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[APD] Self-ballasted PC lights?
I was wondering if anyone had ever thought about using or tried using self-
ballasted PC fluorescent lights (they have the ballast built into them so you
can use a regular lamp socket). I was considering using a couple 85watt 6500K
self-ballasted PC bulbs over my 65 gallon tank (that I will soon be setting up
as a planted tank). They only cost between $25-$30 and save you the cost of
buying (and replacing)expensive ballasts. I can see two possible problems with
this setup...
1) They are twisted bulbs instead of straight so they do not cover as much
area (they act more like a spot light)
2) You can't buy regular lamp sockets that are water tight like the aquarium
fluorescent endcaps.
However, the way I look at it, people use MH lamps and (although much
brighter) they act like spot lights too. Using a good reflector might help
with this problem too. As far as I am concerned, using a regular lamp socket
MIGHT accumulate a bit of rust on it, but they only cost a few dollars... if
they accumulate rust I can just replace them when I replace the bulbs and
still save money. Coralife has the same thing in a 10watt version in either
6500k or 50/50(10,000k/actinic) so obviously people have thought of doing this
for small tanks. I am interested to hear what other people think about this
idea.
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