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Re: [APD] use a fan on my Compact Fluorescent?



You mean the only reason coralife put those fans in to cool the
ballasts is to remove the heat away from the aquarium?!?!! I spent all
that time quieting those stupid fans for nothing!!?!?!

Thank's for the info Scott....much appreciated

Byron


On Sat, 11 Sep 2004 09:13:00 -0700 (PDT), S. Hieber <shieber at yahoo_com> wrote:
> Fluorescent lamp life and brightness is a function a host
> of factors including the mercury ocntent, internal bulb
> pressure, gas contnent, phosphors, voltage, etc. . .
> Leaving all that aside, they are generally designed to
> operate optimally (which is a balance between brightness
> and longevitiy) at a temp of roughly 120 degrees F. But
> they are very forgiving.
> 
> I use Fluorescent lamps in my garage/woodshop during the
> freexing winter and during the worst days of the NJ summer
> and they always give plenty of light.
> 
> At cooler temps, the mercury in the bulb doesn't vaporize
> as well and the bulb doesn't carry the arc of electricty as
> well. So cooler tends to mak the bulbs dimmer. More heat
> helps but only up to a point, around 140-160 degrees F.
> Soemwhere in that range you should expect any additional
> brightness but you will still realize shorter life as the
> operating temp goes up.
> 
> Ballast temp, by itself doesn't mean anything in terms of
> bulb performance -- all that matters for bulb performance
> is the ballast output energy, not how much energy is given
> off as heat.
> 
> The diffs in brightness for most flo bulbs bulbs in cool
> rooms or "hot" lamps are negligible if you're using the
> bulb on an aquarium in a heat controlled house and you are
> not overdriving the bulb (not using a ballast designed only
> for a much larger bulb). The biggest reason for a fan on
> flo lamps is to move the heat away from the aquarium.
> Before considering a fan, first see if aquarium
> temperatures get too high during the warmer days. If not,
> then I wouldn't worry about it -- you'll probably grow
> tired of the bulb long before it burns out ;-)
> 
> Scott H.
> --- "Byron J. Yu" <sixty9 at gmail_com> wrote:
> 
> > Hi,
> >
> > . . .I've noticed that
> > coralife's
> > 65 watt, single bulb unit doesn't come with a fan, so i
> > was wondering
> > if using the fans was needed.
> >
> > I know the cooler the ballast runs, the brighter and
> > longer the light
> > lasts. But i'm wondering if there is an operating temp,
> > meaning is it
> > always brighter and longer the cooler it runs? or is
> > there a certain
> > temp where the advantages stop.
> 
> 
> =====
> Plant your feet in Washington, D.C. and touch the moon -- at the National Air & Space Museum.
> And learn the art of aquascaping Senske style at AGA2K4.
> 
> Speakers, field trip, Ray "Kingfish" Lucas, and more. . .
> The Annual AGA Convention, 2004, November 12-14.
> 
> Convention Details/Registration at aquatic-gardeners.org & gwapa.org
>
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