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gillesec
12/28/2008, 11:28 PM
I am upgrading from two 36' PC to two (1 actinic white, 1 super actinic) 72' VHO bulbs with a ballast. I am going to use an IceCap elevtronic ballast to run both of them. I have an outline of everything outlined, ie. the placement of the bulbs, hook ups, fans for heat, extra wiring needed, etc. Iam only wondering where to place the ballast.

I have a 125g tank. I feel the lighting setup will work best with the ballast placed in the middle of the tank in the back at the top. My question is whether or not to mount the ballast on the inside of the tank or the outside. My concern is with both heat and potential water splash onto the ballast. Inside the stand it will be above both a sum and a fuge. The area where I thinking of monting it in the stand is far enough away from the sumpa nd fuge that something would have to go awry for it to be hit with water. My thoughts on placing it on the outside of the stand is that the heat could more easily be wicked away and that the potential for water exposure is only if the tank itself overflowed.

Just looking for some input and thank you for all responses.

~E

WaterKeeper
12/28/2008, 11:34 PM
As long as the distance doesn't exceed the manufactures specifications the remote mounting is fine. I would worry about where to put them for a 36 foot and 72 foot tank however. :D

bmrescort
12/28/2008, 11:34 PM
Always as far away from water as possible.

aentrop
12/28/2008, 11:40 PM
mount it outside! this will help keep your tank cooler, the ballast cooler, and the ballast drier.

gillesec
12/28/2008, 11:45 PM
Water keeper - I won't have to add any extra wiring to what was included (6').

LOL ... I always get those darn feet and inches mixed up. Must be why they didn't hire me at the construction site

WaterKeeper
12/29/2008, 07:38 AM
You mean its not going to be a 72 foot tank? Darn I wanted to see some pics. :D

The reason I point out the distance is that a ballast sends out a high voltage jolt to start the lamp. Depending on the ballast there is a max distance that it can be located from the tube it is firing. If you mount it further away the lamp may not fire up or the start circuit in the ballast may burn out. In your case you are fine but one should always check the ballast instructions to see what the mazimum distance can be.

billdogg
12/29/2008, 10:07 AM
I mounted my icecap ballast on the outside back of the stand - to avoid splash, I just used a scrap of 1/4" plywood above it as protection. It worked without problem for years. I now have it mounted in the fishroom well above the sump and fuge