yet another PL lighting project ...

[justjoin]

let say i want to diy 2 x 36watt PL for a 2 ft tank,

which is better in term of plant's benefit & other factors instead of cost effectiveness.

1]2 different housing,each contain a 1 x 36watt PL
downside:need most of the items 2 sets.take up space.

2]1 housing with 2 x 36watt PL.

does it make much different in a 2 footer if i adopted method 1.Arranged the light in the middle of the tank(spread out evenly) & all corners has equal amount of lighting?

thks

[tawauboy]

depends whether you want to have cooling fan.
if yes, think it would be better to use a single housing.

using double housing may fully cover the tank and will trap heat.
causing tank temperature to rise.

[vinz]

From the looks of Juggler's pics, there's enough space in the trunking to mount fans either above or at the ends.

[dominik]

The wiring diagram on the e-ballast is very brief. It shows only the wiring for FL tube and not for the PL tube. Can anyone pls post a wiring diagram for e-ballast with 2x36 watt PL tube?

[tawauboy]

it's almost the same.
just treat the pl tube as a fl tube that has been folded back.
treat pins 1&2 as one end of a fl tube and pins 3&4 as the other end.

[vinz]

--+        +---
  o1-----1-
B o2-----2- PL
  o3-----3- Base
  o4-----4-
--+        +---

B is the ballast. For a 2x36 ballast, connect 5, 6 ,7 ,8 to 1, 2, 3, 4 of the 2nd PL. For the PL, it does not matter which side you start from, as long as it's in sequence from one outside pin to the other.

Hope that's clear.