[Wet Thumb Forum]-N.O. lighting for emersed tank

[imported_russell]

ok, i have many questions, so please bare with me. i purchased some florescent ballasts a long time ago, i used one of them with my aquarium. it was a 2x20 watt ballast. i recently purchased another ballast from the same person, and she assured me it would do the same thing. i got to looking at it, and it's much bigger. pictures are at the bottom of this post. so my questions are:

1. will the larger ballast power 2x 20 watt florescent bulbs, or is it too big?
2. do the ballasts themselves have to be grounded to metal?
3. do i need to use both of them for a total of 80 watts NO over my 10 gallon emersed tank?
4. can you think of anything else i need to know?

[imported_russell]

also, are the plant bulbs sucky? what would you recommend?

[onemyndseye]

russel,

This thread is kind of old...but what the hell


I dont know about the plant bulbs... In my other tinkerings I've always had just as good of luck with CoolWhites (or a Cool/Warm mix)

As for grounding the ballast.... It DOES have to be grounded but it DOESNT hage to be touching metal. My last DIY Lighting setup (my 60W N.O. hood for my 30gal) I used a well made plastic box to house the ballast. First I lined the inside of the box with roofing tape (Found in Home Depot and the like.. sorta Like duct tape but made of metal) to cut down on RF emmissions because I use a GE SmartHome unit to automate my tank. When I wired it up... I soldered the ground lead from the powercord directly to the outside of the ballast casing. Then used Hi-Temp epoxy to "Mount" the ballast inside the plastic box (is actually a "Bread Loaf Box" can be cound at walmart and the like (Mine came from a garrage sale for $0.50 )

I also mounted a fan inside the box to make sure Heat doesnt build up. Runs VERY cool... at the end of the light cycle you cant feel ANY heat on the outside of the plastic box