Re: [APD] Re: Power Compacting the Eclipse 12 -- or - Going retrointo the future

["S. Hieber" <shieber at yahoo_com>]

They call it the SuperNova? retro fit kit. Normally comes
with a biaxial bulb power compact, one tube is actinic and
the other 10,000K.

I'm not absolutely certain but pretty sure that 28 watt and
32 watt bulbs are the same bulb; the diff is what ballast
they are on.

Scott H.
--- Christine Bennett <christine_bennett at usa.net> wrote:
> I have an Eclipse 12 that I have installed a
> CustomSeaLife PC retrofit into. 
> These are specifically designed for the Eclipse 12 (they
> other retrofit kits
> for other Eclipse models) and come with the bulb,
> reflector and electronic
> ballast.  Installation was very easy, just unscrew the
> light assembly and
> screw the reflector and put in the bulb.  Your choice of
> bulb is 32watt
> 10,000K or 32watt 10,000K/Actinic, I eventually replaced
> the 10,000K bulb with
> a 28watt 6700K bulb which looks better to me.  This
> retrofit has been on the
> tank for about three years now and should last me for
> years to come.  Since I
> can now have the ballast on the floor away from the tank
> (the Eclipse ballast
> was in the light assembly), the heat from the lights has
> gone up only a small
> amount.  Since my house is not air conditioned, during
> our warm California
> summers I either leave the access panel off or lift the
> top off the tank by a
> half inch with some spacers.  I grow a lot of plants in
> the little tank and
> get them pearling with DIY CO2.  :D
> 
> Hope this helps!  
> Christine Bennett
> christine_bennett at usa.net
> 
> 
> > ------------------------------
> > 
> > Message: 10
> > Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 13:32:33 -0800 (PST)
> > From: "S. Hieber" <shieber at yahoo_com>
> > Subject: Re: [APD] Need guidance with DIY compact
> fluorescents -- or -
> > 	Eclipsing the Original Design
> > To: brian at shoptalkforums_com, aquatic plants digest
> > 	<aquatic-plants at actwin_com>
> > 
> > Saying that ballasts "detects" the wattage requirements
> of
> > a bulb is a bit too anthropomorhic for my tastes. The
> > ballast will develop a certin voltage across the bulb,
> > depending on how the plasma in the bulb reacts to the 
> > ballast and vice versa. The resistance of the bulb is a
> > function of design but varies as it heats up -- its
> very
> > high when the bulb is cold and as it heats up is lowers
> > until the resistance is very low and the bulb burns up.
> > Luckily, with the right the ballast, the current is in
> > limited supply, it can only provide a certain amount of
> > current to the bulb and that, if it's the right
> ballast,
> > keeps the bulb lit but prevents it from "flaming out."
> The
> > wattage rating on a bulb only tells you the wattage
> udner
> > operation with a specific ballast.
> > 
> > You could try to fit some compact fluorescents (as
> oposed
> > to power compacts) under the 12, they're the most
> compact
> > fluorescent bulbs in length. But the Eclipse hood
> wasn't
> > meant to handle the higher heat -- remember that
> roughly
> > 65% of the bulb wattage, on the proper ballast, is
> going to
> > be shed as heat -- as you up the wattage, you up the
> heat.
> > 
> > The Eclipse hood will start to warp over time if you
> don't
> > keep the hood from overheating.  Overheating an Eclipse
> > hood with too much lighting is an easily if not cheaply
> > repeatable experiment.
> > 
> > A 36 watt Power Compact will just fit in an Eclipse 12
> hood
> > (it mesures 16 18" inches including the socket) and you
> can
> > run it off of a Fulham Workhorse 5 or Workhorse 3
> ballast
> > -- follow the wiring diagrams at the fulham website or
> > follow the directions from AH Supply. [A Longhorse is
> the
> > same ballast as the Workhorse, just physically longer
> and
> > narrower.] On a Workhorse 3 the 36 watt bulb will be
> > slightly overdriven but not enough to notice or make
> much
> > diff. I don't think an AH Supply reflector will fit
> inside
> > the existing hood splash cover -- not without some
> serious
> > trimming. And you would need to add more ventilation
> holes
> > into the the hood and provide ventilation in the splash
> > hood so that air can convect in and then out the top
> vents
> > -- I think you'd need fans.
> > 
> > I have an example of an retrofitted Eclipse 12: I fit
> an AH
> > Supply pair of 13 watt lights in an Eclipse 12. I
> drilled
> > about 20 ventilation intake holes (1/8") in the sides
> of
> > the splash cover and put 4 outlet vents (the kind AHS
> > supplies) in the cover. When the lights are running,
> the
> > air at the outlet vents reigisters 89-90 degrees F but
> the
> > tank doesn't heat up from the lights. 
> > 
> > I kept the original white plastic "reflector" plate,
> which
> > inititally started to warp diirectly over the filament
> > portions of the bulbs. I put a small square of aluminum
> > flashing material between the bulb and the white
> plastic
> > but only ove the filaments. That solved that problem. I
> 
> > covered the white platic with "silvered" mylar film.
> This
> > brought a slight increase in refelcted light reaching
> the
> > water. I had some 3M spray adhesive on hand so that's
> what
> > I used to adhere the mylar to the reflector plate. It's
> > held up very nicely -- no peeling, flaking, burning,
> > warping, or bubbling. 
> > 
> > Higher wattage, such as a 36 watt bulb on a Workhorse 3
> or
> > 5 ballast would require a bit more imagination to deal
> with
> > the heat, but it probably could be done. Perhaps
> mounting
> > one or two 2" tubeaxial fans, the kind made for
> personal
> > computer CPUs would do the trick. You'd need a a
> wallwart
> > that puts out 12V DC (which probably means one rated
> for
> > about 9VDC) to run the fan(s).
> > 
> > But I doubt that there's any plant that I could grow in
> > this tank with the 2 13 watt bulbs for want of light
> > --other limitations might hold me back, but not the
> amount
> > of light. I prefer the remote ballasts -- all of the
> top of
> > the 12 hood lifts and I wouldn't want any ballast
> weight
> > there. 
> > 
> > If you're listening, Jay, this tank turned out to be
> worth
> > every penny I over bid on it ;-),including the cost and
> the
> > fun of the light conversion.
> > 
> > Scott H.
> > --- Brian Wagener <brian at shoptalkforums_com> wrote:
> > > I have a freshwater planted Eclipse 12 that I want to
> > > upgrade the lighting
> > > for.  I have been looking around, and can't find
> exactly
> > > what I want. 
> > > Custom Sealife has a retrofit but it only comes with
> a
> > > marine bulb, and AH
> > > supply's kit doesn't work for me either because I
> would
> > > rather have a
> > > single remote ballast that I can hide, instead of 2
> big
> > > white
> > > transformers.
> > > 
> > > I found the ballast I want to use, the fulham
> Longhorse 3
> > > which is good
> > > for 64w.  The problem I am having is what bulbs to
> use. 
> > > I would like to
> > > have at least 30w.  And with only 17"x3"x3" there
> isn't
> > > much room.  I went
> > > looking on the GE, and Osram websites, and couldn't
> find
> > > anything I could
> > > use with a high enough temperature.  Does anyone have
> any
> > > recommendations
> > > for either a 14" 32W, or a 2x18W 6" bulb?
> > > 
> > > Also I see listed a 28/32W bulb.  If the ballast like
> the
> > > longhorse
> > > detects the bulb wattage, would this bulb run at 28
> or
> > > 32W?
> > > 
> > > Thanks,
> > > Brian
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Aquatic-Plants mailing list
> > > Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
> > >
> http://www.actwin.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/aquatic-plants
> 
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> 


=====
S. Hieber

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