PC vs. T-5's
- Thread starter papagimp
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Travis L. Stevens
New member
I beg to differ. They are slightly cheaper than Metal Halides for the amount of area that they cover. Take a 75g tank. You can place 6 T5's on two Workhorse 5 Ballasts and pay about $300 for endcaps, reflectors, bulbs, ballasts, and wiring. You would need two metal halides to properly light the 4ft width, and at cheapest, I've found them refurbished on ebay for a little less than $150 a piece for ballast, reflector, wiring, bulb, etc. The bulb on those MHs aren't the greatest, so you would need to replace the bulbs in order to get a good range of color like the T5s. Plus, T5s can have actinics added to the color combo without adding supplemental light. To do MH with actinic supplementation, you would need to tack on another Workhorse 5, two reflectors, two bulbs, two pairs of end caps, and a powercord leaving with an approximate total of about $425 for two MHs and two T5 Actinics
Travis L. Stevens
New member
Luckily, unlike most things in the hobby, you get what you pay for out of lighting. PCs are cheap but don't perform well. VHOs are a little more expensive but they are decent, T5s are getting up there and are top of the line fluorescent lighting, and Metal Halide is definitely powerful but you have to pay a fair amount
The only thing that beats price and power is the sun itself
The only thing that beats price and power is the sun itself
MyMonkey
Persona Non Grata
I found a cheap set. I was concerned about the reflectors though? At this price, I can replace the bulbs with ATI.
http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=239
http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=239
Travis L. Stevens
New member
I can't tell if that product has individual reflectors or not on it, but WOW. That is a great price. A Workhorse 7, 4 bulbs, 4 end caps, and a powercord for a retrofit costs more than that. Nice find
captbunzo
Premium Member
Using a pair of workhorse ballasts to power my 5 55W T5 bulbs. And I have GOT to do some PAR measurements.... 
I have a handful of SPS that seem to be growing decently - some Montipora digitata, Montipora capriconis, some other plating Montipora, and some Pavona. Yeah, they're probably not as great as when being overrun with an Icecap ballast.
But I would still guess them to be reasonably sufficien for growing your average SPS, anemones, and lower light clams.
I have a handful of SPS that seem to be growing decently - some Montipora digitata, Montipora capriconis, some other plating Montipora, and some Pavona. Yeah, they're probably not as great as when being overrun with an Icecap ballast.
But I would still guess them to be reasonably sufficien for growing your average SPS, anemones, and lower light clams.
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
I thought I was outta here
DO NOT USE THE WORKHORSE BALLASTS ON T5 LAMPS!!!!!
They are not a "real" T5 ballast. They will fire them but they have no end of life circuitry and are hard start. IME they also have lower and inconsistant output than a Korean made T5 ballast.
You can get a real 4 lamp T5 ballast at www.ballastwise.com for like 30 bux.
DO NOT USE THE WORKHORSE BALLASTS ON T5 LAMPS!!!!!
They are not a "real" T5 ballast. They will fire them but they have no end of life circuitry and are hard start. IME they also have lower and inconsistant output than a Korean made T5 ballast.
You can get a real 4 lamp T5 ballast at www.ballastwise.com for like 30 bux.
Travis L. Stevens
New member
Very very nice. Thank you VERY much for that link Grim. I hope that everyone following this thread sees that
captbunzo
Premium Member
Not that I don't trust you, Grim. But if it is verifiable that Workhorse ballasts are as bad as you say they are, it might be worthwhile having a discussion with ReefGeek about it. It would be great for them to replace their sale of workhorse ballasts with something like the link Grim pointed us towards.
Or at least have them both available and with more information about their pluses and minuses...
Or at least have them both available and with more information about their pluses and minuses...
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
I don't know how "bad" workhorses are but here is what I can tell you. I have measured PAR using a Dynamic (Korean made T5 ballast) Workhorse 7 and Ice Cap 660. What I found is that the Workhorse used a little more power than the 2 Dynamic ballasts (4x54 watt system) and provided less output (125 vs. 132) and the output was inconsistant. It drifted from about 110 to a peak of 125 or so. I think that would probably be good for critters but what is it doing to the lamps?
Another problem is the Workhorse is a hard start ballast. T5 lamp manufacturers list a hard start ballast as decreasing the lamp life by 25%. Every time the lamp is turned on material is blown off the electrodes which lesses the life of the lamp.
Still yet another problem is the Workhorse has no end of life protection circuit. As the lamps age the internal resistance deacreses to a point where the ballast can push so much current through the lamp you run into the danger of melting down endcaps or damaging the ballast. Now I really doubt anyone is going to run a lamp long enough for that to become a problem but what if you get a hold of a defective lamp? PC lamps have the same characteristics and Fulhams ballasts for PC lamps do include end of life protection. Odd that they didnt do the same thing for the workhorse.
With the price of the ballast wise stuff which includes both end of life and programmed start there is no reason to mess with the workhorse stuff. If you follow the posts of Horkn he is on his 17th month on a Workhorse for his 3x39 watt T5's and is very happy with it but he is even down with the fact there is no reason to use Workhorses with ballast wise having a true T5 ballast for less money.
Another problem is the Workhorse is a hard start ballast. T5 lamp manufacturers list a hard start ballast as decreasing the lamp life by 25%. Every time the lamp is turned on material is blown off the electrodes which lesses the life of the lamp.
Still yet another problem is the Workhorse has no end of life protection circuit. As the lamps age the internal resistance deacreses to a point where the ballast can push so much current through the lamp you run into the danger of melting down endcaps or damaging the ballast. Now I really doubt anyone is going to run a lamp long enough for that to become a problem but what if you get a hold of a defective lamp? PC lamps have the same characteristics and Fulhams ballasts for PC lamps do include end of life protection. Odd that they didnt do the same thing for the workhorse.
With the price of the ballast wise stuff which includes both end of life and programmed start there is no reason to mess with the workhorse stuff. If you follow the posts of Horkn he is on his 17th month on a Workhorse for his 3x39 watt T5's and is very happy with it but he is even down with the fact there is no reason to use Workhorses with ballast wise having a true T5 ballast for less money.
captbunzo
Premium Member
Thank you for providing more details about these ballasts, Grim. It is good to know more about what is really going on with my ballasts. Guess I am glad I went to the extra effort to put 5 bulbs, rather then 4 above my tank.
And I very much agree that with those ballasts at http://www.ballastwise.com]www.ballastwise.com[/url] being so reasonably priced, they seem like a much better choice. We should keep an eye on Fulham, however, and see if they correct any of these problems in the coming years.
Well, at least I didn't throw to much money into my workhorse ballasts.
And I very much agree that with those ballasts at http://www.ballastwise.com]www.ballastwise.com[/url] being so reasonably priced, they seem like a much better choice. We should keep an eye on Fulham, however, and see if they correct any of these problems in the coming years.
Well, at least I didn't throw to much money into my workhorse ballasts.
FYI...(compiled from several light companies on the web)
Instant-start ballasts (hard start). This is the most efficient type of ballast, but it yields the shortest lamp life in most applications. It is a good choice for lamps that burn six hours or more per start.
Programmed-start ballasts, also known as programmed rapid-start ballasts, are improved versions on the older rapid-start technology that maximizes lamp life in almost all casesâ€"although there is some penalty in efficiency. They are the best choice in applications where lights will frequently be turned on and off.
That being said....
I have Workhorse 7 ballasts at the moment. I will be replacing the bulbs after 11 months, because I've noticed burn rings beginning to form near the end caps of the tubes (I have 80W T5s). My lights are on at least 9-12 hours per day. As long as people monitor their equipment on a regular basis (yes, those with Workhorse ballasts) you should be able to preempt most problems which may arise.
Just like everything else, if you don't do regular system checks, you're going to have trouble down the line.
I will see if Fulham offers anything in the future for replacing the existing Workhorse ballasts, or find a more sutable replacement (when the time comes).
Ray
(Thanks to Grim, for peaking my interest in researching ballasts)
Instant-start ballasts (hard start). This is the most efficient type of ballast, but it yields the shortest lamp life in most applications. It is a good choice for lamps that burn six hours or more per start.
Programmed-start ballasts, also known as programmed rapid-start ballasts, are improved versions on the older rapid-start technology that maximizes lamp life in almost all casesâ€"although there is some penalty in efficiency. They are the best choice in applications where lights will frequently be turned on and off.
That being said....
I have Workhorse 7 ballasts at the moment. I will be replacing the bulbs after 11 months, because I've noticed burn rings beginning to form near the end caps of the tubes (I have 80W T5s). My lights are on at least 9-12 hours per day. As long as people monitor their equipment on a regular basis (yes, those with Workhorse ballasts) you should be able to preempt most problems which may arise.
Just like everything else, if you don't do regular system checks, you're going to have trouble down the line.
I will see if Fulham offers anything in the future for replacing the existing Workhorse ballasts, or find a more sutable replacement (when the time comes).
Ray
(Thanks to Grim, for peaking my interest in researching ballasts)
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
The efficiency thing must be dependant on quality. The Instant start Workhorse used more watts and produced less output than the Dynamic program start ballast. Ice Cap kills them both. It used 29% more wattage than the 2 T5 ballasts and increased output by 35%.
Of course running 80 watt lamps your ballast choices are limited. The 80 watt ballasts are expensive. It is cheaper to buy an Ice Cap than use the 80 watt Triad ballasts. Horkn has been running 39 watt T5's on a WH5 for nearly a year and a half and claims he has no rings. Dunno why yours rings so early, could be a heat thing, he is in Wisconsin.
Of course running 80 watt lamps your ballast choices are limited. The 80 watt ballasts are expensive. It is cheaper to buy an Ice Cap than use the 80 watt Triad ballasts. Horkn has been running 39 watt T5's on a WH5 for nearly a year and a half and claims he has no rings. Dunno why yours rings so early, could be a heat thing, he is in Wisconsin.
