Help
Just wondered if anyone else may have experienced my problem.
I had a faulty electronic ballast, an intermittent fault, which Fastlight kindly replaced with the new dimmable type. When I fired it up, bearing in mind I was using a 7 month old bulb to test it, it turned out to be alot brighter than the other side of the tank which had a new bulb but older ballast.
Now after a couple of weeks Ive lost about 3 small colonies to light shock, just on the side with the new ballast. Ive now dimmed it down and things are recovering, but what do you think? Do the ballast loose their punch after a year or so?
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Electronic Ballasts - Do they 'go off'
#2
jason@jasonsaquatics 
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Posted 03 September 2009 - 06:28 PM
Not to sure Graham if they drop off but it sure seems to be the case that the ballasts and bulbs seen to ether kick out more light or show a different shade of colour once fired up .
Good luck with the corals m8
jas
Good luck with the corals m8
jas
#3
reefyman
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Posted 03 September 2009 - 09:30 PM
hi m8
it never ends
i think all electronic ballasts tend to under drive a lamp compared to say a magnetic ballast which will overdrive a lamp making it burn brighter.if youve now got two different ballasts it could be possible that the new one is driving the lamp harder than the old ballast.are they the same ballasts or have you got two different ones now.
it never ends
i think all electronic ballasts tend to under drive a lamp compared to say a magnetic ballast which will overdrive a lamp making it burn brighter.if youve now got two different ballasts it could be possible that the new one is driving the lamp harder than the old ballast.are they the same ballasts or have you got two different ones now.
#4
jason@jasonsaquatics
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Posted 03 September 2009 - 10:24 PM
Don't quote me but i think there the same make but one is dimmable
I would give Rob a shout as it seems strange a ballast of the same output would drive a 7 month old lamp to the extremes of bleaching coral if they have already been under 400s.
Maybe the ballast has a fault and is changing the UV of the lamp ,not sure if that is at all possible but Rob may be able to help
jas
I would give Rob a shout as it seems strange a ballast of the same output would drive a 7 month old lamp to the extremes of bleaching coral if they have already been under 400s.
Maybe the ballast has a fault and is changing the UV of the lamp ,not sure if that is at all possible but Rob may be able to help
jas
#5 Guest_Quigs_*
Posted 05 September 2009 - 03:07 PM
Hi Jas - Yes your right they are both Marinelux ballasts however the difference being the new one is dimmable. The corals in question appear to be recovering, a little, so will keep the ballast slightly dimmed for a bit longer.
#6 Guest_Quigs_*
Posted 13 October 2009 - 08:03 PM
Just thought I'd do an update on this - Found out that the bulb I was using in the new ballast was faulty causing the problem with the corals.
Anyway, I replaced the bulb, again with an older Reeflux bulb I had lying around, and the left hand side of my tank, which Ive been moaning about for ages has suddenly, over the last 2 weeks, fully recovered with colours looking better than ever with the right side (new bulb, old ballast) looking yellowish again.
For those who may have followed any of my previous threads on problems Ive had with reeflux bulbs, this may provide an explanation.
So.....what do I conclude from this? I reckon electronic ballast (well the level of quality we purchase) do loose performance and can shift the spectrum in bulbs. Are good quality magnetic ballast more reliable in terms of consistency of performance?
Any opinions or experience on this?
Anyway, I replaced the bulb, again with an older Reeflux bulb I had lying around, and the left hand side of my tank, which Ive been moaning about for ages has suddenly, over the last 2 weeks, fully recovered with colours looking better than ever with the right side (new bulb, old ballast) looking yellowish again.
For those who may have followed any of my previous threads on problems Ive had with reeflux bulbs, this may provide an explanation.
So.....what do I conclude from this? I reckon electronic ballast (well the level of quality we purchase) do loose performance and can shift the spectrum in bulbs. Are good quality magnetic ballast more reliable in terms of consistency of performance?
Any opinions or experience on this?
#8
reefyman
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Posted 14 October 2009 - 09:17 PM
hi guys
guess what ive just had another reeflux 10k suddenly stop working.checked it on other ballasts nothing happening at all,chucked it in the bin now.so out of the three i bought 3-4 months ago only one still working.wont be buying any more,definately an inferior brand of lamp due mainly to build quality,which is a pity as the corals coloured up well if and when you got a good lamp.now on the look out for a different lamp.with regards to the ballasts i was happiest running my home made magnetic ballasts using quality components,which i may just go back to and sell the electronic ones on.
guess what ive just had another reeflux 10k suddenly stop working.checked it on other ballasts nothing happening at all,chucked it in the bin now.so out of the three i bought 3-4 months ago only one still working.wont be buying any more,definately an inferior brand of lamp due mainly to build quality,which is a pity as the corals coloured up well if and when you got a good lamp.now on the look out for a different lamp.with regards to the ballasts i was happiest running my home made magnetic ballasts using quality components,which i may just go back to and sell the electronic ones on.
#9
karnivor
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Posted 14 October 2009 - 10:00 PM
Looking at it from a pure electronics point of view, it is entirely possible that an electronic ballast could go "off the boil", but I find it unlikely.
An electronic ballast senses how much power is passing through the bulb and adjusts it to 400W (with a 400w ballast of course). if the bulb becomes less conductive, the ballast will push the bulb a little harder to maintain 400w through it. it will not overdrive the bulb either. Hence the reason why your bulbs last longer with electronic ballasts.
Sensing the power is very easy and unless the components in the sensing circuit drift because of poor design, the whole thing should be self regulating.
The variable output ones basically have a variable sensing circuit which you can adjust to your own setting.
Also bear in mind that its fairly well known that old bulbs can revitalise themselves to some extent when they are stored away. I dont know the mechanics of it but you often find that the old bulb that has been sitting in a drawer for months, suddenly looks good again.
An electronic ballast senses how much power is passing through the bulb and adjusts it to 400W (with a 400w ballast of course). if the bulb becomes less conductive, the ballast will push the bulb a little harder to maintain 400w through it. it will not overdrive the bulb either. Hence the reason why your bulbs last longer with electronic ballasts.
Sensing the power is very easy and unless the components in the sensing circuit drift because of poor design, the whole thing should be self regulating.
The variable output ones basically have a variable sensing circuit which you can adjust to your own setting.
Also bear in mind that its fairly well known that old bulbs can revitalise themselves to some extent when they are stored away. I dont know the mechanics of it but you often find that the old bulb that has been sitting in a drawer for months, suddenly looks good again.
#10 Guest_Quigs_*
Posted 15 October 2009 - 09:02 AM
Hi Tony - Very interesteing. Although electronicy stuff is not my bag, that is a clear explanation of how things work, however could there be issues with the sensing circuits, could this be the weak spot?
Very interesting about the bulb revitalising, not heard of this before, but it certainly seems to have happened in my case.
Got 2 10K XM bulbs on their way from the US so thats my next experiment!
Very interesting about the bulb revitalising, not heard of this before, but it certainly seems to have happened in my case.
Got 2 10K XM bulbs on their way from the US so thats my next experiment!
#11
karnivor
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Posted 15 October 2009 - 09:07 AM
Quigs, on Oct 15 2009, 10:02 AM, said:
Hi Tony - Very interesteing. Although electronicy stuff is not my bag, that is a clear explanation of how things work, however could there be issues with the sensing circuits, could this be the weak spot?
Very interesting about the bulb revitalising, not heard of this before, but it certainly seems to have happened in my case.
Got 2 10K XM bulbs on their way from the US so thats my next experiment!
Very interesting about the bulb revitalising, not heard of this before, but it certainly seems to have happened in my case.
Got 2 10K XM bulbs on their way from the US so thats my next experiment!
oooh, i'd be interested in your opinion on the xm's. I was looking at them last night.
Just one more thought regarding your current bulb problems. Have you installed your reeflux's with the pip at 12 o'clock. Coralvue are very specific about this as it can alter the spectrum.
http://www.coralvue.com/reeflux.html
HTH
Tony
#12 Guest_Quigs_*
Posted 15 October 2009 - 10:39 AM
Yes, unfortunatley Im quite anal about this, although I really can't notice a difference. Simon (Reefyman) is also going to try the XM's so will post up my results.
#13
Andrew
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Posted 05 November 2009 - 09:15 PM
I ran xm10k's for some time and i really rate them, can i ask how much they are from the states as the price seems to have gone through the roof over here!
A useful link for all http://www.wax32.com/videos/borneman.wmv
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