Burnt out MH bulb or toasted ballast?

[Richer]

What are the symptoms of a burnt out bulb, as oppose to a toast ballast?

Last night I noticed that the light output from my 70w Viper 2 was much lower than usual. I thought that perhaps the fixture overheated or something so I shut the light off and let it cool off for an hour. Now when I turn the light on, the bulb refuses to light up, but I can hear the ballast humming and clicking (I assume its clicking because its trying to light up the bulb?). FYI, I bought this thing new 2-3 weeks ago, there's no moisture damage that I know of. The ballast is stored under the tank, and the whole setup is in the basement, so I doubt excessive heat is the problem.

[hillegom]

bring it back under warranty?

[Richer]

Originally Posted by hillegom

bring it back under warranty?

That would be difficult to do since I got it from Vancouver. It'd probably cost the same for me to ship it as oppose to buying a new bulb.

[Dez]

Aww man, sorry Rich. Maybe Josh can help you out at Marine Aquaria....

[muck]

Wow... Rich is back.
Sorry to hear the crappy luck though bud.

[Richer]

Originally Posted by Dez

Aww man, sorry Rich. Maybe Josh can help you out at Marine Aquaria....

I was planning on stopping by there after work to see if I could plug their display lamp into my ballast... hopefully its just the bulb =\

Originally Posted by muck

Wow... Rich is back.
Sorry to hear the crappy luck though bud.

I've been back for a little while now, just lurking... I blame Dez for my return :P