VHO Bulb Question

[ohioreef]

I just installed VHO lighting on my tank on Feb 10.
I noticed today that the bulbs are showing signs of blackening on the ends already. Is this normal?
Thanks

 

[oceana]

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[ohioreef]

Interesting reading. It never did mention whether the blackening was good/bad or whether it would diminish lamp life.
My ballast wiring diagram doesn't show anything about a starter and the bulbs light fine so I don't think that's an issue.

 

[bang guy]

The blackening is an accumulation of mercury. It's not a good thing.
Can you list the VHO ballast you have and the brand of the bulbs? If you have black ends so quick you might have a ballast that's not cycling fast enough or bad bulbs.

 

[ohioreef]

The ballast are Advance magnetic ballast. The bulbs are URI.
Will the accumulation of mercury just reduce the bulb life? Will it affect the spectrum?

 

[bang guy]

It won't affect the spectrum but the bulbs will get dim pretty quick.
Unless you have a bottomless pit of money you need to get an electronic VHO ballast. Bulbs are expensive and an IceCap 660 will run bulbs over a year while the ballast you have chosen will make bulbs degrade over a mere 6 months.

 

[ohioreef]

Thanks Bang.
I guess that's what I get for trying to go cheap on the ballast.
I was planning on replacing the bulbs every 6 months. I was under the impression that they began to lose their spectrum after that amount of time. Is that not true?
Do you know anything about the ARO ballasts?

 

[bang guy]

I've never used ARO but I haven't heard anythong bad about them.

 

[ohioreef]

Thanks Bang.
The AROs are less expensive than the Icecaps. I've got 2 ballasts, I may replace one and see what happens.
FWIW, I've noticed the worst blackening on 1 end of 1 bulb. Could a bad connection cause that?