anyone tried these ballast from Hellolights?

liquidfunk · 03-14-2005, 10:34 AM

http://www.hellolights.com/22elarovhoba.html

I have this old ghetto VHO ballasts, and my bulbs often dont look very blue (kinda turn whitish) and I think its my ballasts not working well. My current ballasts have fans that no longer work so they get hot and I think it may be causing the bulbs not to burn true.

Anyone know if that is true? extra hot ballast make actinics burn differently?

The above ballast seems like an inexpensive way for me to maybe get true-er color out of my actinics.

Thought?

Illusion · 03-14-2005, 11:59 AM

The ARO ballasts are pretty decent ballasts... I have not personally tried them but I have read great reports on them...

James

liquidfunk · 03-14-2005, 01:29 PM

do you know if a VHO ballast is running extra hot (fan is broke) will that change the spectrum of the actinics? if you dont know, mind doin a little research james!!

Illusion · 03-14-2005, 01:33 PM

I honeslt couldnt tell ya for sure but It all depends on if the ballast is made to run Hot... Such as the Fulham ballasts are made to be ran inside the Fixture so they are made to run hot... How old are the Bulbs? That would be my guess.. Is the bulbs getting black on the ends? Black on the ends is usually sign that the Ballast is cause the bulb to fail... Vhos are designed to run 6 months however with the Icecap ballasts most are taking them 12 months without issues...

James

liquidfunk · 03-14-2005, 01:55 PM

Bulbs are brand new, like 2 weeks old. The ballast is a "sun systems" or something like that maybe Sun Seeker or whatever.

they are old and tired, I just dont know if it matteres, the bulbs is firing, so is that the ballasts only job, or would it change the color?

Illusion · 03-14-2005, 02:12 PM

Ultralife Sunseeker I believe... Ballasts can play a pretty major role in the light itself... If it were me its a cheap replacement ballast and can be used elsewhere if it did not make a difference... Nano tank (t-5) Or even adding another bank of Vhos to your main tank...

ARE they URI vho bulbs??? Shouldnt make a diff unless they were some cheap off name bulb..

James

Ps when you gonna come get your coral LOL...

jdbassin · 03-14-2005, 02:22 PM

I use that exact ARO ballast and I love it, been using it for about a year. cool running and fires up very quickly.

jd

liquidfunk · 03-14-2005, 06:29 PM

ya they are brand new URI VHO

you can use a VHO ballast to run T-5's?

Ive already got a 250 halide on my 18g nano, I think that autta do it

Illusion · 03-14-2005, 07:30 PM

Most VHO ballasts you can use to run t-5 bulbs but it all depends on the Ballast itself...

But this is Hellolights' official answer on the question

Q. Can I run T5 HO (High Output) lamps on this? I saw another raw ballast on another site, and it claims to 'run anything'.
A. Well, don't let all the misinformation out there confuse you. This ballast will "run" all those lamps in the question above, however, it's not recommended for T5 due to performance degradation. Sure, the AS-220 will light those lamps, but you will not get the performance out the lights that you think you are getting. Remember, if it claims to "do it all", be wary. With lighting, you should use the proper ballasts to drive the lamps they were designed for. This will give you the best possible performance for your aquarium.

James

liquidfunk · 03-14-2005, 09:35 PM

if I made the change, Id use the sunseekers ballast, but it doesnt sound like a good idea anyway. Plus, I dont have anywhere to put more lighting!

biomekanic · 03-14-2005, 11:10 PM

I had an ARO on my VHO's, ran cool, and overdrove standard bulbs nicely, as well as doing a good jorb on my VHO's.

ttribe · 03-19-2005, 04:05 PM

Im using two of the Hellolights ARO ballest. about a month now. they stay fairly cool with no fan. love em

drock59 · 03-19-2005, 09:12 PM

great ballast and very small. worked like a charm for me.