The T5 Q&a Thread

Status
Not open for further replies.
Grim, what makes a ballast overdrive the bulbs is it the hz rating. I saw that the hz rating on the Vossloh Schwabbe are 277 HZ. The Icecap 660 is 22-25 KHZ, the 430 is 22-24 KHZ, I assume 277 HZ=27.7 KHZ. What does HZ ans KHZ mean in terms of the ballast operation? Thank you very much.
 
dose anyone know what the best kelvin temp for t-5 bulbs is for coarls. i had heard that lower k is better, even though it is more yellow and is not as nice for display, it is better for growth. any help?
 
http://www.vossloh-schwabe.com/usa/electronic/fluorescent.php

grandp10, that spec is the input voltage at the given Hz for the input current, not the frequency of the output. The output would be in kilo-hz FWIW.

In looking at those ballasts, they are identical to the OSRAM/Sylvania ballasts. Even the case looks identical.

But the good news is... look at the spec sheet... all of those ballasts are 120/220 compatible... so the ballasts should be the same. Something tells me that these are the same as the OSRAM/Sylvanias.

Look who they are partnered with... http://www.vossloh-schwabe.com/usa/company/index.php

AROMAT... hey, guess what that means... they are part of PANASONIC, and sure enough, look at the title page... Matsu****a Corp (Panasonic). These ballasts are made on the same line as the Sylvanias (its an american company).
 
hahnmeister, thanks for the info. So does that mean that these ballasts do not overdrive? Ok I think I undestand now the 120...277 appears to be the voltage, noticed that after looking at a spec for a triad ballast said universal voltage 120-277, that also said 50/60 hz. Please excuse my ignorance but what does FWIW mean? So if they do not overdrive how do they get so much light, is it the reflectors and cooling? Thank you very much.
 
Grim, you suggested the following for my setup:

If you go with 80 watt retros do this
Pure Actinic or Actinic Blue
ATI Blue Plus
Midday
Aquablue
Midday
ATI Blue Plus

To make sure I get the right bulbs --

1. Does Pure Actinic = the Giesemann Pure Actinic 03 ?
2. And Actinic Blue = or ATI 12000 Aquablue Special ?
3. Is the Aquablue = the Giesemann 11000K Aquablue Plus or the ATI 12000 Aquablue Special?

I'm pretty sure Midday = Giesemann Midday Sun and I could pick out the ATI Blue Plus.

What will be the differences between the Pure Actinic and Actinic Blue bulbs, or are they so similar it'll be negligible?

I'm not sure if this arrangement of bulbs has more of a white or blue look ... but if I wanted to buy a couple of extra bulbs so I could experiment to see a whiter vs bluer look, what would you suggest?

I've only been doing this about 2 months so my tank doesn't have too much going on, but I'll post photos after I get the lights set up to give others ideas what the combination looks like.

Thanks again,
Trey
 
need an SPS health bulb setup for 6 bulb 54W t5...

Have 2X Giesemann pure actinic, 2XGieseman actinic plus, 1xGieseman 6000k midday and 1x6500k

I dont think it has the PAR i need. Please correct me if wrong. If not, what recommendation? 4x10k, 2x pure actinic? thanks for any help in advance.
 
Where possible use ATI lamps except for the actinic. The Pure Actinic is Geisemann's actinic lamp. They may have changed the name. As far as I know the ATI Actinic is called Actinic Blue. Not a big difference between the two. For Aquablue I prefer the ATI Aquablue special. For playing grab a GE 6500K daylight another aquablue. That would give you a lot of options.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8640592#post8640592 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tgsplano
Grim, you suggested the following for my setup:

If you go with 80 watt retros do this
Pure Actinic or Actinic Blue
ATI Blue Plus
Midday
Aquablue
Midday
ATI Blue Plus

To make sure I get the right bulbs --

1. Does Pure Actinic = the Giesemann Pure Actinic 03 ?
2. And Actinic Blue = or ATI 12000 Aquablue Special ?
3. Is the Aquablue = the Giesemann 11000K Aquablue Plus or the ATI 12000 Aquablue Special?

I'm pretty sure Midday = Giesemann Midday Sun and I could pick out the ATI Blue Plus.

What will be the differences between the Pure Actinic and Actinic Blue bulbs, or are they so similar it'll be negligible?

I'm not sure if this arrangement of bulbs has more of a white or blue look ... but if I wanted to buy a couple of extra bulbs so I could experiment to see a whiter vs bluer look, what would you suggest?

I've only been doing this about 2 months so my tank doesn't have too much going on, but I'll post photos after I get the lights set up to give others ideas what the combination looks like.

Thanks again,
Trey
Click to expand...
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8640692#post8640692 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Xirxes23
need an SPS health bulb setup for 6 bulb 54W t5...

Have 2X Giesemann pure actinic, 2XGieseman actinic plus, 1xGieseman 6000k midday and 1x6500k

I dont think it has the PAR i need. Please correct me if wrong. If not, what recommendation? 4x10k, 2x pure actinic? thanks for any help in advance.
Click to expand...

You are close for a 90. I would use ATI Blue Plus lamps in place of the Actinic Plus and swap one of the pure actinics for an ATI Aquablue. It shouldn't make a huge difference in the look but it will give you more PAR. You could also run a small clip on fan blowing across the fixture from behind, that will give you a nice boost in output.
 
The pictured ballasts do not overdrive. Assuming my information is correct and that is the brand that is used in the ATI fixture it doesn't mean they are the same. The ballasts in the fixture do not have a case. They could be designed to a totally different spec.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8640085#post8640085 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by grandp10
hahnmeister, thanks for the info. So does that mean that these ballasts do not overdrive? Ok I think I undestand now the 120...277 appears to be the voltage, noticed that after looking at a spec for a triad ballast said universal voltage 120-277, that also said 50/60 hz. Please excuse my ignorance but what does FWIW mean? So if they do not overdrive how do they get so much light, is it the reflectors and cooling? Thank you very much.
Click to expand...
 
The ATI I have is a european unit so it is ran with a step up transformer. There would be no way to figure how much power is being used by the transformer vs the ballast unless I had a 220v killo watt meter
 
You should be able to get moderately close though, right? Like able to tell if the bulbs are pulling 80+ watts, or 54 each? On a 4 bulb fixture, thats a difference of 100+ watts.


Does the transformer have some sort of efficiency coefficient?
 
Or, the other way, perhaps the only way to find out for real what is going on, is to wire a regular ballast, and the ATI ballast, into a black-box, where the reflectors, active cooling, etc are all equal... and then see if the ATI still gives you a higher output then a regular ballast by Sylvania/OSRAM.
 
Spikehs,

I dont believe that this unit has the individual reflectors that make T5's so effective. I'd pass and wait to purchase a unit that has better reflectors. reefgeek or aquactinics have units that have been popular with folks here on RC
 
thanks... i wasn't sure how much of a diff the reflector made.. I was originally looking to go w/ the tek 36" 6 bulb unit over my 38x18x18 50gal tank... guess I'll stick w/ that.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Dr. Reef
XMAS Sale @ Dr. Reef's
Replies
0
Views
213
Dr. Reef
Dr. Reef
Dr. Reef
Dr. Reef's XMAS Sale
Replies
0
Views
440
Dr. Reef
Dr. Reef
Dr. Reef
Affordable Aquaria by Dr. Reefs Black Friday Sale
Replies
0
Views
155
Dr. Reef
Dr. Reef
Guygettnby
Stuck between 2 skimmers...
Replies
12
Views
2K
Guygettnby
Guygettnby
jasonfrey
Enter to WIN a Reeflo AC3000 Submersible Pump - Ends 3/10/2026
Replies
6
Views
273
jasonfrey
jasonfrey
Back
Top