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FAQs about Metal Halide & Halogen Lighting Repair
Related FAQs: Metal Halides 1,
Metal Halides 2, Metal Halides 3,
Metal Halides 4, Metal Halides 5,
Metal Halides 6, Metal Halides 7,
Metal Halides for Small Systems,
Metal Halides for 40-200 gal. Systems,
MH for 200 gal. Plus Systems, Metal
Halide Lamp Issues, Metal Halide
Fixture Issues, Metal Halide Heat
Issues,
Compact Fluorescents,
Regular Fluorescents,
Lighting Marine Invertebrates,
LR Lighting, Tridacnid
Lighting, Small
System Lighting, Related
Articles: Metal Halide
Light, & Lighting Articles,
Coral System Lighting, Keep those
fixtures elevated, otherwise free from splash, spray... | 
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Where to go for repairs? Electrical, light fixtures 7/27/09
Greetings aquatic friends!
<Hello Nick.>
I just wanted to ask a real quick (hopefully) question that I'm unsure
of how to search for as far as which keywords to use, so I must first
apologize for that. I'm having some problems with my light fixture which
is a 6' fixture with 3X175 watt mogul metal halide bulbs and 2X160 watt
VHO's.
One plug/switch controls 1 MH bulb, one controls 2 MH bulbs and the
third controls the 2 VHO's. All of a sudden something kept causing my
aquarium electric to trip my GFI, so I went through each device that was
plugged in and found that the switch/plug that controls the 2 MH bulbs
seemed to be the one tripping everything. I unplugged it and flipped the
switch off and wrote Marine Depot (which is where it was purchased from)
regarding what I should do. Let me also say that Marine Depot has always
been absolutely fantastic to deal with in everything I've ever bought
from them. Their customer service has impressed me greatly.
<I have always experienced the same.>
Anyway, I received a reply saying that they thought there was problems
with something faulty in the ballast and that they had a replacement
pack of ballast "innards" for that system, but that it doesn't come with
directions and is tricky so they suggested having an electrician do the
work on it (in other words buying the ballast replacement "innards" and
having an electrician swap all the "innards" out).
<It is fairly straightforward if you are comfortable doing the work.>
They also said that I could upgrade the ballast with electronic ballasts
but that that would be even more complicated and they would insist that
I use an electrician for that. I'm not sure which option I'm going to
take, but I'm now realizing that I have absolutely no clue who to
contact that would do that type of work. I tried contacting and
explaining the situation to some residential and commercial electricians
in the area via email, but have gotten no replies at all which makes me
think that once they read the scenario of what I'm asking for, they
don't want to do it and figure it's not even worth replying to.
<Tis my experience with many electricians. Also, at least here, there is
a shortage, sometimes they do not reply for weeks due to abundant work.>
So, now I'm wondering if I'm looking in the wrong places and possibly
need an electronics repair shop or something of the sort, but really
have absolutely no clue.
<Yep, just look up electrical repair, even tool repair in the phone
book.
I would even go as far as to take it to them before ordering the new
ballast. Your issue could be as simple as a loose or corroded wire. One
thing that always helps me locate such services is asking who they
recommend when an outfit tells you no they don't do that kind of work.>
While I know you probably can't tell me a specific place in the
Baltimore Metro area to take it to, do you have any idea the TYPE of
place that would do something like that? Okay, thanks so much. You guys
are as fantastic as fantastic gets and I thank the aquatics gods every
day that we have you all in our lives. You are all gentlepeople (men and
women) and scholars and I love you all. Thanks sincerely and millions of
times over-Nicholas Sadaka
<Thank you for such high praise! I do hope this helps you locate
somebody.
Scott V.>
Shattered UV glass 4/9/09
Greetings.
<Salutations>
I accidentally splashed water on one of my UV glass lenses and it
shattered.
<Happens>
Pretty freaky while my arm was in the tank. The bulb didn't break
though, (150w HQI).
<Good... a principal function of such "cover glass" is to prevent such
splashing (and explosion) of such lamps>
I powered it down to be safe and removed as much glass frags from the
tank that I could get to. It's one of three halides on my 72" fixture. I
have notified the guy I bought it from a year ago who sells these
constantly on EBay in an attempt to purchase a few lenses in case this
happens again. Probably never will having gone through it once though.
In the event he doesn't sell just the lenses and I'm out of luck, is
there a site where I can get replacement shields for off-brand stuff.
<Mmm, actually... most any glass can function here...>
To be honest, I don't even know the name brand of the fixture I have. It
didn't have one to begin with. It's not Odyssea though. Anyway, this
fixture has been just fine otherwise, this was just clearly my being "a
bull in a China shop" while doing a water change. Luckily I have mostly
LPS and a couple softies, so they should be able to get by on just
actinic lighting for a week I hope.
<Should be fine>
Assuming it should probably take that long to get a new shield. Would it
be acceptable to go to my local hardware store and have them cut a piece
of glass for me the right size?
<Yes>
Would it need to be the exact thickness or could it be just close?
<The latter>
Needs to be tempered I guess, I don't know if they sell tempered glass
at hardware stores? What do you think?
<Mmm, would be best if tempered... was the piece that broke?>
Do I do dare even run the lamp without the shield in the meantime?
<I would if you are not able to directly look at it... but I would
replace the splash shield/UV filter... Again, most all glass will
function effectively>
Thanks,
Jason
<Bob Fenner>
Re: Shattered UV glass 4/10/09
Hi again Mr. Fenner.
<Jason>
Thanks so much for the quick response and helpful information.
<Welcome>
I just wanted to follow up on my shattered UV lens situation. I did go
to my hardware store and have a piece of glass cut to the size I needed
and fit it back in and it did work, but only for about 5 minutes and it
broke in half. It didn't shatter shooting fragments everywhere, but
there is broken glass to deal with yet again. I guess this is proof that
tempered glass is an absolute must here.
<Mmm, is better as stated...>
The glass piece I had cut was half the thickness of the original lens
and only cost me 50 cents for the attempt. Now I have to shell out $40
to get a new original one made.
Knowing what I know now about the affects of a little water splashing, I
am inclined to raise my fixture up higher. So help me out here. With my
3 150 watt HQI's, growing LPS and a few softies, how high can I go? A
foot?
<A good distance>
The tank is 6 ft long and 17" from the surface to the top of the deep
sand bed (4"?).
So while I wait for my new UV lens to show up in the mail, I have taken
your advice and am just running the light anyway.
<Should be fine... just avoid splashing...>
It is not in anyone's line of eyesight but I think its awful risky
without a glass shield because you have to not have any drops of water
hit that bulb. I don't know how you guys do it with those screw in types
that have no shielding ever. Don't those people ever have bulbs
shattering with a fish jump here or a water return line splash/sprinkle
there?
<Occasionally, yes, folks do>
As a further note, I have now seen the advantage of doing my water
changes from now on BEFORE the halides come on for the day, much less
chance of a splash on the UV lens with my big mitts in the tank
siphoning out Cyano.
<Ahhh!>
And like Bartle's and James used to say, "we thank you for your
support."
Jason
<Tasty. Bob Fenner>
Metal Halide questions--help asap 3/30/09
Please help ASAP!
I am still new to reefkeeping and am having a problem. First of all, I
heard that MH lighting was the best. I have a 55 gallon tank, so I found a
used MH fixture online used at a very decent price. The fixture isn't
labeled anywhere so I am not 100% sure of the brand.
The fixture is 48" long, and contains 2 250W MH double ended bulbs. The
outer edges are actinic bulbs, and down the center led moonlights are. My
tank has been running wonderfully for around 8 months and mixed soft and
hard corals, along with fish have thrived. Is it too much light though for
the tank?
<I little overkill for a 55, but for keeping light loving corals/clams,
should not be a problem as long as your tank temperature
isn't going through the roof.>
The bulbs are labeled 20K blue 250W. I was told the fixture was a
Corallife brand.
Now for the problem. A few days ago 1 of the lights went out. So I
attempted to narrow down the cause to ballast or bulb. I unplugged the
working light and hooked up the ballast to the none working light.
Nothing. So narrowing it down I have isolated the problem to be bad bulb
on one side.
<OK>
To confirm this I attempted as many combinations of hookups. No matter
which ballast was hooked up. Only the same light would work. So I order a
bulb online. I order a CoralVue 14k 250W double ended bulb, disassemble
and install the bulb. Still nothing. So I pull out the bulb that was
working before, put in the brand new bulb, and again nothing. I swapped
and tried every combination I could.
Results--1 bulb working in both fixtures with both ballasts. Bulb would
light up almost immediately.
New bulb, & other bulb--would not work in either fixture.
<Well, one bulb was gone to start with and I'm guessing your problem may
lie with the new CoralVue lamp being a probe start type lamp, and your
ballast is a pulse start.
Most 250 watt DE lamps are pulse start. Pulse start lamps do not have a starting
probe electrode as in the CoralVue, but start by way of a high voltage
pulse, typically 3 to 5 kilovolts.
I've got records on most bulbs that indicate the start method and type of
ballast required, but CoralVue is just listed as a ? but it is a probe
start lamp. Problem here is most folks think any HQI lamp will work with
their ballast and that is not the case.>
So I thought I would just leave 1 working for now, and I put it back
together, set it atop the tank. Roughly 3 minutes later the working bulb
explodes.
<Didn't like that.>
Now all I have is my actinics running, with a lot of livestock in the tank.
How long until I get this fixed before I have major die off?
<To be safe, I'd say a week for light loving SPS/LPS. Could be longer, but
I wouldn't want to chance the Zooanthellae dying off which is called
bleaching. I am assuming you have corals and as the fish without light, it
isn't going to be a problem.>
What do I do? Is it possible the ballasts are too weak to light the bulbs?
The ballasts do not have labels, they are encased in metal with a switch,
and removable power cable.
<Is there a manufacturer listed on the old lamp itself? If so, replacing
with that brand/type would ensure you would have had the right lamp for the
ballast you have. There are no numbers stamped on the ballast itself, like
an "M" and a number? Best to take the fixture to a local electrical shop
and see if they can test the ballasts for you before investing in more
lamps.>
Help Help help! I can give more details.
Thanks for your time.
<You're welcome you poor dude. James (Salty Dog)>
Luke
No Contact in MH Pendant 2/8/09
Hey Guys,
<..and
gals, hello Chris!>
I was replacing the bulbs last night in my
PFO 250w metal halide pendants. It's a double ended unit and while I
was installing one of the bulbs, I bent the metal contact inside the
pendant. Here is my crude drawing:
So, I took the light apart to
straiten the contact, and while I was putting it back together, a
small wire clip that slides over the narrow part of the contact
broke.
<!>
This clip pinches the ends of the contact so the
light bulb stays in place. Now, when I put the light in, it just
slips out when it's hung. Fortunately, I have two pendants, so my
tank is still getting light. My question is if there's any way to
repair this myself? I'm not entirely sure on what material the wire
clip was and I really don't want to order an entirely new contact
over a silly piece of wire. If I fiddle with it, the bulb stays in
place for a bit and will fire, but my friend completely burnt his
unit this way so I'm not too interested in doing that. Any advice
would be appreciated.
<A few ways to do this. A stainless wire
can be used to fabricate your own, but for the trouble and cost, I
would either look for a direct replacement or just buy a new socket.
If you know the manufacturer I would contact them
first, you may
very well get one free of charge. Otherwise the folks over at
HelloLights.com are very helpful with such issues.>
Chris
<Welcome, Scott V.> |
 |
MH Bulb will not fire 12/14/08
Hello
<Jay.>
I have
been running metal halide lighting on my reef tank for 4 months. I have
decided to replace my 14k bulb with a 20k bulb (both 400w). The new 20k
wont fire.
<!>
The igniter tries to light it with an electric arc
every 15 seconds or so, but the gas wont ignite.. I have tried it for
2-3 hours on end, but eventually, the igniter quits firing and its just
dark. I have read about "break in periods" for new bulbs, but this one
doesn't seem close to lighting. I re installed my 14k bulb and it lights
instantly.
<Good.>
My ballast is a "reef fanatic" brand that my
LFS sold me as a lightly used unit. I don't see any indication of a
brand on the new bulb. I bought it from a local coral propagation
company that uses these bulbs in their facility. Does it sound like a
problem or should I keep trying to overcome this "break in period"?
<If the thing won't light at all one of two things are happening. Either
the bulb is just flat out bad or it is pulse start, while the ballast
you mention is probe start. Hard to know without knowing what the bulb
is. Do you have a friend that may be able to try the bulb out for you,
preferably with an electronic ballast?>
Thank you!!
Jay
<Welcome, Scott V.>
It's annoying... could it be more? RF fluorescent/MH noise issue, Outer
Orbit 2/3/08
Hi,
I have an 48" Outer Orbit. When
the fluorescent lamps come on, they make the kick on noise, then about a
minute later they go silent, then about 30 seconds later it makes the
kick on noise again, repeat, repeat, repeat,.... The lights stay on the
whole time, and the metal halide lights do not present the same problem.
Any suggestions?
Thank you,
Emily
<Mmmm, I'd be contacting
the maker re... or whomever you bought this fixture from... it likely
has repair issues. Bob Fenner> Metal Halide Burn In
Period??? 12/18/06
Hi, your web site has been a great help over
the last couple of years. But, know I think I finally have a question,
that I cannot find on your site.
I recently upgraded from a 55
gallon reef to a 120 AGA. With the upgrade, I also decided to switch
over the metal halides, since I want to eventually get into acros. I
have 2x250watt MH with electronic ballast and also 2x96 powercompact
actinic. This whole system is new to me, I just received it last
week. To my disappointment, the unit only came with one 10k double
ended HQI bulb.
<Whoa, whoa. You say you have a 250 watt dual MH
system, then you say it came with a HQI bulb. Both of these systems are
completely
different. I'm guessing you have a HQI system.>
This
bulb works in both units with each separate ballast, so I know the
system is capable of working. Since I only had one bulb, I thought I
might as well upgrade to two Hamilton Tech 14K 250 watt.
After
installing these bulbs, nothing has happened. No light whatsoever. I
even placed the original 10k bulbs to make sure the unit was still
working.
<And it does?>
Now the new bulbs have been in for about
30 hours without nothing. I was told by one supplier that this was a
normal initial burn in period and since the bulbs were different it
might take 24-48 hours. Is this true, I thought during the burn in
period, the lights still came on.
<What mental institution is this
supplier located at? There is no such thing as a burn-in period. As
you say, the bulbs should light, period.
I'm guessing the lamps you
purchased were defective. Did this unit come as a complete kit, or is
it a complete fixture? Very unusual in that they would only send one
lamp with a two lamp system.>
Please help, I am completely lost
with what to do next.
<Send me a link to this site if you bought
them on-line.>
Thanks
<You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
Greg Re: Metal Halide Burn In Period??? 12/19/06
http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=307
Thanks for replying so fast.
<You're welcome.>
here <Here is>
the link for the lights i <I> bought. the <The> light system works with
the bulb that they sent currently. when i <When I> say they only sent
on <one> bulb, they actually left on <one> out of the system - i <I>
assume by mistake. i <I> hope this helps answer the question regarding
why this supposedly electronic ballast will not light up the hamilton
<Hamilton> 14k.
<The ballast should light the Hamilton lamp. I'd
make sure there is no protective tape on the contact pins of the
lamp. If not, I'd be sending the
lamps back to the dealer. In
future queries, please cap words that begin a sentence and proper nouns,
it saves me time from having to do it before
they are posted on the
dailies.>
thanks <Thanks> again.
<You're welcome. James (Salty
Dog)>
Lighting/MH Bulb Problem 5/9/06
Hello,
I have a 75 gal. LR tank (24" deep) with a ritteri Anenome
and 4 Clarki clowns. My suspended MH bulb is mysteriously shutting off
then restarting every 5 minutes or so. I've had the bulb for ~ 6
months. I know you recommend 10,000K spectrum. I'm going to buy a new
bulb tomorrow, any specific brand you would recommend? This ballast
requires a screw-in type, 250 watt bulb. I was using an Iwasaki
Clean-Ace 250W, 18,000 lumen, 6500 K, and was going to look for a 250 W,
10,000 K.
IYO, is this likely a bulb issue, vs. a ballast issue? (I
know you're not electricians, just thought you might have experienced
this with your own MH lights). I assume if the ballast was failing the
light would not come on at all, do you agree? <I happen to be an
electrician Kevin. If you have a standard (non-electronic) ballast the
problem is generally with the bulb itself. An electronic ballast could
be causing this problem as most have a current sensing device built in
and will trip when excessive current is detected. A defective current
sensor could trip prematurely.> I've always changed my MH bulbs while
they were still functioning, so have never experienced this. The light
is on a timer, set for 12 hours. Today, it kicked on, warmed up and got
to it's natural spectrum (2-3 minutes), then dims and shuts off. Then,
~ 5 minutes later, it kicks on and does the same, it's been doing this
all evening. Is this what MH's do when the bulb is failing? <Yes, if
it isn't a ballast related problem.> My poor Anenome is getting a
workout, opening and closing. It (Anenome) has always had the same 12
hour photoperiod. I hope this brief light screw up doesn't stress him
out too bad.
<Kevin, I'd just replace the bulb. If it is the
ballast, then you have a spare bulb. I'd put my money on a defective
bulb as the problem.>
Thank you very much,
<You're
welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
-Kevin Metal halide
slow warm up 7/12/06
Hey!!!
<<Hey what?!?!? Sorry...
couldn't resist!>>
I have a quick question regarding metal
halides. I just bought a metal halide fixture made by Current USA
called the SunPod DE HQI. This is my first metal halide fixture so I'm
new to this. My question is, is it normal for metal halides to take
around 15-20 minutes for the lights to start up?
<<No. Metal
halides usually take a few minutes to reach peak intensity, but they
should fire within seconds.>>
I don't know if the fixture I got is
defective or is this just a characteristic of metal halides. When I
switch it on, the fans on the fixture do come on, but the lights don't
until 15-20 or maybe even 30 minutes later.
<<I would contact the
manufacturer for support, or if that is not possible, the vendor that
sold you the fixture. It is possible (however unlikely) that this is a
characteristic of the system you bought. If not, it should be
replaced. Best Regards. AdamC.> MH Not Lighting 7/28/06
Hey guys --
<And gals.>
Love your site...
now to the
business....
We've been running a 75 gallon take for about 10 months
now - we have a Coralife Aqualite elite lighting system with 2 175W
Metal Halide bulbs on it along with the PCs - all of a sudden one of our
metal halides started not lighting all the way - I figured since the
bulb was about 8 months old, it might have died - so we went to our
local store a picked up a new bulb - the new one does the same thing -
the center gets semi-bright, but there is no output into the take... The
other 175W bulb in the fixture is fine... any ideas as to what we can do
to fix??
<Sounds like the ballast for that lamp is bad. Igniter
voltage more than likely too low. Hopefully you have a one year
warranty on the fixture.
James (Salty Dog)>
Thanks,
Brian
Re: Metal Halide Not Lighting 7/28/06
Thanks for your prompt
response --
<You're welcome.>
We did find out that the ballast
is bad - never thought about a warranty - but we will def look into it -
I think that our other solution is to just upgrade the ballasts to 250W
-- is that something that is easy to do?? can one just buy new ballasts
and then put 250W bulbs in the fixture??
<The 175 watt MH fixtures
were designed to dissipate heat for two 175 watt ballasts, and, I don't
believe 250 watt ballasts would fit into the fixture. I'd check with the
manufacturer.>
Once again I want to tell you how much we appreciate
your site, we are new to the hobby and got in very quickly - along with
our 75g - we recently set up a 29g mini reef - which is doing amazing -
just added two true Percs - While on this topic, I hope you don't mind
if I as another question... On the 29g we are running another Coralife
lighting system with 2 65W PC 50/50s -- we have about 60lbs of rock,
some from our bigger tank to help spread the Coralline algae - the tank
has cycled for about a month before we added the fish - so, now onto my
question, we were wondering if you thought there was enough light in
there to support a small anemone for the clowns, since they have
appeared to have bonded already --
<A 29 gallon tank is too small
for an anemone. Water parameters can change too fast.>
if you take
the total size of the tank, we have about 4.3 Watts/gallon -- if you
take into account the displacement of the rock, the Watts/gallon are
significantly higher,
<Rock displacement means nothing in regards to
lighting.>
probably close to 6Watts/gallon - I appreciate your
assistance and once again think your site is an amazing source of info,
and we never would have gotten as far as we did in the hobby without
it...
<Thank you for your kind comments. James (Salty Dog)>
Thanks again,
Brian
MH lighting fire...!!! - 03/25/2006
Hello WWM Crew, <Hi Rori - Tim answering your question today!>
Tonight disaster struck!!! I love my fish tank and have been a reef tank
hobbyist now for about 5 years, but tonight my fish tank SCARED THE CRAP
OUT OF ME!!!! I do not know what to do??? My wife and I were sitting
watching T.V. when all of a sudden we both smelt a plastic burning smell
that got pretty strong. We started looking around the house because it
smelled like something plastic was on fire!!! Then I walked into the
fish room and the room was filled with smoke!!! It turned out one of my
ballast to my Coral Life HQI's was smoking pretty badly. Now I'm not
talking about a little smoke I'm talking there was a fire going on
inside the case of the thing and smoke was pouring out of it, and it
filled the room with black smoke. Now I am so scared thinking about what
would of happened if I wouldn't have been home, my house could of burned
down! Another thing I don't understand is I am very cautious when it
comes to building something. I have these ballast bolted to my stand
with a dedicated fan blowing right on them. Also I have a circuit
protector that will shut everything off if anything goes wrong. Looks
like none of this stuff helped out, I honestly think that if I was not
home it would of started a fire, and it would of eventually turned into
a electrical fire. I am debating now if this is worth the risk. I am so
disappointed that I spent so much money on these Coral Life 150 Watt
HQI's and they fail like this. I will be contacting them about this
situation I have run into. In the mean time I have all the lights turned
off in the tank due to I am scared the other two ballast are going to
catch fire like this one did. So now my corals are in the dark for
now??? Any advice what would you do in this situation??? Anxiously
awaiting your helpful response on what I can do??? Thank You!!! P.S. I
took the ballast apart and in the case where the actual round ballast is
inside is all swollen looking and melted inside!!! <That is very
concerning indeed! Do contact the company and include in your
correspondence very detailed information on your current set up so that
they may identify any problems with your arrangement. Also do a search
through online forums - to my knowledge, this is not a common occurrence
but there is of course the possibility of a bad batch of ballasts - in
which case you may be saving many other aquarists from potential
disaster! Try to find out exactly what caused this - and please do keep
us informed so that we may warn others of this situation! In the
meantime, you will need to take care of your livestock. Make sure that
you do a number of considerable water changes - I am concerned that some
of the smoke may have become dissolved in the aquarium water and can
potentially cause significant harm. Your corals will need light or they
will not survive for long - I would suggest, if you are presently unable
to comfortably provide them with adequate lighting (your situation being
completely understandable) then I would suggest contacting a fellow reef
keeper or your LFS to see if either will hold your corals until you can
rectify your lighting situation. The same applies to your fish, although
clearly these are less dependant on light for their survival. Keep a
close eye on your fish as the stress of this incident may cause disease
outbreak. As I said, please keep us informed as to your findings! Thank
you and wishing you the very best of luck!> Metal Halide
Troubles 5/16/05
Dear WWM crewperson, First let me express my
gratitude for your continued dedication to informing uneducated primates
like myself on how to better sustain life forms in small, water-filled
glass box.
<Thanks for the kind words! It really is our pleasure!>
I've been trying to get my DIY dual 175 watt Metal Halides working and
thought I was successful until this week. The lights have been working
fine for the last 3 months, but now that the bulbs have properly "burned
in" they continuously cycle (turning on, slowly brightening until they
get to a very intense level, flicker then turn off for about 10-15
minutes). I know this is tantamount to a mortal sin with DIY equipment,
but I don't remember any brand names. The guy who sold me the ballast 2
years ago said it was 175 watt, so I purchased two 20000 Kelvin 175 watt
lamps. I was thrilled when everything lit up and worked, but now I'm
wishing I'd just spent the extra money. Is there any way to salvage this
situation? Best Regards, James
<It sounds like your ballast is
mismatched to your lamps. Your ballast components should be labeled with
an ANSI number, and if not you can search the internet for a table that
will allow you to match the transformer and capacitor ratings to the
ANSI number. Lamps are manufactured to work with certain ballasts. See
here:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-06/jg/ for a great
table of which lamps work with which ballasts. This table does not
include info for pulse start or probe start lamps (which your 20K's
might be). Be very careful working with these ballasts! Charged
capacitors can deliver a dangerous shock! Best Regards. AdamC.>
Aging MH Ballasts? 5/26/04
Hi WWM gang! Again thanks for
everything....
<Always a pleasure!>
I've searched the FAQs for
relevant articles on MH ballasts/lamps, and couldn't find a discussion
on a ballast's lifetime. The questions I have are: How long should a
ballast last, do they fail gradually or just "kick the bucket", and if
gradually what are the indicators.
<Ballasts do fail, but I have
never heard of one that does so gradually... They just quit, or in the
case of tar ballasts, sometimes burn up.>
I purchased a 175W 10,000K
Venture from my LFS and replaced one lamp, and the bulb was dead in
roughly 3 days. Haven't talked to the LFS about this yet but want to
make sure I'm on the right track before I ask for a replacement. I'm
hesitant to install another new lamp until I can assure myself the
Ballast is not the culprit. TIA, Jeff Hamilton
<Hmmm... Could be a
couple of things. Bad lamp, bad ballast, or the wrong lamp for the
ballast. Try the lamp on a another ballast to be sure that the lamp does
not work. Try your old lamp on your ballast to be sure that the ballast
works. Every ballast should be marked (could be inside the enclosure)
with an ANSII number. The ANSII number of the ballast must match the
lamp. For example m57 indicates 175w Metal Halide. Find the number on
the ballast and check it against a reference on the internet to be sure
you are using the correct lamp. Hope this helps! Adam.>
-Splash guards are your friends!-
Hi There! <Hellooooo, Kevin
here> I recently purchased a 4x96w power compact retrofit kit from PFO
lighting and having some difficulties. The kit came with 2 96w actinics
and 2 96w 1000K bulbs from Hamilton tech. <Hah, go figure PFO is selling
Hamilton's lamps...> I placed the bulbs about 2 inches above an open 40
gal reef tank. <Ooo my, that's a no can do. Note that the end caps on
the lamps are NOT waterproof, the lamp clips and reflector are both
metal which will rust in short order without protection. This fixture is
not meant to be placed so close to the water! If you plan on keeping it
this close, you'll need to devise an acrylic splash guard to protect
your investment or your bulbs will continue to pop and your fixture will
look like the titanic.> Within 1 week of use, the two 10000K bulbs have
cracked/shattered, while the actinics are still working fine. What's
going on here? <The cracking/shattering is clearly from water splashing
on the hot lamps. It's unlikely that the lamps are defective, but who
knows.>Is there something that I should know about these types of lamps
that I'm doing wrong?. or is it possible that the lamps are defective?
Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks, Marc <Get that thing off of
the water or use a splash guard and you'll be all set. Good luck!
-Kevin> Metal Halide, ballast going bad?
07/29/03
<Hi Chris, PF here today>
Dual Ballast 175 watt Metal
Halide is what I have. I bought it used but I think it is made by PFO.
My question is: I am getting ready to set up my new aquarium and was
checking all of my stuff for it. I was checking my lights and the one of
the lights works perfectly, and the other lights up and as soon as it
starts to get really bright it flickers and shuts off. What would be
causing this? Is the ballast going bad or the capacitor? I thought
Anthony may have know something about this. He has answers for
everything, I'm very glad he is a part of the WWM crew! All of you guys
there have been wonderful in helping tons of people. The ballast are
made by Venture Lighting I have sent two email and have not received a
reply yet. The bulbs are not bad, just will not stay on. I am thinking
it is the ballast but I am not sure. Is there a way that you guys know
of that you can test out to see what is going bad? Please let me know
what you think, I really appreciate all of your help!
Thanks,
Chris Hepburn
<Well Chris, it does sound like the ballast to me. Have
you tried contacting PFO directly? I had trouble with mine and they were
a big help. You might want to check their website and see if they have a
number to call. Sorry I can't be more direct, but electronics aren't my
specialty. I assume you tried both bulbs in both sockets? You could also
try an electronics repair shop, if your efforts with the manufacturer
don't pan out. Good luck! PF> Playing With Fire?
Hi, I
wanted to know if I could put a HQI bulb of any appropriate Kelvin range
onto a plain regular regent 300 watt quartz Halogen floodlight. Is this
possible. I intend in doing this if so. Because the current bulb is far
to yellow and unsuitable for a reef tank. My name is Ray. Thank
you.
<Well, Ray- I'd caution against trying any unknown bulb/fixture
ballast combos unless you talk to the manufacturer first. You could
cause a fire- or worse! Err on the side of caution! Regards, Scott F.>
Metal halide exploding
Hi Bob,
<Anthony Calfo in your service>
I was just wondering if you had heard of metal halide bulbs exploding
very often?
<not often... but not uncommon. I've had it happen twice
in ten years and heard a dozen or so aquarists have the same. Commonly
occurs when placing a reef lamp in a cheap industrial fixture like those
awful 400 watt units :p Seriously.>
I know splashing water on them
might cause it,
<of course>
but I had one explode inside a
pendant with a cover once.
<Hmmm... care to share the brand name? I
have my suspicions just the same. Will be very surprised if it is an AB
or Iwasaki although defects sure do occur. All assuming that this isn't
an industrial (non-aquarium) fixture (some lack necessary components to
run some reef bulbs)>
Steve Tyree told me he had heard of it
happening several times. Have you?
<yep>
Mitch Gibbs
<kind
regards, Anthony> Re: Metal halide exploding
Thanks
Anthony,
<cheers, mate!>
At least I know I'm not completely losing
my marbles.
<that makes one of us :p>
It was a few years ago when
mine exploded (imploded whatever). I had it in a Hamilton fixture and I
don't recall the brand of the bulb anymore. It was 175watt either 6500
or 10,000K.
<interesting...yes. Perhaps just that 1 in a 1000
inevitable defects>
It wasn't one of the Sunburst however.
<heehee... I didn't mean to imply anything about a certain brand that
seems to deliver exactly what one pays for :P>
Thanks again see ya at
MACNA, Mitch Gibbs
<excellent, my friend! Be seeing you soon.
Anthony> Metal Halide Problems
I am a beginner trying to
get reef system up and running...2 actinic lights and 2 MH bulbs. 1 of
the MH will light for a minute. then cause the ballast to flick a few
times and then go out. I have tried switching ballast with working light
to no avail. This bulb was difficult to screw in as compared to other
bulb. I do not know how fragile these bulbs are. Any suggestions? I hate
to buy a new one but will if I have to.
<Well, here's the
deal...There are a number of different bulbs that do not run on certain
ballasts (for example-many 20000k bulbs). Also, the difficulty that you
may have screwing the bulb in may mean that you have the wrong kind of
base for your fixture! There are "medium" base bulbs and "mogul" bulbs,
which fit into different fixtures. You need to Contact the manufacturers
of the bulbs and/or fixture that you have, to assess what will work.
Don't give up- but do read up! Good luck! Regards, Scott F>
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