# What kind(s) of ballast, bulbs and sockets for a DIY 2-bulb T5 light fixture?



## Bunny (Oct 13, 2013)

Hi everyone, I'm planning on hacking one of my old light housings to turn it into a 2-bulb, T5 light for my tank (my current lamp is nonsense and is slowly killing my plants). Unfortunately my go-to place for hardware is Home Depot/Rona, and they do not carry ballasts for T5s. 

Can anyone suggest a good bulb/ballast pairing for me? I can do the wiring... I just know nothing about selecting a type of bulb/ballast. I did find a place up in maple ridge that carry the T5 ballasts, however the lady couldnt give me a ballast unless she knew my type of bulbs. Should I just be picking a random couple of bulbs that would fit and then asking her for a ballast...?

My tank is a 33 gallon freshwater tank. The canopy is 29" long, and I'm pretty sure the old bulbs in it were 24".


----------



## architeuthis (Apr 22, 2010)

I was going to say try Home Depot, because I know they carry T5 bulbs.
I didn't know they didn't carry the ballasts.
The lady should be able to pick a ballast for you if you tell her you need one to run 2 Normal output 24" T5 bulbs.
Look up lighting supply companies in your area.
Back in my reef days I used to buy supplies from All Brite Lighting in Poco.


----------



## blurry (May 10, 2010)

Have you thought about going into the led instead of the t5? Might be a better choice if your going to diy it.


----------



## Bunny (Oct 13, 2013)

I have considered going for LEDs, but I figured it would probably cost 2-3x as much.... am I off-base on this assumption?


----------



## Bunny (Oct 13, 2013)

architeuthis said:


> I was going to say try Home Depot, because I know they carry T5 bulbs.
> I didn't know they didn't carry the ballasts.
> The lady should be able to pick a ballast for you if you tell her you need one to run 2 Normal output 24" T5 bulbs.
> Look up lighting supply companies in your area.
> Back in my reef days I used to buy supplies from All Brite Lighting in Poco.


Yeah, apparently they carry the bulbs because t5s are used in appliances, and so people need replacement bulbs for them, however people do not typically try changing the ballast in sealed appliances...


----------

