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Has anyone tried overdriving lights?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by adampottebaum, May 6, 2009.

  1. May 6, 2009 #1
    adampottebaum

    adampottebaum Experienced Reefkeeper GIRS Member

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    Just wondering if anyone's done this and looking for more info. I was reading Anthony Calfo's article posted by xroads and it mentions overdriving T5s. I've heard a little about this and have been searching for articles about doing this on a more in depth detail, but most people just talk about doing this to standard T8s or T12s. I'm planning on doing a retrofit kit for a double bulb 48" T5 already, so I think it would be a good idea to buy an extra ballast and wire it in. It would be great to up the wattage for each bulb because my 72 bowfront can only have 12" of 48" bulbs before I run out of room in the cannopy.
    If anyone has any more info or personal experience please let me know. I love the DIY things and I'm deffinately going to try this once I know for sure what I'm getting my self into. I plan on installing some big fans into my cannopy to compensate for any extra heat, which Calfo also says is a big problem with light bulbs. My VHOs don't get too hot, but once I add these to the picture I'm definitely going to need fans.
    Thanks, Adam
     
  2. May 6, 2009 #2
    adampottebaum

    adampottebaum Experienced Reefkeeper GIRS Member

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    I know it needs a diagram of one more bulb, but it this the basic idea?
    [​IMG]
     
  3. May 6, 2009 #3
    crony333

    crony333 Inactive User

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    I'm about to upgrade lighting and since I'm limited in the amount of space I have for lighting I've been looking at this retrofit Icecap kit .. its 4x54 slr t5 with Icecap ballasts that is overdriven to run at 85w.
    The descriptions says the ballasts are engineered to overdrive the bulbs. I know it doesn't help much but maybe its not wiring but actual voltage sent from ballasts.

    http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/IceCap/SLR_Retrofit_Kits/48_inch__4x54W_SLR_T5_Very_High-Output_Retrofit_Kit_w!_Bulbs_by_IceCap

     
  4. May 7, 2009 #4
    xroads La Porte City, IA

    xroads Veteran Reefkeeper Vendor

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    Yes Crony is correct.

    The icecap ballast automatically overdrive the bulbs.

    I made a rack for one tank & am in the middle of making another now. I have an icecap book I can give you when you pick up your order today & can show you my rack.

    The nice thing is that you can run 2, 3, or 4 bulbs with one ballast, the wiring is just different.



     
  5. May 7, 2009 #5
    xroads La Porte City, IA

    xroads Veteran Reefkeeper Vendor

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    The other nice feature about running T-5's is that you can change your color appearance by swapping out single bulbs. If you run 4 on that I would run a mid day sun, a 75/25. and a couple true blues. If you dont like what you have you can change out 1 bulb & totally change the appearance. The bulbs are fairly reasonale. The whiter colors are as cheap as $10. The bluer you get the higher the price with the antinics being around $23.
     

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