DIY Icecap...its not what you think

on the original post there was something that said not to use magnetic ballasts becuase they worked different but if your not having any probs i guess they work......my overdriven NOs run about the same brightness as my PC.....how did you get them so bright?....of course my PC is a 6500K but i dont know......how would you be able to tell how many watts your actually putting through a bulb??.....because im using a 4x32 on a 20W bulb but i dont know if im getting as much power as the rest of yall
 
Whoa! :eek2:

Magnatek is a brand name. It is an *electronic* ballast. The original guy wasn't wrong -- magnetic ballasts work on an entirely different principle.

I think mine just looks extra bright in comparison to a PC actinic that was essentially worn out. I don't expect it to be a lot brighter than a PC, just to have bulbs that are a lot cheaper.

You can measure power consumption with a multi-meter (be extra careful with house current), or also a "clamp on" meter that measures current just by clamping it on a power cord. (current gives you the power)
 
I am using the GE Magnatek ballast that comes from Home Depot. I've noticed that the power consumption is the same (60 watts or so) whether I use one or both yellow wires. It seems like the ballast is not providing any additional current through the second yellow wire.

Any suggestions?
 
Slartibartfast said:
I am using the GE Magnatek ballast that comes from Home Depot. I've noticed that the power consumption is the same (60 watts or so) whether I use one or both yellow wires. It seems like the ballast is not providing any additional current through the second yellow wire.

Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

ya use the right wires :) seriously thought the yellows are the return pqth and you have to use both of them.. it is the red and blue wires you want to double up on.

Steve
 
Either way, it doesn't matter to me. :)

I tied all the red and blue together. If I use one yellow or two yellow, I get the same wattage, same brightness.

I think this ballast must work differently from the Advance ballast.
 
If anyone has knows 18" T8 parts numbers for the lamps and ballasts, please post them.

I'm planning on using 2 overdriven NO bulbs for my 10 gal nano.

Also, if you have found any suppliers for those parts, it would be great if you could post those also.

TIA
 
Advance Transformer Co.
High Frequency Electronic Ballast for (1) or (2) F32T8 Lamps
Model: #VEL2P32SC35I
SKU: #362376


17.49 at www.homedepot.com I thought it was around 35 dollars?

I think yours is around 15watts for 18" bulbs. Plug in two outputs from this ballast so you'll be 4x overdriving your 18".
 
Over Drive NO

Over Drive NO

What is the advantage of over drive the NO e-ballast?

cost advantage over the VHO ballast?

Yes, we will save some $$$ if we over drive instead of getting IceCap ballast?

I'm sure some of you aware of WorkHorse 7 (220 W) e-Ballast for VHO.

If we want to have 2 Overdrive(4x) NO ballast:

we need 2 of (4)F32T8 e-ballasts. They are cost about $29.97 at HomeDepot (Advance manufacture). We are talking about $59.94 for 2 ballasts.


We can also get the WorkHorse 7 e-ballast for about $50 to fire 2 110 watt VHO bulbs.

I don't really see the saving advantage between over drive and the workhorse 7.

If I'm missing something please let me know.
 
They are 17 bucks at home depot.

Advance Transformer Co.
High Frequency Electronic Ballast for (3) or (4) F32T8 Lamps
Model: #REL4P32SC35I
SKU: #261255
17.49

Also, you have complete control over single bulbs, turning one on and leaving others off. Second, if one ballast blows, it is 17 dollars. I am not sure if the WH7 can do this, though.
 
WH 7 do not allow you to control each bulbs on/off.

WH 7 do allowed dimable. I dont think Advance ballast allow you to do so.

And seen most of us or not all of us used timer for the lighting system. Is that mean we need to get additional Timer? yes it's only a few bucks.

I think it make sense if we setting this up for 55 G or smaller tank and only have 2 bulbs. We wanted to create dawn/dusk effect.

It's doesn't make sense if our tank is required 4 or more bulbs.

Again, if I'm missing something please let me know.
 
If you've read my post above, you'll see the Advance is 17 dollars.

Second, dimming flourescent cuts its life even shorter; flourescents are not design for that purpose.

Third, we can get these at our local home depots instead of ordering them.

Fourth, the original discussion was using these types of ballast (advance, wh) compare to the icecaps.

Thx
 
I don't, but the original author of this thread and others say the average life of a 4x F32T8 bulb is 6 months. Replacing them shouldn't be much cost since they are around 5 US dollars? For actinic, it is of course more expensive since they run around 20 dollars. However, running regular actinics at 2x or even normal output should be fine on reefs. It is the intensity of the low kelvin spectrums that seems to matter the most.

But the bottom line to this is it beats the heck out of buying an icecap for people on low budget like I am. Plus you can always upgrade as time goes by. You can always ask the author of this thread for more answers.
 
I want to get rid of my ICECAP. What gets me is if one bulb goes they all go.

So now I must scramble to or better yet, send 20 bucks a bulb to replace them say at 9 months.

Here I can get a dawn/dusk effect, if I want, I only spend 5 bucks a bulb for T8 6500k bulbs. And if one bulb goes, the other three ballasts work fine. And in theory I get brighter light.
 
f32t8

f32t8

Where have you folks been getting the bulbs from?
I have searched Louisville,high and low, to find these bulbs.
I called the specialty lighting distributors. No luck.
Any info. would be appreciated.
Jonboy
 
I spent a bunch of time going through this huge post, got tired, I'll just ask.

As any one connect the Advancec e ballast up to one 160 VHO tube?
 
Oppsea said:
I spent a bunch of time going through this huge post, got tired, I'll just ask.

As any one connect the Advancec e ballast up to one 160 VHO tube?
Click to expand...

Which ballast? The 4 x 32 watt ballast won't work on a 160 watt lamp. The maximum ballast output is only 112 watts. It should light the lamp but at a much lower ballast factor than you want. I am not positive which lamp you are talking about. Is it a 6' VHO lamp designated F72 VHO or is it something else. If you want to just run a VHO lamp just buy a VHO ballast or an HO sign ballast. Advance has over a dozen VHO ballasts to choose from.

Wayne
 
All color temp T8 bulbs found!

All color temp T8 bulbs found!

I just recived my 48" 10k and actinic T8 bulbs....I ordered them online from thatfishplace.com. Go check out their website- there's a variety of t8's out there
 
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