Odd Ballast Question

[Eb0la11]

Hey guys,

ok this is a weird question but I cant find the information I need anywhere online after searching for 30 or so minutes.

Basically, I am renting a house and the previous owner installed a lighting strip in a very weird spot under the 2nd shelf of a basement rack so as to light the lowest shelf.

Now my first inclination is that this light could have very well been used for hydroponics, based on its location, but I have no idea really.

Anyways, I finally got around to unscrewing the fixture and taking a look. Its nothing special from the looks of it, but I wanted to know if it had any kind of potential to any lighting for anything in my tank lol.

Basically it is a Phillips RQM-2S40-TPC ballast within a 4 foot housing unit. No reflectors. The bulbs I cant even tell what wattage they are. They have a label that says Sylvania F40 Cool White Lifeline XL so I dunno what that means.

Anyone able to offer an opinion? Perhaps if I used this ballast to power a smaller light for a chamber in my sump to grow coral frags? Is that possible with this setup/ballast at all?

[mike31154]

Sounds like a fairly standard fluorescent fixture. I doubt that it would be suitable for growing coral frags, but it may be useful over a refugium growing macro algae, chaeto, etc.

[xtreme]

Yep, sounds like a T12 ballast. I believe that T12's will soon be out of production if they aren't already. The F40 indicates a 40 watt lamp. They normally will fire 34 or 40 lamps. As mentioned you won't get much use from it unless you want to grow stuff in your fuge with it.

[Eb0la11]

Thanks guys, I wonder why she had it placed where she did. Pretty odd. I guess I'll just use it to light my basement... until production stops on these bulbs lol.