What ballast for home-built t5 fixtures?

fluxlizard

fluxlizard

Avid Member
Hey guys-
looking for advice on what sort of ballast for home-built t5 fixtures I should use.

Also- I remember reading articles years ago by UK lizard keepers who mounted their ballasts below some of their lizard or snake enclosures. Wondering how far away I can put the ballast from the fixture? I have no idea how hot the ballasts run on these t5 fixtures but would be kind of cool if I could put them across the room under shelves holding roach tubs or something so I could put the heat to good use...
 
They have T5 fixtures at hardware stores such and lowes or home depot, why the need to make one? Most of the ballasts offered are for wired installation and not plugs though, but if you are ready to make one yourself that shouldn't be an issue.
 
I guess I read that the ones at the hardware store aren't HO so they aren't suitable for the t5 lizard tubes. The ones necessary are much more expensive.

That's what I gather anyway from the little I have read- just now getting into it.

Ballasts for HO look to be around $15-$20 maybe for single or double tube on e-bay...
 
But if there are affordable fixtures that will do the job- I'm all for that! I've never made a flourescent fixture from scratch!
 
Well if you are looking for T5 HO, then that is different. They are slightly different. I havent looked for those so far because I already have the T5 HO set up from light your reptiles.
 
In order to choose the correct ballast, I will need to know how many lamps you are planning to run and how long the bulbs will be. As far as heat production, t5ho ballasts do not create that much heat and you can remote mount them.
 
In order to choose the correct ballast, I will need to know how many lamps you are planning to run and how long the bulbs will be. As far as heat production, t5ho ballasts do not create that much heat and you can remote mount them.
Click to expand...

Ah thanks - that's the kind of thing I need to know.

If I'm not remote mounting them- how close to the ballast do the tubes need to be? That would play a big role in knowing how many lamps I could run on a single ballast, assuming there are ballasts that run more than 2 tubes?

edit- oh- my mistake- I thought you said I cannot remote mount them, but you said that I *can* remote mount them. Which I might do anyway just to keep them away from the humidity and heat even if they don't produce enough heat to be useful.

Also- Really can't guess how many at this point- lots? Enough for 30 cages to start with, more cages added down the road a ways...
Do they make a 30 tube ballast? LOL Actually I plan to run 2 cages to a long tube probably- what before t5 was a 48" tube- whatever the length is now, unless it is cheaper for 2 approx 24" tubes rather than a single 48"... Which I doubt.
 
Last edited:
fluxlizard said:
Ah thanks - that's the kind of thing I need to know.

If I'm not remote mounting them- how close to the ballast do the tubes need to be? That would play a big role in knowing how many lamps I could run on a single ballast, assuming there are ballasts that run more than 2 tubes?
Click to expand...

There are ballasts that can run up to 4 lamps and also ones that run 1-2 lamps. The ballasts usually come with 10 inches leads that need to be extended when assembling, but I would try to keep it within about 6 feet.
 
I guess I'd go for the 4 tube ballasts then if they are the most economical per tube and if they could be wired to plug into a normal electrical outlet.
The longest tube possible for lizard tubes- I suppose that would be whatever they have near 48" in length.
 
Cool, you could use a workhorse 7 ballast for 4 48" lamps, in addition to the ballast you will need a power cord, 2 end caps per lamp, and some rubber coated copper wire. Additionally, if you wanted to add an on/off switch you could that as well.
 
Ah- we posted nearly the same time. You answered some of my questions about what the end caps were called.

Workhorse- that is an HO ballast then? Is that brand better than the one I linked to for any reason?
 
I got it to work, I would recommend you spend a couple extra dollars on a better ballast, some of the cheaper ones have reliability issues, and can cause damage to your lamps.
 
OK- so the workhorse ballast is the way to go.

Looking at the stats- I see this line-
F54T5 HO - 3 or 4 Lamps
Click to expand...

Is that the type of light I'm building this for and why 3 or 4 lamps? Is there a chance it will work with only 3?
 
actually the whole line reads thusly:
F39T5 HO - 4 Lamps; F54T5 HO - 3 or 4 Lamps; F80T5 HO - 2 Lamps
Click to expand...

I don't know which of those the lizard lights are...
Does the 54 indicate the wattage of the tube? (F39 F54 F80)
 
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