get and where to go.

You might also consider ripping out the internals and using a kit from AHSupply.com or retrofitting with spiral compacts.

Anyways, a picture would be nice.

Ninja: a post answering the question that was submitted while composing an elegant reply so that your post becomes the second to say the same thing.

i dont know how to get pictures on here yet. but one the back of it says. 36; fluorescent twin-tube aquarium reflector. 120volt,63watt 60Hz. All glass aquarium, INC

there is a number on the inside (DIANE C405A)

chrisoneal said:

and what does ninja'd mean

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Ninja'd is when you are typing a response and a guy posts before you do saying basically the same thing.

there i didnt know if you seen the post but i posted what info i could get.

chrisoneal said:

there is a number on the inside (DIANE C405A)

Click to expand...

I believe that is only the QA (inspected by) tag.

You can:
* Try to use the 5 year ballast warranty http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...043&itemNo=0&In=ALL&N=2036904+4294967134&Ne=2
* Use a replacement ballast from a hardware store that is capable or driving at least 2 bulbs at 25W.
* Gut the fixture and use a single 96W PC bulb http://www.ahsupply.com/96watt.htm

The last two assume some familiarity with electronics and or DIY. Proceed at your own risk.

There are several sites that cover "Twin Tube Shop-Light Retrofit"
such as http://tristan.homelinux.net/fish/tank/retrofit/index.htm

These are DIY projects that carry a risk. The technique mentioned (ODNO) increases the bulb output. Several stickies in this section explani the risks and benefits....

well i went down to lowes and the had single ballast and double one. if i get two single will that work. if not then i have to fine one that will work for 2 lights at 25 watts or more. they had one up there for 40 watts. Are the supposed to be that much 26.99-44.99 for a ballast

hey guys i was wounder if you would know if this would work for mine

http://cgi.ebay.com/Electronic-Ball...ryZ58145QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

well i found a number on the ballast but it says Cat no IG230ELS

if i was to buy this wat else do i need to purchase beside bulbs
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=ES00938