Ballast.... is it worth it?

jallard

New member
I currently have a Aquactinics 48" fixture with 5 54w T5 bulbs. The current ballast is a workhorse ballast. Is it worth the time and money to switch the ballast out and put in a Icecap 660 ballast? Will it drive all 5 bulbs? And by swappin the ballast to a 660 is it possible to overdrive all 5 bulbs? And lastly, how long can I expect my bulbs to last?

TIA
Joe
 
Don't know, I've never used a workhorse. I thought they had two ballasts in their fixtures, one drives 2 and the other 3. Do you have a TX5? Does it have two switches?
 
that would make sense.... 2 switches 2 ballasts
whats the life expectance of an overdriven bulb
 
I've had mine about 9 months now, and they seem to be doing well. I can't really say for sure, it depends on how well they are cooled, but the Aquatinics has fans, so that should be fine. I'm hoping to get about a year out of the tubes. I'll be using our local reef club PAR meter to check and see if they have changed much over a year, but don't have results yet.
 
Workhorse 8 will run up to three 54 watt bulbs.

If this is for the 75g, I don't think overdriving is needed.
 
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