# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Ballast Placement?



## Jim Miller (Feb 3, 2003)

I'm considering placing my ballasts under the 120 I'm planning. That will make the leads at least 4' long for each of 5 or 6 55W PCs. Any issues with RFI and EMI affecting stereo or radio been observed?

The alternative would be mounting them on the back of the hood.

tnx
jtm


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## Jim Miller (Feb 3, 2003)

I'm considering placing my ballasts under the 120 I'm planning. That will make the leads at least 4' long for each of 5 or 6 55W PCs. Any issues with RFI and EMI affecting stereo or radio been observed?

The alternative would be mounting them on the back of the hood.

tnx
jtm


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## Rex Grigg (Jan 22, 2004)

IMHO that sounds a little long. I'm trying to remember what AH Supply recommends but right now I'm drawing a blank. If everything is grounded properly you should not have much RFI.

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## Doomer (Feb 2, 2003)

Dunno what type of hood you have but it might make it hard to remove from the tank if the ballasts are mounted in the cabinet. I have mine mounted to the back of my canopy and the cords are still coiled as the came new. All I have to worry about when I remove the canopy from the tank is the power cords. Ideally, quick disconnects on the ballast leads would the way to go but I've never seen any made like that. Might be a job for a diy'er.


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## qbal18 (Jul 19, 2004)

one of the advantages i have is that my father-in-law is an electrician, i am in the middle of drawing up some prints or ideas for a cabinet and hood i want to build this spring. one of the things i am planning is placing all the balases in the cabinet bellow the tank. now the way i have been told to do this so you can remove the hood still Whit ease is to wire everything up like you normally would but with the balas in the cabinet, then get a few electrical plug boxes and have the bales out wires running to them. then get some male plug-ins and use then as your connectors. if you use the 3-prong(ones with grounds) as long as you mark what plug goes where you should be able to connect 3 wires with each connection. For 3 lights you will then need 2 plugs.

bont know if it makes any sense but i guse some time when i have more time i could draw it up for everyone.


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## Jim Miller (Feb 3, 2003)

Didn't think about the "removing the hood" problem since I was thinking that the hood would be in place most of the time or tipped up for maintenance rather than removed. Hmmm...

The least "cordy" way I suppose would be to mount the ballasts on the back of the hood and run a single AC cord up to a junction box or outlet strip where the ballasts are located.

I also wanted to make it possible to turn on/off the lights sequentially so some sort of sequencer would be needed near the ballasts as well. I also thought it would be nice to extend the viewing day with a nightlight for a few hours. Since I was planning at least 4x55PC I thought that turning on two at a time over an hour or two would be a nice touch. Do all of the ballasts run a single 55 or is there a way to run two 55's off a 110W ballast? That would minimize the ballast count at the cost of a reduction in flexibility.

Anyone know good sources for light sequencers?

tnx
jtm

Tank specs in profile


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## Doomer (Feb 2, 2003)

I think you'll find that there are times when removing the hood will be necessary. I don't remove mine very often. I keep a 48" shop light handy to illuminate the tank when I have the canopy removed. It's much easier to trim the plants, remove the duckweed, service the prefilters, etc.

I have 4 x 55 watts run bu 2 ballasts (2 lamps each ballast). I have 2 power cords running to a power strip in the stand. I didn't really see the need to complicate the setup further by adding a junction box. 2 cords aren't really more trouble than one. I did add a couple of hooks to route the cords to the middle of the back of the canopy to keep them together and out of the way.

I have both sets on the same timer. I tried using 2 timers but decided it was simpler to use just one and I didn't see any benefit from staggering the on off times. I did runn just one set early on to cut down on algae.

The absolute best timers I have found are digital timers made by Intermatic. They are discontinued but I managed to find some Radio Shack branded ones on ebay for 20 bucks. I've got one Intermatic branded one that's over 10 years old and still going strong. Digital timers are far more accurate than mechanical timers.

On my big tank I've got a 13 watt actinic I use as a moon light. It comes on when the main lights go out and goes off at 6 am.


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## Jim Miller (Feb 3, 2003)

Doomer

Thanks! Are your lights/ballasts AHS sourced?

jtm

Tank specs in profile


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## Doomer (Feb 2, 2003)

Nope, I got them from hellolights. I thought that the AH reflectors would hang down too low for the way my canopy is designed. The reflector from hellolights is flat with a 1 inch lip on the ends. The access door on top of the canopy doesn't have any lights attached so I can open it without being blinded. They may not be as effective as the ones from AH but they work very well for me.

EDIT : Actually, the lips are on the sides not the ends. When I open the top they shield my eyes from the lamps.


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## JamesHoftiezer (Feb 2, 2003)

Since heat is a big issue and I wanted a slim hood, I put the ballast under the cabinet. 

I am using AHSupply kits 3x2x55w for a total of 330w. They come with 6ft leads wich could be spliced into a longer length. The ballasts themselves become very hot, even though they are electronic. The extra heat in my hood would require more fans or the water would boil. Being in the cabinet it was easy to add timers and control them seperately.

My hood tips back so taking it off is not big concern. If I did have to remove it, I could just unplug the connectors from the lights. Its not a 'quick' diconnect but its not something I expect to have to do until I dismantle the tank.

James Hoftiezer


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## Doomer (Feb 2, 2003)

Just felt my ballasts and they are barely warm. I mounted them on the outside of the canopy because I was concerned about the heat but as it turns out, they run remarkably cool.


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