# Odno T5



## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

Hey, I have a little area for a bar setup in my apartment. On the counter, instead of alcohol, I have to 10 gallons. =)

I was thinking of getting a shop light strip and doing ODNO to get some good light into my tanks. However, the width of the area is about 46 1/2 inches..boo!

I found these light fixtures: (Sunpark Electronics) which happen to be the same makers of the SL15 everyone is using for their ODNO system. This fixture is 46 1/6 inches long, so I hope it'll fit just right.

Also, anyone have any good ideas of mounting this sucker so that it's close to the tank and that I can have easy access to the tank too? I'll post pictures of the bar area soon.

The thing though is that this fixture runs 2x28w T5 bulbs. Can the T5 bulbs be overdriven with the stock ballast, or can they be overdrive at all? If not, will the SL15 ballast overdrive this fixture?


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## ruki (Jul 4, 2006)

epicfish said:


> I found these light fixtures: (Sunpark Electronics) which happen to be the same makers of the SL15 everyone is using for their ODNO system. This fixture is 46 1/6 inches long, so I hope it'll fit just right.


The link to the fixture says it runs T8 bulbs. Under technical specs, see "Lamp Type 21W T8". This could be a typo since those tubes look pretty arrow.



> The thing though is that this fixture runs 2x28w T5 bulbs. Can the T5 bulbs be overdriven with the stock ballast, or can they be overdrive at all? If not, will the SL15 ballast overdrive this fixture?


You need extra output wires to overdrive tubes, so you likley would have to replace the ballast to do this. In theory you can overdrive T5's. Everyone I know that overdrives does T8's since these tubes are cheap and since overdriving shortens tube life.

Also, there is a T5 HO tube type which is designed to be driven by higher current with no reduction in tube life. So, this is the option usually chosen by auariasts to get higher output from the T5 tube size.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

Someone else says the SL15 ballast is able to run T5 HO tubes, so I'll try those.

I just hope that fixture comes with the SL15 ballast....since the Sunpark SL15 lights that come at Home Depot are too long for where I want to put them.


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## ruki (Jul 4, 2006)

re: electronic ballasts

Myself and several others I have spoken to have had good luck with WorkHorse electronic ballasts. These work much better (heat up less and match up to multiple tubes) than generic electronic ballasts one gets at the hardware store.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

ruki said:


> re: electronic ballasts
> 
> Myself and several others I have spoken to have had good luck with WorkHorse electronic ballasts. These work much better (heat up less and match up to multiple tubes) than generic electronic ballasts one gets at the hardware store.


But only 1 switch to all the bulbs. If I get separate, albeit inferior, ballasts, I can get a switch for each bulb.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

I prefer to pay a bit more for two ballasts (even if they are inferior) to have the ability to control the lights separately. If you buy one ballast and find you have too much light I don't think you will be able to control the lights separately. 

Do you know if a workhorse ballast can accept a dimmer? If so, this may be an option.


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## ruki (Jul 4, 2006)

epicfish said:


> But only 1 switch to all the bulbs. If I get separate, albeit inferior, ballasts, I can get a switch for each bulb.


Well it's not absoultely this way....

* you can get a high voltage rated switch and switch off the bulbs via the drive wires. Also can have a turbo switch for switching overdriving on and off 

* you can get separate Workhorse ballasts and switch these on and off separately as well. Different model numbers have a different number of drive wires. This is probably what you want.

re: dimmable. The workhorse line is not dimable Another product line from Fullham may do this. But, I don't remember their racehorse, high horse or commercial grade ballasts stating this was a feature.

Lutron has a dimming EcoSystem ballast. Some IceCap ballasts are also dimmable. These are really pricey. If you must have a tank that emulates sunrise and sunset it might make sense, but this dimming option can be quite pricey.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

Can you tell me more about these high voltage switches? Not sure I'd want to mess with them since I know nothing about electricity and don't want to kill myself. But maybe if it's an easy process....can I have some more information?

I can get SL-15 ballasts (very much inferior to the Workhorse) for $6.50 each plus shipping. Might be about $25 for 3 of them to drive 3 HO bulbs...but that'd also mean I have three switches for even more control. Maybe a mid-day burst. The plants for sure would not tolerate 160 watts all day long...or well, they could, but algae blooms would ruin the tank. I'm just afraid of all the heat generated from the ballasts since they're not designed for 54W HO bulbs, lol.

I could get better ballasts than the SL-15, but that'd mean a ton more money, something I don't really have right now. =/


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

SL-15s are designed to run 2xT8 bulbs, someone's tried it and says that if it's wired for ODNO, the SL-15 can drive a T5 54w HO bulb.

On another forum, people have been doing tests with an Advance ballast. They're overdriving a 28W bulb to ~50watts.

So, if I wire a SL-15 for ODNO to a 28W watt bulb, I could *theoretically* get 50 watts from that bulb.

Think that'll work?


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## ruki (Jul 4, 2006)

epicfish said:


> Can you tell me more about these high voltage switches? Not sure I'd want to mess with them since I know nothing about electricity and don't want to kill myself. But maybe if it's an easy process....can I have some more information?


All switches have a voltage rating. You need to have a switch with a rating higher than what powers the lamp. Go above rated switch voltage and the switch will leak or arc.

A fluorescent lamp uses a high voltage pulse to get it started, something up to 500 volts which then backs down once the tube is lit to around 100 volts or so. So, it seem prudent to get switches rated for over 500 volts.

More info is in a nice FAQ document Fluorescent Lamps, Ballasts, and Fixtures


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