overdrive t5's

[jc]

I was interested in switching my universal accustart ballast with some icecaps. The purpose would be to overdrive my 54w 48" bulbs to 80w each. Looking at what reefgeek.com has to offer it seems that they use 1 icecap 660 ballast and 1 icecap 430 ballast. According to the icecap forum on reefcentral the 660 will power 3 bulbs at almost 80w. The 430 will only power 2 bulbs and not overdrive them. Is reefgeek wrong? If I want to overdrive my bulbs will I only need to replace the ballast with the icecaps? or do I need anything else? Here is the link for the 6 bulb 48" vho package from reefgeek
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/IceCap/SLR_Retrofit_Kits/48_inch__6x54W_Tek_2_T5_Very_High-Output_Retrofit_Kit_w!_Bulbs_by_Sunlight_Supply

[dustint21]

I have been looking into this also! I might be wrong but using icecap 660 on 48'' t5's you can run 3 or 4 bulbs at 80w each. You just have to change how you wire the ballast. So if you have a 6 bulb setup you can use 2 ic660 and run 3 48'' bulbs at 80w each off of each ballast! Im going to run 2 ic660 with 4 48'' bulbs 80w each on my 90 gallon!:cool: The only way i can get eight bulbs to fit is to use retro fits with aquatinic's 2'' wide reflectors! I hope this helps!


Good luck
Dustin

[alton]

Contact Ice Cap and ask for a wiring diagram to run 4-80 watt lamps

[Fish4life]

It is not necessary to overdrive t5's. Using your current accustart ballasts you should be able to house high light sps 18inches from the bulbs. What refelctors/bulbs are you using?

Overdriving t5 bulbs greatly reduces the life of the bulb. Overdriving has also been known to cause spectrum shifts in the bulbs as well as cause the bulbs to "strobe".

[dustint21]

Here is the diagram for icecap 660 it show all the combos you can run and how to wire them!

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage.aspx?PageAlias=lighting_fluorescen t_icecap_660_ballast

[princer7]

Saw this response from the IceCap rep on ReefCentral's Icecap vendor section:

Referring to if the 430 can be overdriven -



It will be slightly higher but not at the levels of a 660 ballast.

[jc]

A quote from icecap representative on reefcentral, "With the 430 ballast it will run 2 T5's only regardless of wattage. It will not overdrive them to the levels of a 660 ballast. It will be minimal at best. Will overdrive them by approximately 10%."

The 660 ballast will overdrive them 40 to 45%.

Someone on the forum did the calculations.
660
48"
max number bulbs = 4
overdriven wattage = 77.0W
total overdriven wattage = 307.8W

430
48"
max number bulbs = 2
overdriven wattage = 59.4W
total overdriven wattage = 118.8W

Considering the price of both ballast it would be better to stick with the 660's

My sps grow fine with my current t5's with individual reflectors. I'm thinking about upgrading because my tank is 6' long and the bulbs are 4'. They were originally on my 90 gallon. If I started with the 180 to begin with I would have used the 5' t5's and had higher output. I want the tank to be brighter and of course to get better coral growth and color.

[ErikH]

I wouldn't overdrive them. You need to stop overclocking everything you own, lol. :)

[jc]

Power!!!!

[dustint21]

I have been through alot of the pages on RC about the T5's! I have never heard anything bad about overdriving with the icecap 660! They even use it in the premade fixtures with 4 48'' bulbs! Can you give me a good reason or personal experiences not to overdrive? I am about to use 2 icecap 660's to overdrive 8 bulbs on my 90g mixed reef!

Thanks
Dustin