Lighting : What To Do..... Advise Needed

[Djtonton]

Okay so right now i have 120 gal display with a 40 gal sump. Im running (2) 250w single ended metal halides that are about 15 inches from the water. I had (4) t5 bulbs 54w running next to them but my icecap 660 ballast just died. for some reason its SUPER hard to find a replacement. I saw coralvue has one but its 4-6 week lead time.

Should i scrap the t5's and go with something like this:
[h=1]Ecoxotic 48 Inch Stunner 24W 12000K White/445nm Royal Blue LED Strip[/h]or do you think i should continue the search for the ballast. One thing to note is i dont have a ton of cash to spend at this time so any other suggestions would be great but lets shoot for the cheaper side of the fence lol


I dont know what to do!?!?!?!:neutral:

 

[Reefing Madness]

4 Lamp, Coralvue 660 Electronic T5 HO Ballast Kit - Hellolights.com

 

[Djtonton]

4 Lamp, Coralvue 660 Electronic T5 HO Ballast Kit - Hellolights.com

man $204 seems outragious seeing they are only $159 but i guess thats the price you pay to have it in stock?

 

[Troylee]

Try the workhorse ballast there cheap and work just as good as icecap..

 

[Djtonton]

Try the workhorse ballast there cheap and work just as good as icecap..

im not real technical when it comes to lighting if im running (4) 54w bulbs that are 48 inch what model would you recommend

 

[Troylee]

Sent you a pm with the link..:

 

[Reefing Madness]

He would have to rewire the units, as the Workhorse ballasts do not come with Ice Cap molex ends.

 

[justgotwet]

You might also try looking at eBay for cheaper lights.

 

[Budman's Corals]

a icecap 430 will run 4-t5 48" ive seen some on ebay or this board 4 sale cheap

 

[Budman's Corals]

Ice Cap 430 Electronic VHO Ballast Waterproof End Caps Cooling Fan | eBayll buy the ends from ya if u get this ..

 

[Djtonton]

Ice Cap 430 Electronic VHO Ballast Waterproof End Caps Cooling Fan | eBayll buy the ends from ya if u get this ..

that link said its for T12 to T8s i have T5's are you sure this will work with T5's?

 

[Budman's Corals]

that link said its for T12 to T8s i have T5's are you sure this will work with T5's?

im not a expert but im sure someone else will chime in...a 430 will work on all them up to a certain (length)watt..

wait and see what others say just for sake..

 

[Djtonton]

You might also try looking at eBay for cheaper lights.

do you have any suggestions. I cant get a boxed figure due to metal halides in the middle of my canopy.

 

[Troylee]

a icecap 430 will run 4-t5 48" ive seen some on ebay or this board 4 sale cheap

iirc it will only run 3 bulbs...

 

[Djtonton]

I might just go for the new ballast and rewire the lights it cant be that hard can it? lol

 

[Budman's Corals]

iirc it will only run 3 bulbs...

YOur right...Well that blew that idea..

Have you checked the selling good on here..,Ill keep my eye out also for ya,cheaper then buying a whole new unit I would think

 

[Budman's Corals]

I might just go for the new ballast and rewire the lights it cant be that hard can it? lol

I wired my vho but was only 2, whats 2 more lol

 

[Reefing Madness]

I might just go for the new ballast and rewire the lights it cant be that hard can it? lol

No its not that hard to do. The instructions come with the ballasts, or I should say on the ballasts, pretty straight forward.
2 Sylvania QHE 2X54T5HO UNV PSN HT Ballast Quicktronic FP54T5 HO Rapid Start | eBay

 

[Troylee]

Check your pm sent you a link for a 660 for $45 you got 20 min to buy it lol..

 

[Budman's Corals]

must be that one on ebay..great deal on it