How important is an Actinic bulb in a power compact?

[Moonrs]

I have a power compact by coralife with a 96watt 10K bulb and a 96watt Actinic. The actinic recently went out and I ordered a new one. I was sent the wrong bulb; they (a seller on ebay) sent another 10K bulb. I'm still trying to work out getting the right bulb sent from the seller. Since I had it, I decided to put in the 10k bulb in the Actinic's spot, to see what it would look like. The tank is much brighter, of course. It's nice, actually. My question is how concerned should I be about not having an actinic bulb running? What will the long-term affects be on my corals/livestock? If it is big deal, how long do I have before it becomes an issue? Should I just get something to put up a separate 96watt actinic, since I like the bright appearance with the two 10k? Sorry for so many questions. Thanks, in advance. Moonrs

[MikeC]

your corals will tend to be much more drab without actinic..

[Tim Marvin]

The actinic is very important for the corals. A week or two and you will notice a difference. I'd get the actinic as soon as you can.

[PeeJ]

I wouldn't say drab. They will still be pretty no matter what!!! HEHEH.

But yeah, a loss of color is probably your biggest concern.

[MikeC]

OK then more brown (less color)

[PeeJ]

If it were me, I'd keep the two 10k and add on the actinic...but I'm also an idiot.

[Moonrs]

I think I'll follow PeeJ's advice and keep the two 10K and get something to power a 96watt actinic. How hard is it to hook up just a bulb? I'd like to try and stay with the 96watt square-pin configuration, so that I can add the actinic back into the compact light strip if I want.

[samiam_orami]

You can get an electronic ballast that will fire up a 96watt PC at Home Depot for $25 - $30

[Moonrs]

wonder if the ballast from Home Depot would safely accomodate a straight pin configuration in an aquarium? Or should I go with the one from HelloLights, since it seems to be already configured for aquariums? thanks

[samiam_orami]

I believe the same ballast is used for either straight pin or square pin.
Only difference is the socket you plug into ...

All my PCs are square pin. I'm currently using a few of HD ballast on a few ...
CustomSeaLife seamed to use only WorkHorse EBallest, the only difference from the HD one is that GE makes it. Lowes sells Sylvania Eballest .... only difference is the name brand ...

For a 96w PC, you want the Eballast that is used for 4 32Watt T8s
of course, you'll need a power cord and a PC socket and clips as well
but all and all, much much cheaper than buying one for "Aquariums"

hope info helps ....
wiring is easy ..
samiam

[Moonrs]

Well, I'll keep you posted... I"m going to cross my fingers and see if I can get the ballast I need and all hooked up without starting a fire!

[Moonrs]

Oh, one more thing; can I use one Eballast for two bulbs, or do I need to get one ballast per bulb?

[samiam_orami]

you will need one Eballast per 96w PC ....
you could fire 2 55w PC bulbs with the same ballast but not 96w ...

and be sure to get the 120v Eballast
(they also sell the 240v but I don't think you'll be using that one)

[Moonrs]

Well, I went to Home Depot and Lowe's and they both had the appropriate ballasts, but not the endcaps that would accomodate a 4-pin bulb. I also have no idea how to hook up the ballast if they did have them. The ballasts I saw had 4 wires (I guess to accomodate 4 bulbs), but I wasn't sure what I'd do with the extra wires, once I had it hooked up. Would there even be extra wires? I think I"m just going to try my luck on ebay an purchase a complete ballast system that's already put together. That way, I'll already have everything I need; ballast cords, endcaps, clips, etc.

[samiam_orami]

No worries ....

the 4 yellow wires would go together so that you would get full power to the bulb
Yaeh ... the only place I could find endcaps were online
(Marine depot - hellolights about $3 and clips are $5pair)
all you would then need is a 3 prong extention cord (half of it to power the ballast, the other half to connect the ballast to the buld)

I could draw you a diagram if thats the way you want to go ....
Its an easy DIY project that saves alot of money ....

and also ...
its not as nice as the moisture proof endcaps you can buy but if you dip the $3 endcap in that plastic dip used for tool handles ... it's just as good ....

enjoy ...
samiam

If you don't want to

[Moonrs]

I'd love a diagram, if you have time to put one together. I'm not against a DIY project, it just seemed like I wouldn't be able to find what I needed. Thanks for the help, Sam.

[samiam_orami]

lets see if this works ....

http://www.naturallighting.com/ballasts/downloads/wireDiagram13.pdf

I'll try and draw somthing up ...
samiam

[Moonrs]

Thank you. I am able to see the diagram. I need to order some square pin caps from hellolights, and maybe the ballast, or get it from HD. Still looking on the web, too

[samiam_orami]

Let me know If there is anything I can do to help ...
have fun ...