lazuruskfp
Member
Hello all,
I have 150W of MH lighting over my 29g reef currently and today it has been randomly shutting off (like once every 1-2 hours). The current is still running to the system as the in unit fan still runs even though the light cuts out, and if I shut off the power to the system for 2-5 min the light will start up again when I power it back up. I have narrowed it down to a few possiblities and would like some general input as I have never seen a 'bad' ballast a 'bad' bulb or a power issues effect on MH lighting systems.
1.) bad wiring or power fluctuations due to weather (water has shut off a few times, and tv has flickered with power cuts) trips the bulb and causes it to shut off (its on a power strip with surge protection). I noticed one day when my timer was set poorly that if the unit shuts down and then is reactivated quickly the light will not come back on without a cooldown period. So if the power were rapidly cut it could cause this to appear like a blown bulb.
2.) bad bulb... I don't know what a MH bulb does when it 'goes bad' but hopefully someone here can tell me if it does anything like I'm describing.
3.) bad ballast... I am still under warrenty for my system/ballast so this wouldn't be horrible aside from the possiblity of having to go without lighting while the company asks me to jump through hoops to get a new one/get this one fixed.
I hope some experts out there can give me some insight so I don't end up wasting money on a new unecessary bulb.
thanks in advance for the help
I have 150W of MH lighting over my 29g reef currently and today it has been randomly shutting off (like once every 1-2 hours). The current is still running to the system as the in unit fan still runs even though the light cuts out, and if I shut off the power to the system for 2-5 min the light will start up again when I power it back up. I have narrowed it down to a few possiblities and would like some general input as I have never seen a 'bad' ballast a 'bad' bulb or a power issues effect on MH lighting systems.
1.) bad wiring or power fluctuations due to weather (water has shut off a few times, and tv has flickered with power cuts) trips the bulb and causes it to shut off (its on a power strip with surge protection). I noticed one day when my timer was set poorly that if the unit shuts down and then is reactivated quickly the light will not come back on without a cooldown period. So if the power were rapidly cut it could cause this to appear like a blown bulb.
2.) bad bulb... I don't know what a MH bulb does when it 'goes bad' but hopefully someone here can tell me if it does anything like I'm describing.
3.) bad ballast... I am still under warrenty for my system/ballast so this wouldn't be horrible aside from the possiblity of having to go without lighting while the company asks me to jump through hoops to get a new one/get this one fixed.
I hope some experts out there can give me some insight so I don't end up wasting money on a new unecessary bulb.
thanks in advance for the help
