Six Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 I'm not one to ask inane questions. Well, I try not to at least. Butttt.... I have a custom sealife ballast that will run a 175W MH bulb. Is there a particular brand of bulb that runs on that particular brand of ballast better than others? I ask becasue I've has horrible, terrible, insanely frustrating luck with running a 10K Ushio bulb. It simply won't fire unless I give the bulb a lot of TLC (meaning I have to get a freaking towel out and turn the bulb back and forth til it decides it wants to fire... urg, what a pain.) I'm not home all the time when it starts (I try to be) so this is a major problem. Anyone have any ideas? Anyone have any favorite MH brands? I plan on buying new bulbs that run 14K or 20K w/o actinics over the tank. Thanks in advance! 6 Link to comment
yoshiod9 Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 what's the ansi number on the ballast? Link to comment
bobioden Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 There are bacically 3 different types of ballasts. Probe start, Magnetic, or Electronic. The electronics will light any type bulb. The other two are specific to certain brands of bulbs. Try to find out what type of ballast you have, then the bulb choices will be easier to figure out. You might have the wrong bulb for the ballast. Bob Link to comment
Six Posted July 7, 2005 Author Share Posted July 7, 2005 sorry it took me like 8 years to reply The ballast says on the bottom that it's for 1- 175W, 120V, 1.8 Amps, 216W. That's all it says. :/ Hrm. Hope that helps. thanks! Link to comment
Samc Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 Should give you an ansi code like m81 for a 150 watt de magnetic ballast. Something with an m. Unless its electronic, then something is wrong with the wiring, bulb, or ballast. Link to comment
BKtomodachi Posted July 8, 2005 Share Posted July 8, 2005 Hmmm... anybody know about PFO ballasts? I always thought they were pretty universal... and I'm hoping so. Link to comment
Six Posted July 11, 2005 Author Share Posted July 11, 2005 urg, this is such a pain in the arse. I'll check that out tomorrow nite. this was a hand-me-down so it's older than crap. Do ballast proformance go down as they age? Cus seriously, this one is from '94. Link to comment
oogie Posted July 11, 2005 Share Posted July 11, 2005 Just get IceCap MH ballast and you will be set for a long time! Link to comment
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