whats wrong with my 50/50???

[fgcu14]

Ok here's how it's gone down so far. I purchaced a coralife 50/50, 30 watt, 1.5 inch diameter, t12 light bulb. I tried placing it into my current light fixture. (the basic strip light off of a fresh water tank) it fits fine. The question is why wont it turn on?? The back of the fixture said that it could handle up to 40 watt light bulbs. Any thoughts on why I am not having success?

 

[ryan115]

have you checked the starter on the light strip?

 

[fgcu14]

What should I be checking for, the starter flickers like it wants to start the light however it does not. The starter is not broken because it starts up the original light bulb.

 

[ryan115]

was the original bulb a T8 or a T12? And this is a 36" fixture correct?

 

[fgcu14]

t8. I'm guessing I have to get a new starter now? How much does that cost and where can I get one?

 

[scsinet]

You are going to need a new fixture. I have no idea why the fixture would say that it's "good for up to 40 watts." Such claims are only made by electronic ballasts.
ALL ballasts that use starters are preheat, magnetic ballasts. All magnetic ballasts are designed for exactly one wattage of bulb. A T8 bulb and a T12 bulb of the same length are going to be different wattages.
From your description, you have a standard cheapo strip-light that comes bundled with a tank at the pet store. They are simply not going to work with a bulb other than exactly the same lamp type and wattage as the bulb that came with them.

 

[fgcu14]

that wasnt exactly the answer I was hoping for. But I guess I'll have to make the change. What would you recommend for a 50/50 light bulb? I have FOWLR soon to add some soft coral

 

[xoxox]

Originally Posted by fgcu14
that wasnt exactly the answer I was hoping for. But I guess I'll have to make the change. What would you recommend for a 50/50 light bulb? I have FOWLR soon to add some soft coral
I think SCSInet was saying is you'll need a whole new light setup, ballast, fixture, bulbs. The standard freshwater light hood doesn't cut it for SW. I don't think they make a 50/50 for those units.

 

[saltfan]

Originally Posted by XoXoX
I think SCSInet was saying is you'll need a whole new light setup, ballast, fixture, bulbs. The standard freshwater light hood doesn't cut it for SW. I don't think they make a 50/50 for those units.
Some of these units, because they can run one lamp don't use ballasts, but use a starter instead. Check for a 1.5-2" cylinder, prob white plastic towards the back of the unit. It may be inside the unit itself. If it has one, you can get a new starter at Lowes, Home Depot for .25. Easy fix, if it doesn't have a ballasat.

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by SaltFan
Some of these units, because they can run one lamp don't use ballasts, but use a starter instead. Check for a 1.5-2" cylinder, prob white plastic towards the back of the unit. It may be inside the unit itself. If it has one, you can get a new starter at Lowes, Home Depot for .25. Easy fix, if it doesn't have a ballasat.

They use both. The starter and the ballast work together.

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by fgcu14
that wasnt exactly the answer I was hoping for. But I guess I'll have to make the change. What would you recommend for a 50/50 light bulb? I have FOWLR soon to add some soft coral
Oh dang... I figured you just wanted a color change... didn't know you wanted to keep corals.
Unfortunately, you are looking at a whole lot more than a new bulb. The standard strip light that comes with a tank won't ever work for almost all corals. You are gonna need a whole new lighting system.
Keep in mind when I say this that there are different strokes for different folks, but there are reasonable minimums, again, subject to opinion.
In that spirit, for the 46 gallon bowfront in your profile, you are going to need nothing less than 200 watts of total light. That will give you 4 watts per gallon (wpg), so you'll be able to keep the least demanding corals. To be able to keep just about any soft coral and have it thrive, I'd use no less than 300 watts of fluorescent light.
You can build your own lighting system or buy one ready made. If you have the means to build your own, you can piece it out and save a ton of money. If you buy ready made, I'd recommend something like a Current USA, etc. A 192 watt current USA power compact fixture will set you back $175 give or take depending on where you get it.
A lot of people here use the Odyssea (aka Jebo) systems. They are very inexpensive but are not terribly high quality. You can definitely kick start your system using them. The one thing I will caution you about them is if you get a metal halide model, get a brand new 2006 model fixture. The older metal halide Odyssea systems had very serious safety issues.
Good luck! There are TONS of people on this board who are going to be more than willing to help you if this is what you decide to do, so ask questions if you have them.

 

[doglvr]

I have a 10gc reef set up with the "standard" strip light and the Coralife 50/50 works in the fixture. The tube is working in the fixture that came with the tank. I bought the small tube from a Petsmart clearance rack for $8 as a temporary measure until I could get proper lighting. Never bought new lighting because of "must have bigger tank" syndrome. My tank and the creatures in it have all been doing well with this lighting for 4 months.
I just set up a new 30gc, and Petsmart still had a few Coralife 50/50's left. Got the larger
one for $10.00, which popped right into the standard strip fixture that came with the tank. The theory here was to have "adequate" lighting for 4 weeks while the tank and my paychecks cycle. I'm setting up the 30gc on the "biweekly paycheck" plan! Tank, stand, hood first Then next check went to rock, sand, salt & a zoo med powersweep. I'm getting a skimmer today and lighting is next on the list.
The Coralife 50/50 bulbs will work in standard cheap strip lights. However...On the 10 gallon, it has been enough light for my creatures to actually thrive and multiply. The
1 Orange Zoo is now 3 zoo's, my mushroom gave me 5 babies in the last 2 weeks, & lots of new coraline algae growth on my glass. On the deeper/taller 30 gallon there is a very distinct difference in the color/brightness, and how the CL50/50 reflects into the tank. Older tube/small tank is twice as bright as the new tube/bigger tank. The 10 gallon is lit up corner to corner, while the 30 gallon looks dark & gloomy. This is in a side by side comparison too. There is no doubt that appropriate lighting is a must have for the 30gc.

 

[saltfan]

Originally Posted by SCSInet
They use both. The starter and the ballast work together.
Some use both, not all bro...... And no, they don't work together...One is a CAP, or a starter and that is all it does....Feeds a high jolt to the lamp then it does nothing.

 

[scsinet]

You're talking about metal halide, not fluorescent.
In flourescent, a starter is a gas tube with a bimetalic strip. It's job is to short out until current reaches a certain level, then open. It causes the heaters of the lamp to be energized for a set amount of time. The current draw heats the bimetal strip until it bends back causing it to open, allowing the voltage kick to be developed through the coil of the ballast and start the lamp. It's really nothing more than an automatic switch.

 

[saltfan]

Originally Posted by SCSInet
You're talking about metal halide, not fluorescent.
In flourescent, a starter is a gas tube with a bimetalic strip. It's job is to short out until current reaches a certain level, then open. It causes the heaters of the lamp to be energized for a set amount of time. The current draw heats the bimetal strip until it bends back causing it to open, allowing the voltage kick to be developed through the coil of the ballast and start the lamp. It's really nothing more than an automatic switch.
Yes, yes....But I am not talking about MH, I just used CAP to get your attention. Not all flourescents use a ballast bro. Some just use a cap, and a lil transformer to keep it on.

 

[scsinet]

Sounds like a case of semantics to me. I've always considered that "lil transformer" a ballast. We're both talkiing about the same thing.

 

[saltfan]

Originally Posted by SCSInet
Sounds like a case of semantics to me. I've always considered that "lil transformer" a ballast. We're both talkiing about the same thing.

Yea I guess so, if you were to go buy the darn thing, it would say ballast on it. But man the damn thing is just a transformer. And when you buy just the basisc lights at the FS, then you more than likely have the one with the lil-ballast in it, not the larger ones, some don't think of this when they go changing out the lamps. And in my long ago experience with these lights, the lil ballast does not last very long.

 

[scsinet]

I'd say the thing is more of a choke or a reactor than a transformer. A transformer in the most basic definition has a primary and a secondary winding, but the lil ballast has just one coil (at least for a single bulb deal).
A transformer connected in this way is essentially a choke, which, in this application, provides variable current limiting, which as we both know, is all a ballast does.
You're absolutely right though, the stupid thing looks just like a transformer, it's just connected into the circuit differently.
In the end, one could call a ballast a transformer, a transformer a choke, a choke a reactor, and a reactor a ballast and round and round and round and round...
In the end, when we are talking about magnetic ballasts, we're talking about a big coil of wire wrapped around a big iron core, so I'd agree with you, the stupid thing is just a transformer, and I'd certainly agree with you that it looks just like one.
As for the life... well, you get what you pay for, right? I've never seen one cost more than 10 bucks. Junk in, junk out.