I haven't had the problem with the ballasts, but I have had your problem with customer service. I left voicemails, I sent an email and didn't hear back from anyone by later that day, so I called again and made myself very clear to the person answering the phone that I needed to speak to somebody because my tank had a leak and it was what I considered an emergency.
She got me to somebody right away.
Call again and insist on speaking with a live body instead of voicemail.
By the way, the email I sent to them was responded to 2 days later...