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reefburnaby · 11/30/2001, 11:30 PM

Hi,

I guess we have a bit of confusion here. I am using F32T8s..which are 4 feet long and 1 inch in diameter.

There is another tube called F30T12. These are three foot long tubes and 1.5 inches in diameter. The key is T12 vs T8.

T8s are a bit more efficient than T12. Yes, you can overdrive F40T12, but this method may shorten the lifetime of the tube (reduce the life by 20%). So, a tube that has designed to last 10000 hours, would be reduce to 8000 hours or so. These cheaper ballasts use a starting technique called instant start. There are tubes, such as F32T8, that are designed to take the stress of instant start.

I think I stated why I chose T8s over T12 in the previous posts. This overdrive technique can be used with T12.

As Imapler pointed out, you can use a HO ballast to overdrive an NO.

- Victor.

11/30/2001, 11:30 PM	#19
reefburnaby Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Burnaby, B.C., Canada Posts: 44	Hi, I guess we have a bit of confusion here. I am using F32T8s..which are 4 feet long and 1 inch in diameter. There is another tube called F30T12. These are three foot long tubes and 1.5 inches in diameter. The key is T12 vs T8. T8s are a bit more efficient than T12. Yes, you can overdrive F40T12, but this method may shorten the lifetime of the tube (reduce the life by 20%). So, a tube that has designed to last 10000 hours, would be reduce to 8000 hours or so. These cheaper ballasts use a starting technique called instant start. There are tubes, such as F32T8, that are designed to take the stress of instant start. I think I stated why I chose T8s over T12 in the previous posts. This overdrive technique can be used with T12. As Imapler pointed out, you can use a HO ballast to overdrive an NO. - Victor.