[Delphinus]

What bulb are you using? The phenomenom you're describing sounds like you're trying to start a pulse-start bulb on a probe-start ballast. Your diagram shows M57 which is probe-start. M137 would be the pulse-start equivalent.

That said, sometimes the bulbs, after burning in for a while, will have an easier time starting. But the first little while it's like you say, on and off, on and off for the first few minutes. After the bulb and ballast are warm it should settle in.

I run my Ushio's on M57's. They really should be run on M137's, and I just live with the hard start. Like I said after a while it seems to get better. But the better solution is to run the proper ballasts for the bulbs. I just haven't ponied up the pennies for them myself. I figure if I could buy new ballasts then I might as well buy some M80's instead ... but then I'd have to buy new bulbs and if I could afford new bulbs and ballasts then surely I could afford a new skimmer first, but if I could afford a new skimmer then surely I could afford a new tank .. and hey where did all my money suddenly go??

PS. sometimes switching the leads to the socket seems to help if it's really bad. Don't ask me why it would make a difference ... I bet theoretically it should not make a difference, but it's something I try if I have a new bulb and it just won't fire, and it seems to help.