T5 lighting

[jbittner]

Will a workhorse 3 ballast power a 54watt T5 light??? Will a 54 watt (4ft bulb) fit above my 55 gal (4ft) with end caps or will I have to go with a 3' bulb???

[Horace]

Yes the 54w will fit over any 4ft tank. The bulb is not really 48", it is actually 46.5". As for the workhorse, I would avoid those if possible. They hard start the bulb and will shorten its life somewhat. I would look into getting a triad ballast instead. They are available from www.innovativelights.com. Either that or an Icecap 660 or 430.

[horkn]

i use a w5 to power my 3x39w t5ho setup


if they reduce the lifespan of a t5 bulb, you will never see it in aquarium use. now if you turn them on and off all day long for months, then, maybe you will see a little hard start sign. but of on and off 2x a day wont wear the bulbs any. i think aquarium specific ballast companies made up that the hard start ballasst should not be used by t5ho users... mine have been running 13 months, all original bulbs, and everything. still, theres no hint of hard start abuse on the bulbs....


so, go ahead and use that workhorse ballast on t5ho, they work great

[Horace]

Oh and the workhorse also puts out less PAR too.. forgot to mention that :P. To be honest Horkn, I dont know how much of an effect it has on the bulbs, but I do hear it does have "some" effect. Just because you dont notice it with your eyes doesnt really mean anything. It could easily have a shift in spectrum or intensity over time that you would never know about unless you had a PAR meter and a spectrum analyser. I have not done any studies, but if the cost is close on both ballasts, I would go with a spec ballast instead. If you have a spare WH around by all means use it :P

[jbittner]

Have 4 workhorse 3 ballasts running my pcs. I need to replace the PCs and the price is about the same to buy T5's and endcaps

[jh2pizza]

what about ho ballast for T5 lamps made by advance? are they anygood?

[David Grigor]

Having used Workhorse on VHO bulbs and seen the difference after six months side by side comparison with an Icecap, They are definately harder on the bulbs with much more predominate blackening on the ends.

I would have to think much of the same would be true for T5s as well.

If you already had the ballast certainly use it. If given the choice when purchasing a ballast it would be my last choice.

[horkn]

yeah, maybe an icecap ballast puts out more PAR than a workhorse ballast. but you pay a lot more for the icecap. a workhorse can be used to overdrive t5ho's just like an icecap.

but i also use the aqualux reflectors that are known to put out more PAR than the tek reflectors as well. they actually are tied with the icecap reflectors as far as PAR, but again cost less....

as far as t5hos "changing spectrums" in aquarium use, well, thats been proven not to happen until way after any aquarist would swap the bulbs out out. its a moot point

fwiw, my tank looks exactly the same as it did 13 months ago as far as the color and brightness of the tank. and my camera shows the same.....

[d.can82]

Originally posted by jh2pizza
what about ho ballast for T5 lamps made by advance? are they anygood?

They're program start and will work just as well as the triad ballasts the come with the tek lights and most t5 setups. They're just as good as any and probably better then the wh's- but I agree that turning the lights on and off once a day, the hard starting probably won't make a huge difference.