Do It Yourself ODNO Lighting - Cheap High Powered Lighting

intresting....

 

Disclaimer: The following information should be used at your own risk.

Here a couple of 4x32 ballast you can use to overdrive (2)T-8 from a single ballast
Advance REL-4P32-SC
GE B432I120RH
Sylvania QT 4x32/120 IS-SC

Rick

 

This sounds like a more economical way to overdrive a 2 t8 bulb.... Too bad my 3 ballasts are only 2 bulb.

What I dont get UNLESS it is the case like me where after 6 T8 bulbs I am out of hood space, why not run 2 sets of lights? That is a true doubling of power.

But I guess I have a bit of interest in this because I CANNOT get even 1 more light under my hood!

Has anyone done this? Have you gsoul done this or cooltow? If so, what is the risk to the bulbs? Shortened life? Any electrical hazard to running this?

 

It's a common practice (it is used in most high output aquarium lighting) I figure it out when I was looking for a replacement ballast for a high output T-5 fixture the maker wanted $150 for a OEM ballast the replacement was $30

Bulbs run hot so life is shorter
The ballast actually runs cooler because the current is lower


Rick

 

Makes sense

Well I may go out looking soon for a 4 bulb ballast (well 3 of them )

 

is the point to run 2 ballast and 2 lights at higher power instead of 4 lights at lower power?? and you do this by only powering 2 light sockets instead of 4 by rerouting the wires correct???

i tried to modify my 2 ballast 2 light hood. i was a little confused on the process and though the point was to run the the main ac power from the wall to the socket (leaving out the ballast) well yea of course that blew my lights LOL.

i am confussed about on thing tho, in every modification write up i see, they all remove the on off switch that comes wired in. im a little lost to see why the ballast has to be strait wired in. looking at it, the power goes into the hood, runs over to the on off switch then off to the ballast. so how i see it, its still getting power like that, why the need to remove it?????

also just so its clear to me, the point is to lessin the bulb out put of the ballast (take it from 4 outlets, down to 2 and run the 4 power sources to the 2 outlets instead of 4 right???)

so were not actually boosting the output power of the ballast just simply putting all its power into one place right???

a little confussed on the topic, obviously i blew my lights trying to figure it out [laughing]

 

The idea is to drive a single lamp with a 2 or 4 lamp ballast
this wiring diagram shows a single lamp driven by a 2 lamp ballast

Rick

 

gotcha.

 

And the switch is optional... it would be wired in before the ballast IF you run one... my switches are timers so I dont have a normal "toggle" or button switch... Thats the ideal switch IMO

 

And just to be redundant it must be an electronic ballast.
Magnetic inductive ballast do not work in this application.

Rick

 

awesome, thanks guys!!! i think im about to go pick one up right now. be prepared for a few questions later [help]

 

what kind of lights to you guys use??? i got a 2 light 32watt set up with the t-8 lights (kitchen lights, thats all they had at walmart in the t-8's) and well just normal with both lights in it, it is BRIGHT, but its kinda like a dull white bright. my other set up was a 20watt dual set up with the plant/aquarium lights. they give off kinda of a pinkish tint but that tint makes the fish colors vibrent. with these lights, there colors look a little duller.

what other kind of lights can i use?? i saw the plant/aquarium light but it was like an f20, i did not know if i could use it (same length i think) or either maybe i really bright white, not his dull bright white.

any ideas?? i dont even know if i even need to modify the ballast right now, its pretty bright as is, i even took one of the bulbs out for the time being.

 

First off DONT get your bulbs at Walmart (they are actually OVERPRICED!)

Go to Lowes for bulbs.... (Not Home Depot)... You want T8 DAYLIGHT bulbs (they are in the color spectrum for plants)... Get those kitchen lights off ASAP unless you want an algae outbreak... at that color, the only thing that uses the light is algae.

Lowes is the cheapest on bulbs for a 2 pack of 4' T8s its around $7 compared to Walmarts $10 and I had issues finding that bulb at Home Depot...

Home Depot however sells ballasts for HALF the cost you will pay at Lowes...

It is amazing the difference in prices store to store when you really look..

 

Since almost all my equipment in the fish room was bought used I have every thing from high power compact florescent too just plain old T-12 shop lights

I just buy the cheapest DAYLIGHT bulbs I can find at Lowes or Home Depot for the compact florescent I buy online.
One day I will get all my lighting standard but right now I have 5 or 6 different lighting setups running.

Rick

 

yea i really hate these lights and they were 10$ at walmart.

i had went to home depot to try and find the set up but they dident have that spicific brand and well the guys there looked at me like a i was a complete fool when i told them what i wanted to do with them. the guy finally made me look it up on the internet there at the store (i guess he was trying to call my bluff) and i showed him the write up. after that we went thru pulling all the lights apart and looking at the ballast

the one at home depot was a 2 light set up with one ballast. it had 2 blue wires going to one side, to the 2 different light sockets on that end, then 1 red wire that went the other way and hit one of the light sockets on the oppesite end, then it had a little white wire that crossed over to the other socket on that same side as the red. it was a 2 light, 32watt t-8 bulb set up. (basically what i picked up at walmart for cheaper, lowes was already closed at this time, spent to much time at home depot :/ )

if i were to modify that, would i just run the 2 blue wires to one socket instead of the 2?? and would i need to do anything special with the red wire or just run it to the same socket that i run my blue ones to??? and what about that little crossover wire?? just do away with it?? or would i take that cross over wire from the right side socket (so to say) and run it into another spot on the right side socket???

after looking at the lights today there not as bright as they seemed last night.

 

this is the GE 2 tube ballastthe capped wire on the single tube set-up would be run to your bulb


I know these ballast work

 

here is the four bulb GE ballast it can be used to drive a tube at 2X,3X, or 4X

 

doh. i screwed my self with the hood from wally world. it does not seem to have extra conectors in the sockets to plug the extra wires in. o well. i still have my old hood and it does have the 4 slots on the sockets so i may just buy a 4 light ballast and run it to my 2 lights in it. then run both hoods or something.



i like the day lights better, but i wish i could modify this hood. the daylights are okay, but i think they would look alot better with more power. maybe it was because i ran the plant/aquarium light so long i just got used to them, but they seemed to make the colors on my fish pop more. is there another light other than the daylights that would work for the aquarium but maybe put out a fresher white?? the daylights kinda have a blue tint to them. i gotta get to my LPS, that guy has some nice set ups and i really like his lighting set ups. the bright white seemed to make everything pop, even the little bubbles in the water looked amazing. i sometimes go there and just stair at his tanks.