T12 light

[Thegrumpyfish]

I have a set of two light T12 fixtures for my 200 gallon aquarium and was wondering if anyone ever seen a set of T12s with out any ballasts cuz mine dont have them and have worked fine for about 15 years now one set stopped working and i decided i was going to take them apart and replace the ballast but couldnt find it all that my light has is a power trans former a incandescent and a capacitor hooked to the endcaps for the T12 upon further inspection the incandescent light buld appears to be burrned out and i cannot find a replacement.. seeing as how im doing this all on my phone ill try and include some pics of my lights any help would be appreciated also my tank is 5 feet long 2 feet

 

[Thegrumpyfish]

My tank is 5feet long 2 feet deep 18" wide

 

[Thegrumpyfish]

 

[Thegrumpyfish]

Also i was wanting to add a pair of clowns a nem like a bta or something frogspawn and a toadstool and was wondering if i could use T12's for this or if i should scrap these fixtures that are about 15 years old and get some new ones what ever i do its gotta be cheap cuz im out of a job at the moment and the wife dont want me spending money like crazy right now

 

[adeebm]

That black box and the capacitor are the ballast. I would pull all that out and get a modern T12 ballast from home depot or somewhere. BTAs need very high light, and would quickly die with T12s. You'd want metal halides or T5s, and those aren't cheap. Depending on how much you want to spend, you could get a relatively cheap T5 fixture and keep a frogspawn.

--Adeeb

 

[Thegrumpyfish]

Thanks for the advice what about a toadstool those need high light? T 5 you say hmm ill look in to it

 

[BillD]

You could probably add a T5 HO ballast, although you would need ends also. A t8 ballast would be a better choice than the T12, and the T8 would fit. Can't say if it would be enough light for what you want.

 

[adeebm]

If you want to modify your existing fixture for T5s, this ballast: Fulham Workhorse 7 T5 HO Fluorescent Ballasts - English will run 2x80W T5s. Then you can get endcaps here: Single Water Proof Socket for T5 bulbs - English

That might be cheaper than buying a brand new fixture. That will be enough to keep frogspawn, mushrooms, and other lower light corals on the top level of your tank.

--Adeeb

 

[Thegrumpyfish]

Ok sweet thanks one more thing will that be enough light for a bta or still not going to cut it for one of those little guys

 

[Thegrumpyfish]

I didnt wanna get two crazy on the price as long as i can get the lights redone for under lets say $250 then i think the wife wont mind to much

 

[adeebm]

Probably still not enough for BTA. For $250 you could pick up some metal halides though, which would work.

--Adeeb

 

[Thegrumpyfish]

Yes but im also considering my electricity bill so maybe no bta for a bit