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Old 12-30-2008, 08:37 PM
Electric eel Electric eel is offline
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Default Bulb

Is the bulb sitting level? They do not like to be on a tilt. Hope that makes sense.
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Old 12-30-2008, 08:58 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Electric eel View Post
Is the bulb sitting level? They do not like to be on a tilt. Hope that makes sense.
I think there is a slight tilt. I will look into that. Would it cause the ballast to buzz though?
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Old 12-30-2008, 09:54 PM
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Can old bulbs cause problems like this?
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Old 12-30-2008, 10:08 PM
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I'm taggin along. I would like to know some of these answers before buying lights :P
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Old 12-30-2008, 10:16 PM
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So I changed the bulb to a new one. Its just a cheapo EBay bulb but it seems to have fixed the problem for now. And man its bright!

I think I should go buy new bulbs.

Would it make sense for the ballast to buzz and be unhappy if the bulb is burning out? These bulbs are like year and half or older.
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Old 12-30-2008, 11:11 PM
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When the bulbs get old, they can go out, and flicker etc. This flckering is the ballast trying to restart the bulbs. That constant restarting is hard on ballasts. Just like leaving a burnt out bulb in a Fluorescent fixture, Its hard on it and usually leads to burnt out ballasts as its working overtime to try and light the dead bulb
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Old 12-30-2008, 11:13 PM
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I was going to say the first thing would be to change the bulb, I run mh and hps fixtures in the parking lots of the buildings I take care of and 8-10 times its the bulb, however the humming sound from the ballast means that it's getting old and using more energy to fire the bulb keep your fingers crossed!!
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Old 12-30-2008, 11:52 PM
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Most of the humming is gone now that I changed the bulb. Its a dual ballast box and if I just leave the new bulb on and turn off the old one, the humming goes away almost completely. So...the ballast is obviously working very hard to keep the old bulb burning.

Thanks for the help guys!
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  #9  
Old 12-31-2008, 02:49 AM
Electric eel Electric eel is offline
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Default Re: bulbs

Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenSpottedPuffer View Post
Can old bulbs cause problems like this?
Yes they can.
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70 gal, Allglass sump,Mag 7 return, 3 seiko 620s,
80lb LR, coralife skimmer, 2-250 watt MH, 2- waffle fans, 3-Damsels, Clown warsse, 2-clowns,Brittle stars,2-Cleaner srimps, Pom Pom crab, Red Lobster,2-BTAs, colt coral, Toad stool leather, Kenya tree, Assortment of mushrooms, Assortment of polops.
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