SpeedEuphoria

That ballast looks crapy to me, the BF is lower than Advance and it lacks Program Start. Then the THD is 2-3x+ higher than good ballasts and its less efficient.

BTW, the Advance ballast you listed is for 2x 39w bulbs, the ICN2S54 is for 2x 54w T5HO bulbs.

The ICN2S54 costs $38.29 locally for me + tax, so $40.59

The one you listed says $29.99 + shipping, not a deal and I would not buy it.

taekwondodo

Are we looking at the same thing? The DXE254HO5 is listed as a 54 watt ballast - where did the 39W come from? Additionally, for $29.00 plus shipping, I get TWO ballasts (I wasn't clear), not one.

For DIY'ers on a budget (e.g.,... moi), this could be a great thing. Afterall, isn't this the goal of DIY? I made it smaller/cheaper and save more money than "X" guy?

That said, I'm not sure how to compare as I did google for a ICN2S54 datasheet and couldn't find one to compare (but it was a cursory search - at work and do have to pretend I'm not surfing the web ).

That, and I'm not really sure the benefits of the BF (Ballast frequency, I assume) or Program Start over Instant Start... It would be great if you could explain.

Not exactly related, I do have their e-ballasts for my HID lights, and at the price, I couldn't be happier.

- Jeff

SpeedEuphoria

The 39w came from you saying ICN2S39, which is for 2 39w T5HO bulbs.

For 2 then thats something to consider, I guess it depends on your tanks size or if you have multiple tanks. Like for a normal 4' tank 2x 54w bulbs with good reflectors is plenty. Even 1 bulbs grows "high light" plants from what other members have experienced.

BF= Ballast Factor. Basically its a measure of how much wattage gets to the bulbs. So most brand name T5HO ballasts have a 1.0 BF which means that each bulb gets the stated 54W. With a .92 BF you would get ~54w x .92=49.68W to each bulb.

The normal BF for T8 ballasts are .88, but they do have some lower like .78 and some GE ones are higher at 1.15 so they overdrive the bulbs some.

The way the bulbs start, light up has been improved on many times. Like the old magnetic ballasts for T12's tend to flicker at start up till they get warmed up. So they went to "rapid start" which gives a large amount of power at start up to keep them from flickering. Then they changed/improved to "instant start" which is similar, then they have "programed rapid start" which is an in between. The newest technology is "program start", which gives voltage to the bulbs to let them warm up before turning on, instead of a large amount of power. Basically it can extend bulb life.

For advance ballast specs, go here, I wish I could just link you to the PDF, but its a funny setup. Anyway that catalog is nice and easy to use, just select the bulb type and how many.
http://www.advancetransformer.com/ec...FLB_LookUp.asp

SpeedEuphoria

Oh and how do you get 2 ballasts for $30?

And this one is better and same price:
http://www.ballastwise.com/images/up...s/DXE2HO5U.pdf

taekwondodo

Awesome...

But I'm still stuck - I need to figure out how I get 3 150DEs AND 4 54 W T5HOs under the hood of my 125!!!

I know - Rebuild the hood!

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHRRRRGGGG!!!!!

niko

Taekwondodo,

Rebuilding the hood is easy! I built TexGal's ligh housing in 25 minutes!

(...plus about six months of trial and error to learn how to do it...)

Try and you will see it's easy!

--Nikolay

taekwondodo

yes, and your's (TG's) looks great, but that won't support BOTH the MHs and the T5HOs...

JERP

That is a great looking light. I think I'll borrow liberally from that concept. I only have two comments.

1. Do you have any concern with the cable tensioner putting a moment arm on the glass rim? It looks like it could snap the glass or the rim. Perhaps replacing the green cable with a rigid bar that absorbs the tension would be better.

2. What do you think of replacing the kickstand with a screen door (or even car trunk) piston? That way there's no chance of the hood accidentally crashing down during maintenance.

Outsane

you both seem to know alot..

I want about 2.5 watts per gal on my 30 gal, I have 30 in wide tank.

Whats a cheap ballast to use to for this set up?

thanks

Tex Gal

Now did you have to go and ask those ??? ! I was perfectly content until question #1. The light has been working like a charm. It is very very light. While I'm not a physicist I would be surprised if there was enough torque to cause any issues. I do hope Niko sees this question!