JEBoothjr Posted December 29, 2003 Share Posted December 29, 2003 I have a coralife 96w 50/50 from HelloLights. I just got it Dec. 7. Initially, it gave the aquarium a nice blue color, but now it's just white (see pic). It seemed to have happened very gradually. I just noticed it tonight, when comparing photos. Anyone have any idea what could cause it? Can the blue go out before the bulb goes out. It is brand new. I'm new to this, so help is appreciated. Thanks. Link to comment
Chronicles Posted December 29, 2003 Share Posted December 29, 2003 I'd check your camera before the bulbs, digital cameras have a funny way of taking pictures of lights sometimes. Depends on the camera too I guess, I would go by your eye and not the pictures. I say this because it's true, and your first picture looks overly-blue (if overly is word...) Link to comment
JEBoothjr Posted December 29, 2003 Author Share Posted December 29, 2003 I think your right. The new photo was taken with a Canon Digital Rebel. The old one was taken with my Canon miniDV camcorder (which I knew took crappy stills). I just looked through the viewfinder of the camcorder and it was bright blue. Thanks for the reply. Link to comment
miguel Posted January 4, 2004 Share Posted January 4, 2004 I had the same thing happen to me once, bought a brand new 50/50, set it up and the tank was looking great with a lot of blue, like your first picture. Only to fade very quickly days after the purchase. I blame it on my ballast, it is not doing very good at all, flickers on and off all the time and I have a feeling it may have caused some problems to the actinic side of the 50/50. I didn't take any pictures of my tank, but did notice a big difference myself when looking at the tank. Don't let other people tell you different, when I asked about the change in color many just said, it was imaginated, but I knew that wasn't correct. Link to comment
maroonclown Posted January 5, 2004 Share Posted January 5, 2004 Stop blamming the bulb or ballast! True actinic is actually a purple-ish blue. It might appear extremely blue the first time because the phosphor coatings on the bulb are new, and That was the first time it used. It's kind of like breaking in new shoes. If that is the blue tubes, and not true actinic, then you might have a problem. Just my thoughts. P.S., my bulbs did this too. Link to comment
miguel Posted January 5, 2004 Share Posted January 5, 2004 Stop blamming the bulb or ballast! True actinic is actually a purple-ish blue. It might appear extremely blue the first time because the phosphor coatings on the bulb are new, and That was the first time it used. It's kind of like breaking in new shoes. If that is the blue tubes, and not true actinic, then you might have a problem. Just my thoughts. So that is why it lost its blue, never heard about the breaking in period, but since my ballast truely is going bad... my bulb will turn on and off automatically, I just associated that with my loss of blue color. Link to comment
maroonclown Posted January 5, 2004 Share Posted January 5, 2004 Well, I haven't heard anything from the manufacturers, but I came to this conclusion from what some of my friends and I have observed with our bulbs. Don't think this is a proven fact; it's just a theory. However, flouescent and PC tubes act strange, turning on, but not reaching full strength until a bit later, they glow for a half hour after being turned off, etc., so this "break-in" theory insn't so far fetched. Link to comment
MiniMasterFlash Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 If you took the second picture with the digital rebel, most likely your AWB (auto white balance) was set. This would cause the picture be much more neutral and natural lookin than the Sony DV recorder. BUT it could be that your actinic phosphors went ka-put! Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.