T5 lights

[DYIguy]

I know I'm getting ahead of myself with the 75g build- stand, filtration, then lights. I have a set of four t5 lights 30+ years old that have been sitting in my basement for, duh, 30 years. The ballast is an Icecap 660- I plugged it in and of course it did not turn on. My questions are, what do I do to determine if the ballast is any good- I'm sure the lights aren't, is it a good choice for the 75, can I build a hybrid with one/ more of my black boxes- @MadReefer maybe you can help

 

[radiata]

I'm stretching my memory here, but I think a 30 year old plus Icecap 660 was designed for T8 lamps, not T5s. Did your 660 unit ever actually fire up T5s?

 

[DYIguy]

You're right they are T8- probably not worth it

 

[redfishbluefish]

I started with IceCap 660 and 430 ballasts running T5's. A 660 will run up to four bulbs....T5's or T8's. Make sure the wiring is correct:

 

[MadReefer]

I know I'm getting ahead of myself with the 75g build- stand, filtration, then lights. I have a set of four t5 lights 30+ years old that have been sitting in my basement for, duh, 30 years. The ballast is an Icecap 660- I plugged it in and of course it did not turn on. My questions are, what do I do to determine if the ballast is any good- I'm sure the lights aren't, is it a good choice for the 75, can I build a hybrid with one/ more of my black boxes- @MadReefer maybe you can help

You have the wrong person to do this.

 

[Goodair]

I believe you can test with a multimeter. If one of the bulbs is bad, you can turn it on and it wont work, so you can test the ends of the bulbs to see if a current goes through. If your near an electric shop, you can call them and see if they are able to test it for you, worth a call.

 

[DYIguy]

I'm going to have to look into this more- I googled a replacement fixture and came up with a 4' four light t5 light- granted it looks like a shop light for under $70 on amazon- looks like i'd be best off scrapping the T8 and building a hybrid or am I not getting something

 

[radiata]

If you guys can actually get T5s running on these old Ice Cap electronic ballasts, I've got some free ones for you! Some even come with an extension harnesses! LMK...