Lighting gurus please respond.

[christyf5]

Hey guys, got another lighting question for ya

Wednesday afternoon I came home from work and my MH (250W, 6500K Iwasakis on Iwasaki ballasts) were out on my tank, the actinics were on but that was it. I noticed that the fans were still running (they are connected to come on with the MH) but no MH. So I opened the hood and had a good look. I noted that the NOs were warm where the MH bulbs were but cool behind the MH fixtures so they had been on at some point before I got home. I looked at the wiring and well it was wiring (hey I don't claim to be an electrician, thats my dads job ). Anyhoo, everything looked fine so I took the bulbs out for a closer look, they were kinda dirty so I gently wiped them. I looked them over and well they looked like MH bulbs to me and I put them back in. I then fiddled with the switch and lo and they still didn't fire, but the fans came on. I then had the bright idea that maybe we had had a power outage. Sure enough we had. I then tried the switch a few minutes later and away they went. Everything was peachy. My little world was bathed in light once again.

So yesterday I come home and look at my tank and well, it just looks dimmer. My roommate says she doesn't notice anything. I lift up the hood and it illuminates the room and blinds us as usual. I pass it off to staring at a white computer screen (canreef) for most of the evening.

Today once again I look at my tank after arriving home from work and man it is totally noticeable that at least one side is dimmer than the other. When I squint at the bulbs while the hood is lifted, one side looks well, less white I guess. My eyes are still seeing little red dots so I'll have to wait till those go away. Who needs retinas anyway :P

So question is whats up with the bulbs? Can they just go kaput overnight? Did the power outage affect them? Did my stupid idea of cleaning them affect them? Are they just old and crusty? I bought them in Oct 2001, so there is a definite possibility that they do need to be replaced but I've heard of people going as long as 2 years with Iwasakis.

Any insights?

Christy