aquaman30k Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 I have been looking at replacing my 2 400w MH's with 8-60" T5's and was wondering if there was a way to get more lights onto a single ballast. Im looking at the WH7 and IC660 which supply 220 and 440 watts of power. The WH7 will run 2 T5's per ballast no problem but the IC660 says it will only run 3 bulbs and by my calculations a 440w ballast should run 5 T5's 80watt bulbs no poroblem. Shouldn't I be able to run 5 T5's off the IC instead of just 3 and is the IC worth double the price of the WH7? Thanks, Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powdertang05 Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 ice caps will overdrive them and gve you better par levels i would also recommend getting good bulbs aka ATI dont skimp on bulbs. as for wh7 they are shown to decrease the life a t5 bulbs and as for par the ice cap will beat a wh7 anyday. i would check on the ice cap thread on reef central but last time i checked it was 2 60's per 660 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePremiumAquarium Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 Last time I looked up the 660 it was 2 72's in the VHO variety. I think you could likely rig it to run 4 60" t-5s. Do some research before you buy. I run 4 48" VHO for a total of 440w with no problem. Garrett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barelycuda Posted June 16, 2007 Share Posted June 16, 2007 If in doubt contact the manufacturer with your questions. They usually have a 800 number & a tech support line. They can clarify it usually very quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H20cooled Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 660 will run up to 4 bulbs with a total length of 16' so for that setup you would need 2 IC660 ballasts and 1 IC 430 ballast. They will overdrive the 60" bulbs just a bit, they overdrive the smaller bulbs a LOT more then the long ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 I have the wh7'S on 8-60" Long tubes, if you need any input let me know but I would not run these bulbs overdriven unless your tank is very deep, as is I have trouble with lower light inhabitants and have to hide them to keep them from getting burned even if you try to acclimate them, its just to much light for some species. Let me know if you have questions though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H20cooled Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 The IC660 ballast on 60" bulbs will not really overdrive the bulbs at all, maybe 5 watts more then normal, nothing that is going to affect the tank inhabitants. Now on the smaller 48" bulbs it will overdrive them a LOT, but not the long bulbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquaman30k Posted June 19, 2007 Author Share Posted June 19, 2007 H20cooled- I think I am going to go with the WH7 as well. I have a 150gal all-glass which I believe is 2' deep. I am only going to be able to run 6 60" bulbs in the hood after I put in the reflectors and all the hardware so 3 WH7's should work just fine. Do you think that the WH7's will light the bulbs to that depth? Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 my 155 gallon AGA with 8-80 gueissemen/ATI bulbs does everything, thats 3 blueplus 3 actinic plus and 2 pure actinic. I used to run 4 bp and 4 ap and it was WAY to much light, removing one of each and getting the pure actinic in this year really helped make everything pop much better. You should be able to do whatever you like within reason as long as you use a decent reflector and decent par bulbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquaman30k Posted June 22, 2007 Author Share Posted June 22, 2007 I will look into those bulbs, Thanks Nyles! Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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