Heat From Light

[benkho]

i am currently using a boyu light the florescent tube type.

the heat generated is immense, could it be due to

1. poor quality balast; modded by the cheapo shop
2. poor quality tube;modded by cheapo shop
3. its just normal that the light tubes heat up a lot

also it is not as bright so lots of energy is channeled to heat. PLEASE ADVISE
thank you in advance to the bros and sis who reply.
i have no idea which forum to put this in.

[ankank]

i am currently using a boyu light the florescent tube type.

Which one? Boyu has different ones, the light bar type and the clip-on type. Both use (compact) FL.

the heat generated is immense, could it be due to
poor quality balast; modded by the cheapo shop

Electromagnetic ballasts produce very much heat, especially the very cheap ones, electronic ballasts on the other hand should not produce noteworthy heat. I seriously doubt that the "light bar type" has an electromagnetic ballast, they are just too large to fit in there. But the "clip on type" may have one, but it isn't integrated with the lamp so you should be able to distinguish the heat source.

its just normal that the light tubes heat up a lot

I have had both cheap and quality tubes, and both heat up quite the same. Yes, FL tubes provide considerable heat, especially if there's no air flow. But:

also it is not as bright

THAT on the other hand may be very well be due to a very cheap tube. The cheap ones provide considerably less (and as far as plant growth goes very poor) light.

[benkho]

hey thanks for replying.
the bar type means the long tube ones right? thats the ones i am using.
so wad price or brand do u suggest for quality light? not too expensive though, $20 a tube is just too much.just a gauge, maybe $10 a tube? is that good?

[Aquaculture]

I use a fan to cool the water about 1 to 2 degrees. On it 24/7.

[benkho]

thanks...was planing of getting that.