Electronic Ballast

[Joe_P]

Hi Reefers,

I'm currently looking for the 54 W Electronic Ballast for T5 tubes...

Any idea which store at Sim Lim sells them and the pricing???

And how many bulbs can each ballast fire up????

[cmswong]

Hi,

u can get in sim lim tower 3rd floor (kai ching)

they sold 55w I thin is o.K.

[IanJ]

Joe

I think 2 types are avail for T5's, single and doulbe options. As far as i know the double is only slightly more expensive than the single

[Joe_P]

Thanks Guys,

I will need a ballast that can support 2 x 54W T5s....

Was wondering how much one ballast would cost...

BTW, what brand and model should I go for???

And does the store at Sim Lim sells the endcaps too??

[Anthony]

u got for T5 for ur new setup?... what happened to ur MH

[DaY]

Get the osram eballast? supposely to be better.

The store at simlim sell endcap too. think about $1.00++ for one pair of them

[marinebetta]

Hi Joe,

If getting the endcaps, I can recommend bro birdfish's waterproof endcaps - german, good quality and looks like it'll last a lifetime. I believe he still has extras from the last bulk order. More ex at $5 per piece but better for peace of mind cf regular non-waterproof G5 holders.

If you want to order Icecap ballasts, let me know - I'm considering odering some in sooner or later....

[Joe_P]

Hi Joe,

If getting the endcaps, I can recommend bro birdfish's waterproof endcaps - german, good quality and looks like it'll last a lifetime. I believe he still has extras from the last bulk order. More ex at $5 per piece but better for peace of mind cf regular non-waterproof G5 holders.

If you want to order Icecap ballasts, let me know - I'm considering odering some in sooner or later....

Marinebetta,

You intend to overdrive your bulbs????

Day, how much does the Osram ballast cost???

[marinebetta]

Marinebetta,

You intend to overdrive your bulbs????

Yup....

[sherman]

Hi Joe,

If getting the endcaps, I can recommend bro birdfish's waterproof endcaps - german, good quality and looks like it'll last a lifetime. I believe he still has extras from the last bulk order. More ex at $5 per piece but better for peace of mind cf regular non-waterproof G5 holders.

If you want to order Icecap ballasts, let me know - I'm considering odering some in sooner or later....

Bro,

Is Icecap ballast for 230 vac also ?Or do we need a transformer to change our 230V to 110 V?

Regards

[Tanzy]

You can request for 220V Icecap ballast. I have a 660 and it's been running for more than 4 years now.

[Joe_P]

What kind of wattage does the Icecap ballast comes in???

[Tanzy]

660 is 440W or 4 tubes.

430 is 330W or 2 tubes.

[Joe_P]

I need some help here....

Ice caps at that wattage is gonna overdrive the T5s!!!

Cos aint the highest wattge T5 bulb only 80Ws ???

[Tanzy]

They are electronic ballasts, they will select the best wattage to drive the tubes. They do tend to overdrive them, but isn't that good? As the tube ages, the ballast will automatically ramp up the currect to maintain light output.

A test showed that an Icecap 660 ran a 54W T5 at 75W.

[Joe_P]

Interesting.... waondering how much it would cost to bring in a 660??

[IanJ]

Joe

Guess Osram can help, also check www.reefkeeper.co.uk for info on range of ballasts etc

[KingFish]

Interesting.... waondering how much it would cost to bring in a 660??

The last time I tried, an IC660 was USD$150 without shipping & insurance ... but if you can it'll be great as you can subsequently overdrive the T5s to extend its use a little longer.

Otherwise, OSRAM is a good bet

[marinebetta]

Best price I could find was US$153+ but I haven't really been looking seriously yet. Rumour, where did you find your price?

IC660 can drive x4 54W T5, and only x3 80W T5 unless they modify it for you....then it may run x4 80W - I think they are still testing it out. You can also ask them to mod it for dimming.