Ballast, ballas, bolls-up?

I bought 4 of those those grey ballasts from the
pet shop for 36-40w tubes. The ones with the
box and end caps

Question 1

Will a t5 tube work with them?

Question 2

the new 1,2m tank has three
built in fitting for tubes, will
a T5 work in there?

Question 3

Do you get 900mm long
tubes (T5 or whetever)
in 36 - 40watt?

I'm really not clued up
on this, and will value
a laymens terms summary
more than a scientific google study.

If a t5 is just smaller in diameter
than a T8, it should work?

 

The T5 and T8 end caps are different sizes. I doubt you would be able to use the T8 ballast either. (I seem to recall asking Zafgak that once and he said no.)

 

Ok, it might be just a matter
of fitting new end caps.

I did however run the smaller diameter
tubes on them.

 

i dont think it will work , and if it does i think that it will not last long and may end in a total melt down. Rather spend the extra cash and get the right ballasts for T5 tubes

 

R600 per ballast though, its quite pricey(LFS price)
Dont know if you might find it cheaper and hardware stores

 

Buy electronic ballasts from an electrical wholesaler rather check in the Yellow pages. They are much cheaper than R600. The ones you have are electo-magnetic.

 

Electrical wholesalers stock them @ around R200 ea. All you need to get from there are the end caps and wiring. I think Idol Marine in midrand stock them aswell. Not sure of the prices though.

 

The first Rule of fish-keeping is never trust the the LFS they will rip you of and give you false info. You can get a duel electronic ballast from the electrical outlets for under R300 , there tubes are lot cheaper aswell. If your dont want to spend a lot of money then DIY and fish-keeping must go hand in hand.

 

That's a bit of a bold statement.

I don't think they all out to rip you off. It's up to you @ the end of the day to make sure he's not talking s*** to you.

 

It is a bold statement but how many LFS do you know that you would trust if you were new to the hobby? In PE there wasnt one place that i would trust until 3 months ago. For us that have been in the hobby for a while can filter out the nonsense the spout but for a beginner more often than not they get ripped of and sold angels and oscars for a 20L tank. But yes maybe i shouldn't have said all LFS because there are a few that are really good

 

I know there are many dodgy one's doing business but they will never survive.

We have two stores here in Jhb. Hopefully part of the reputable clan....