Question about ballasts

[Rosebud]

We are having a fairly consistent winter this year, so I have all of my lizards in the main part of my house. Some of the smaller lizards are in 20longs. So, I really can't work out putting their Megarays over all of them, and will be using reptisun 10 tubes for the rest of the winter. My question is about the strips that I should use. Will any florescent strip do, or do I need a certain florescent ballast to get the most out of these tubes?

 

[diggerdrake]

the magic is in the tube. a ballast is a ballast and is providing power to fire the tube

 

[Rosebud]

Well, not all ballasts are created equal, at least not in the ballasts that support incandescent bulbs. :wink:

 

[beardie parents]

I haven't heard anything about certain ballasts being better than another. I went with the hoods that hold the lights for fish tanks. The reason for this is the way the uvb is directed down to the tank. Also, it's easier to turn it on than the one I found at walmart I tried for awhile and those I looked at in Home Depot. The switches to turn them on was on the part of the fixture that is sitting on the screen tops we have. We had to pick up the fixture just to turn it on, this got old fast. Also, with the cheaper type of fixtures, the uvb is going down and out, also.

 

[diggerdrake]

I just have the regular inexpensive (aka cheap) strip fixture no switch on it and have it plugged into a timer. just make sure that your fixture is made for the bulb you get T8 vrs T12(the fatter one). the only difference is the holder on each end as the T8 fixture is smaller than the T12. thee bulbl do not fit into the others socket

 

[slantedii]

there are a few differences, but basically all you need to know is does the fixture support the length of my fixture, and does it support the size (t8, t12). All the other differences are minute.