miguel Posted January 28, 2003 Share Posted January 28, 2003 This is my first post to this forum. I have had a saltwater tank for a long time but I am still fairly new to reef setups. A while back I purchased a light fixture for PC lights and never changed the bulb until recently. My previous light had been in for over a year and noticed that the bulb would turn off automatically when switched on, but for the most part, would stay on. I decided to replace the bulb figuring that the bulb was going bad so I purchased one a couple of days ago. I instantly noticed that the new bulb was much brighter than my last one, it is a 55w combo bulb white/blue, and when I put it over the tank I noticed how much bluer the light output was from my last combo bulb, it was looking great. Anyway, I came home yesterday and noticed that the lighting didn't seem as intense. The bulb even turned off automatically like the last one did. I turned the fixture over and noticed the the white bulb was not as intense as it was the day before, and the blue bulb was barely or not even working at all. Obviously thinking now that the ballast is the problem. I am thinking now in purchasing a ballast and replacing it so that I can just use the fixture that I have now, I don't want to spend a lot of money on a new fixture and hoping I can purchase a ballast seperately, please help, does anybody know where I can purchase a ballast seperately? If so, which ones do you recommend? And lastly, why do you think the old ballast went bad? Thanks for any help you can provide. Link to comment
Satchmo Posted January 28, 2003 Share Posted January 28, 2003 Does the ballast have good ventilation? Many ballasts have built-in heat sensors and will cut off if it gets too hot. That's about all I can think of short of replacing the fixture. Link to comment
miguel Posted January 28, 2003 Author Share Posted January 28, 2003 Does the ballast have good ventilation? Many ballasts have built-in heat sensors and will cut off if it gets too hot. That's about all I can think of short of replacing the fixture. That may be true for the reason it is turning off but I also mentioned that the blue light on the PC bulb is barely or not even turned on and the light intensity has dropped considerably, I am positive that something is wrong with the ballast. Link to comment
reefriot Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 sounds to me like your wires have a bad contact on one of your endcaps. i would replace any old bulbs and then if you really want a good inexpensive ballast just get one of the fulham ballast. its the same thing CSL uses in there kits. you can get there biggest one (workhorse 7) even if your not running that many watts it works fine and is alway upgradable. http://www.aquaticreefs.com/ Link to comment
cmagallon Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 reefriot is wright. replace the ballast with a WH7. Link to comment
jc51373 Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 What kind of lights are they??? If it is a Jalli system speak no further...They are junk, light spectrum is bad and parts are cheaply made. If so, there lies your answer. Link to comment
miguel Posted January 29, 2003 Author Share Posted January 29, 2003 What kind of lights are they If it is a Jalli system speak no further...They are junk, light spectrum is bad and parts are cheaply made. If so, there lies your answer. The lights are Coralife, and the fixture I believe says JCM on it. Link to comment
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