MH Flickering?

[beachbumtx]

Hiya!,
What would cause a fairly new MH bulb to flicker while in use? It doesn't flash on and off, just flickers. Will effect the corals?

 

[bobbravo2]

If you have an electronic ballast, the bulb will flicker during the burn in of the bulb. If you have a magnetic ballast, then it may be the wrong bulb/ballast matchup. Give the bulb ~150 hours, and then see if its still acting up. If so, come back.
HTH
Bob

 

[attml]

I believe some of the older IceCap electronic ballasts may need to be tuned but am unsure of the process. If it is an older IceCap you may want to call them.

 

[scribben]

a flickering bulb in my experience is usually a sign of a bulb going on the fritz i work with mh's alot at work. if it goes out after awhile then tries to restart and repeats the process usuall the ballast going bad. whats interesting is the bulb not matching the ballast thats a good point id check that first
scrib

 

[beachbumtx]

The ballast is a 400W Blue Line E-Ballast (electronic) and the bulb is a 400w 20K Blue Ushio. Both are brand new.
When I got home this evening, it was no longer flickering. I never saw it shut off and restart when I saw it flickering. The flickering I did see happen after it started up this morning and I believe when it got up to full strength.