# ODNO lighting*With pics*



## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

I was reading about ODNO lighting as an effective means to add power to your tank lighting.
I have everything here to do it for my 75 gallon tank.
I'm planning on using two F32T8 bulbs over driven 4x.
I'm familiar with wiring and the concept of how it works but wondered if anyone else is using this and what your opinion is .
Thanks


----------



## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

Here's what I found as far as what to expect from a F32T8 bulb overdriven 4x
I plan on using one T8 and one of my T12 bulbs at first.
I have one fixture wired for 3 48" tubes and 3 4 tube ballasts but want to see how this does.



> For a planted tank - you can consider each F32T8 bulb to be the equivalent of 125 watts (overdriven with a four bulb ballast per bulb)


----------



## spree_rider (Mar 20, 2004)

i have never tried overdriving lights but from what i learened in electrician school, it doesnt work as well as it does in theory. thetube is designed to run most efficently at a certain watt not higher. as you overdrive higher you get more light but less efficently than before so a 32w tube runs most efficent at 32w. when you drive it to 128w it doesnt put out as much light as a 128w tube. i dont know a actual value but it should run about 80-100w worth of light not 128w. in other words 4X is as bright as actually adding one more tube. 
if this was a good way to increase bulb output then industry would use a couple overdriven lamps to light up a larger area but they dont because its dramatically lowers tube life and doesnt put out much more light than just adding one more fixture.

i cant prove anyof this as i have not tried it but this is what they teach us in school.


----------



## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

I just finnished wiring it up and it looks pretty good. It's considerably brighter now with just two tubes than it was running 3 tubes.


----------



## rbp75 (May 2, 2004)

This sounds prety cool, I read that it can only be done with electronic and not magnetic ballasts, how do you tell the difference?


----------



## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

rbp75 said:


> This sounds prety cool, I read that it can only be done with electronic and not magnetic ballasts, how do you tell the difference?


Mine say "electronic instant start ballast" right on them.


----------



## spreerider (Jul 15, 2004)

you can do it with all ballasts not just electronic ones, almost all ballasts sold in north america are coil and core. electronic ballasts are better but cost alot more


----------



## Husky_Jim (May 26, 2003)

Can you post pics of it?


----------



## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

husky_jim said:


> Can you post pics of it?


YEAH!!!

I would like to see pics as well, Pete. Lets see how it looks :nod:


----------



## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

Here's a few crappy pics. If anyone wants I can provide link to site with in depth wiring.

View attachment 91627


View attachment 91623


View attachment 91624


View attachment 91625


View attachment 91626


View attachment 91629


View attachment 91630


from here-->> http://www.plantedtank.net/odno.html


----------



## rbp75 (May 2, 2004)

That tank looks great.


----------



## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

rbp75 said:


> That tank looks great.


Thanks man,
I'm trying to get it sorted out.
I've got some fuzzies on the leaves and have ordered some stuff from BigAls to nourish plants


----------



## Ex0dus (Jun 29, 2005)

Dr Z,
Wondering if your getting any algae problems esp on your sand?


----------



## Sanguinea (Feb 19, 2004)

I thought about doing this, but ive come to close to many times to burning down my house that I decided it was a bad idea especially in a tightly enclosed wooden hood.


----------



## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

Sanguinea said:


> I thought about doing this, but ive come to close to many times to burning down my house that I decided it was a bad idea especially in a tightly enclosed wooden hood.


The bulbs do get warmer than usual; but not much.. I'll get some data on temp increases from my setup this week.
If you're at all worried about trying this your self .. 
Get someone to help you or do it for you..
It's very straightforward and from all the information I've read bulb life is reduced very little. 
If done properly, it's very safe... It's very hard to mess this one up...


----------



## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

Ex0dus said:


> Dr Z,
> Wondering if your getting any algae problems esp on your sand?


I was getting quite a bit with Dippy's help the algea is no where near what it was. 
I'm still working on it .


----------



## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

Here's an in depth look at ODNO lighting.

I just picked up a couple T8 lamps for my tank 1 5000K and 1 6700K and it looks pretty good.

A great read... link -->> ODNO measurements: power consumption vs light output


----------



## spreerider (Jul 15, 2004)

my mistake retract statment i miss read


----------



## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Thank you so much for letting me know about this. I think I'm going to have to DIY myself something along these lines as it looks a lot more affordable than a lot of the lighting set-ups I've seen available for sale - even the used ones.

I've been iffy about getting too much into cf bulbs as their replacement is so expensive.


----------



## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Mettle said:


> Thank you so much for letting me know about this. I think I'm going to have to DIY myself something along these lines as it looks a lot more affordable than a lot of the lighting set-ups I've seen available for sale - even the used ones.
> 
> I've been iffy about getting too much into cf bulbs as their replacement is so expensive.


sorry, i advised you what i have, and what I know.. my bad.. you have great lights for your tank tho


----------



## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

DiPpY eGgS said:


> Thank you so much for letting me know about this. I think I'm going to have to DIY myself something along these lines as it looks a lot more affordable than a lot of the lighting set-ups I've seen available for sale - even the used ones.
> 
> I've been iffy about getting too much into cf bulbs as their replacement is so expensive.


sorry, i advised you what i have, and what I know.. my bad.. you have great lights for your tank tho








[/quote]

No worries at all! Only makes sense, right? There's a TON of alternatives out there of all different kinds of varieties. Depends on what works.

Just as well - if I come across a really great deal on a Coralife fixture again I'll probably snag it.

One consideration I have is that my tank that I want to go planted is an Oceanic contrast collection. So I want to keep the original striplight on there and then possibly add to it, behind. So I might even do a combo of ODNO and retrofit my current light with something ODNO or possibly dual CFs. We'll see.

I'm in the researching stage right now and not the get up and do it, heh.


----------

