Ballasts - what are they?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

jbem2004

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
11
Location
Chicago, IL
What are ballasts? I know they have something to do with lighting, but I haven't found a clear description to what they do.
 
they are required to make any type of flourescent or MH light fire. There are different ones for different types of lights.
 
Basicly they are used to up the current from the 120VAC thats in your walls to the proper levels for the light to operate. Different types of florecent require different ballasts because they operate at different Hz levels for example. In addition MH bulbs require the ballast be matched to the bulb's wattage. For example a 175W MH bulb needs a 175W MH ballast to fire it. This is a very basic definition but I think you will get the idea.
 
Back
Top Bottom