t5 electronic ballasts which one?

R

robthorn

New member
what are some of the good electronic t5 ballasts out there? does anyone know which ballast the giesemann setups are running? or where to get them? I am currently running ice caps and the bulbs are about 5 months old and I am starting to see acolor shift in the acro's. I also use ice cap reflectors . I am probably going to run 4 ft bulbs either 8 or 10 on the new tank being setup by the end of this month. just want to change ballasts so the bulbs will last longer. I would rather add a couple more bulbs that will last longer which was the whole point for me to use t5's in the first place but 6 month changes aren't going to cut it. the bulbs are ati/giesemann not cheapo's. 2 actinic 1 blue and 3 11k . all of these are 5 ft on a 6 ft long tank and I am switching to a 7 ft tank in about 1 month and will probably stagger and overlap 4 ft bulbs instead of running 5 ft bulbs. I know the hows and why's of the whole t5 ice cap thing and exactly how it overdrives them I do not want to do this anymore.
thanks for any suggestions everyone,
robert
 
there customer service is awesome also but the ballast just doesn't do what I want it to. which is burn the bulbs the way they were designed....
 
ICECAP is also offering some lower cost ballast for running just T5s. It does not overdrive the bulb. They sent me one to tryout. Its made by DYnamic. I understand you can purchase these from reefgeek.com. The ballast I have runs 2-54Watt T5HO bulbs. I am currently running 2-11k bulbs.
 
I am liking ballastwise are you using anything from them? I do not see anything but triads and workhorse on reefgeek unless he has failed to update his site.
 
you can run both the workhorse or triad ballasts as well. The triad is the better out of the two. It uses less power, puts out more PAR and soft starts your bulbs which will make them last longer. You can get the Triads at www.innovativelights.com
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6954182#post6954182 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Horace
you can run both the workhorse or triad ballasts as well. The triad is the better out of the two. It uses less power, puts out more PAR and soft starts your bulbs which will make them last longer. You can get the Triads at www.innovativelights.com
Click to expand...

why buy those? they are so expensive compared to the ballasts on ballast wise.
 
Well frankly I have never heard of ballastwise so I have no idea how good they really are. I know Triads are good because they are the same ballast that is in the Tek fixtures. Ive never once heard anyone use these before. They are cheap though...I would probably give them a try myself though.

Do they sell one that will overdrive??? Is the Icecap the only one that will overdrive?
 
you can overdrive with workhorse ballasts
i dont know how safe it is though


with all this talk about icecap ballasts killing t5ho bulbs prematurely, i wouldnt overdrive them at all, but merely alter my bulb selection for what is in the tank.



advance ballasts are good and cheap as well.

you can get workhorse or advance through www.aqualuxlighting.com
 
The workhorse series ballast will run most any t5ho (I am planning a run of 8 x 80 watt t5's with 4 workhorse 7's) Enclosed in a hanging light fixture 72" long x aprox 14" wide for optimal spread, with fans. These Ballasts are Instant start. DIY puts me at $410-

That includes bulb mounting clips, and plugs, ballast, and bulbs (Giesemann 3-blue plus and Giesemann 5-aquablue special)

This is not including mirrored s/s reflectors and hanging encloser with plexy cover, I am going to have an encloser laser cut galvagnized and paint white and have ballasts wired behind tank.
This also does not include 2 fans probably run about $30 or so.
I'm thinking I will be in it $600...

Any reason anyone may think this ballast may give be premature bulb Lumens loss? Let me know please. I ts really hard to pick one with the limited us sources for t5ho right now. but it lets me run 2 blues at night and other 6 during midday. Should work out ok. Any suggestions?
 
the workhorse is a great t5ho ballast. in aquarium use you will not see reduced output froma w ballast.

however, not using good reflectors is not a wise decision. aqualus, tek, and icecap reflectors are the tops in the t5ho biz for reflectors.
 
Who here is running the ballastwise anyways? Seems to good to be true in term of how cheap it is.
 
I'm not sold on sunlight supply products because to me they don't seem as good as they should be and way over priced compared to better products out there. at least that is my opinion I could be totally wrong here. I do like the high power factor on the ballastwise ballasts that are .99 instead of .90 on the workhorse ballasts.
overdriving workhorse ballasts? how is this possible? I don't think they jack up the voltage or frequency over what the bulbs are designed to run. are you running only 1 or 2 bulbs on a 3 or 4 bulb ballast? not going to do it just curious about claims and how it's done.
 
Take into consideration the fact that anything relating to the aquarium or horticulture trade is going to have a huge markup. Reefgeek, aqualux, innovative, etc. all mark the products up. Probably because it's marked up before it gets to them. The ballastwise site is set up more for the commercial "highbay" type of light fixtures. The ballast is probably the same as the Triad (Advance). probably made by the same people. I believe the case is the exact same dimension and the wiring is the same. I'm buying three ballast from them and the Icecap SLR reflectors, endcaps and standoffs from reefgeek.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6958776#post6958776 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crash519
Take into consideration the fact that anything relating to the aquarium or horticulture trade is going to have a huge markup. Reefgeek, aqualux, innovative, etc. all mark the products up. Probably because it's marked up before it gets to them. The ballastwise site is set up more for the commercial "highbay" type of light fixtures. The ballast is probably the same as the Triad (Advance). probably made by the same people. I believe the case is the exact same dimension and the wiring is the same. I'm buying three ballast from them and the Icecap SLR reflectors, endcaps and standoffs from reefgeek.
Click to expand...

I would agree....I would probably do the same thing if given the opportunity. Those ballasts are cheap indeed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
T5 light order
Replies
5
Views
335
griss
griss
Reefing102
Metal Halide ballast question (overdriving HQI bulbs)
Replies
4
Views
381
ct_vol
ct_vol
shackscs
Current Loop Led Lighting needed
Replies
4
Views
446
shackscs
shackscs
JustSalty
Would this make a good or bad LED Grow light option?
Replies
8
Views
518
JustSalty
JustSalty
t0mmy108
Kessil light options for a Waterbox Marine X 90.3
Replies
2
Views
171
BuckeyeFish
BuckeyeFish
Back
Top