Ballast
From The Aquarium Wiki
Revision as of 04:21, 24 February 2011 by PsiProBot (talk | contribs) (clean up, replaced: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescent_lamp fluorescent tubes] → fluorescent tubes (2))
A ballast is a piece of electrical equipment that transforms the electricity from the household Mains socket to supply one or more lamps, usually fluorescent tubes, to light an aquarium.
These units come in two type : Electronic and Mechanical.
Electronic Ballasts[edit]
These are power efficient, run cooler, more reliable operation, last longer but usually cost a little more.
Mechanical Ballasts[edit]
These are the orignal lighting units, they use a lot of power to run (often 50% of the lights they run) so they run hot as a result, contain a Starter unit which requires changing, are physical larger than the electronic ballasts. But are often cheaper.
