T5 flourescent lighting

[LearjetMinako]

I can't seem to find the answer to this out on the web. So I will ask it here for tries. Is there a difference in ballasts for a T5 and T5HO (High Output), in the same wattage? Or are they the same ballast and the T5HO are just rated higher wattage?

This is why I'm asking. I'm currently starting a small indoor garden project and building my own lighting rig. I need to run at least 100 Watts of lighting and plan to run 3x24W 6700K T5HO tubes and 3x14W 3000K T5 tubes. Each lighting strip comes with an electronic ballast for 21W (yes, I know, I'm 3 Watts shy), and I am currently running 1x T5HO for testing. But I'm wondering if I'm not getting the full 21W from the ballast on the T5HO tube. It seems the 14W 3000K tube is putting just as much light as the 24W 6700K tube on the same ballast rated for 21W. Or is it just me because of the two different color Kelvin rating.

 

[LearjetMinako]

Bump.

I guess I will rephrase the question. Can I run any T5 HO bulb on any ballast, as long the wattage on the ballast matches the T5 HO bulb?

Probably someone that is an aquarium guru will help me with this.

 

[adsm08]

As long as your wattage is close you should be ok. If the ballast wattage is too low, you may have some flickering or dim light. Just make sure your exciter is the right for your bulbs and you should be ok.


I ignored this at first because I saw "ballast" and thought you were messing with HIDs.

 

[LearjetMinako]

As long as your wattage is close you should be ok. If the ballast wattage is too low, you may have some flickering or dim light. Just make sure your exciter is the right for your bulbs and you should be ok.


I ignored this at first because I saw "ballast" and thought you were messing with HIDs.

Cool. I'm using a fixture & ballast that were designed for T5 bulbs, expect they do not say made for T5HO bulbs. But the ballast supports 21W T5 bulb. So far with the one I bought, the bulb and ballast are still working.