Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok I'm looking into going to comapacts on my imitator tank, its a 15gal high, but I am looking to buy all the parts seperate if possible, and save some money. I know AHsupply has good prices and if that is the best price then I will just do that. Does anyone know a good place to get ballasts? I have found some at McMasters, but they do not have that many to choose from.

Any ideas or should I just go with AHSUPPLY? It will be $34 for a basic 2x13 kit and 2 5000k bulbs. Which is not bad, but I can't get the difference in price when going to the 1x36, just the base kit is $41. The ballast should be little more, but it seems to be a lot more.

Any info would be great. I plan to build a hood, which should be very easy.
-----
Kyle
www.kylesphotos.com
Dart Links - still a work in progress
1.2.0 D. leucomelas
1.1.0 D. azureus
1.0.1 D. imitators

Im not sure where you can get ballasts seperatly. Im sure some pets store would have them, probibly doudle or even triple the price...

As for AH supply, i have never heard any one say a bad thing about their lights. Which tank are you going to use this on?

aj
-----
Here is my new image hosting site! I have made it Bigger, Stronger, Faster!
kungfu28181: My god. You are insane. -Mon Jun 30 21:41:05

I'm thinking of adding some broms to my imitator tank, but need more lighting than I have now. At least to keep the reds. I want some color in that tank. So i'm thinking of 2x13w for that one. But I want to build a larger 2 tanks set, but I am thinking of using a 4ft shop for that just too much for the compacts.
-----
Kyle
www.kylesphotos.com
Dart Links - still a work in progress
1.2.0 D. leucomelas
1.1.0 D. azureus
1.0.1 D. imitators

Kyle,

I just wen through the process you're currently thinking through. I was unable to find any other good suppliers for ballasts . . . some places were just outrageous in their prices. I am considering checking out the local architectural salvage yards for more fixtures . . . but it will probably be over a month before I get that done. If I find anything good, I will let you know. I figure that if I get all that I can, I will either put them to good use or find someone in the hobby who would be interested in them.

Let me know if you find any other good places for CF fixtures and ballasts. Currently, I'm using the 2 x 13 watt kit from AH supply, planning on placing it in a 20 gallon converted to be a "tall" vent tank, but I'm worried about that being too little light for broms and plants at the bottom. We'll see how it turns out.
-----
Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

I'm starting to see that myself. I just dont understand the difference in price from the 13watts to the 36watts. The 13watt comes with 2 transformers, and the 36 comes with one, and it is over twice as much. I would like to go with the 36watt, but it will be $20-30 more than the 2x13watt. We will see I started to order seperate parts for the 13 watts, but it went up too fast with shipping.
-----
Kyle
www.kylesphotos.com
Dart Links - still a work in progress
1.2.0 D. leucomelas
1.1.0 D. azureus
1.0.1 D. imitators

Yes, shipping is a bear. I thought about getting the pieces separately before considering shipping. That's what makes AH Supply so reasonable. However, I would definitely consider getting bulbs from bulbs.com . . . the price differeince is substantial.

I really don't understand the high prices on these things. Someone is making a killing on the markup.
-----
Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

I agree, they are way over priced, the bulbs seem about right, but the rest is out of hand.
-----
Kyle
www.kylesphotos.com
Dart Links - still a work in progress
1.2.0 D. leucomelas
1.1.0 D. azureus
1.0.1 D. imitators

Kyle,

I have bought the 2 x 13, the 55watt and the 96 watt from AH Supply. The difference is the ballast, the 13 watt uses a magnetic or transformer ballast, the 55 and 96 use an electronic model which is more expensive but puts out less heat and RFI. I would assume that the 36 watt uses the electronic model as well .I have also found that the compacts will cause digital thermometers and humidity gauges to read erraticly.To minimize this, I had to play around with the way I ran the wiring as well as placing the display unit as far from the light as possible.I am very satisfied with AH Supply, I have had my lights for over a couple years with out any problems. There were very easy to install and the higher wattage units put out enough light for orchids to bloom as well as very good moss growth. A cheap alternative is the twisted type thay sell at Lowes and Home Depot. The Home Depot around me sells one type 75 watt bulb in a Blue package that is labeled as "Daylight Bulb", this is 5000K and works much better than the regular ones that put out a much warmer bulb. I have two of these on a 10 gallon and it is similar to the 2x13 setup from AH Supply. Good luck.
Tom

Have you tried ebay?
-----
Here is my new image hosting site! I have made it Bigger, Stronger, Faster!
kungfu28181: My god. You are insane. -Mon Jun 30 21:41:05

Thanks, I think I will try the 2x13, but still looking at ballast prices.
-----
Kyle
www.kylesphotos.com
Dart Links - still a work in progress
1.2.0 D. leucomelas
1.1.0 D. azureus
1.0.1 D. imitators

Sorry to hijack your thread kyle, but I have a lighting question too. I am planning to convert the hood on my 30 gal vivarium to CF. The 96 watt kit from AH will fit, but I am wondering if this is too much light. The tank is only 16 3/4 inches tall, and when it is finished I plan to have almost half of that taken up with substrate. I don’t want to blind my frogs, but I want my plants to grow well. I'm also worried about the heat produced by the lights. If I use a 55 watt kit I would have room to squeeze in a ventilation fan, but if I use the 96 watt kit there will be no room for a fan. What do you guys think?
-----
0.0.5 Blue Dendrobates Auratus
3.2.1 African Dwarf Frogs (Hymenochirus boettgeri)
2.2.0 Asian Floating Frogs (Occidozyga Lima)
1.1.0 White's Tree Frog (Litoria caerulea)

Try Hellolights.com they have a great selection on lighting. They even have a DIY section. Seem to have good pricing. Hope this helps.