Well i have no luck in this hobby, i have had this 6 bulb tek light for not even a year, and one of the ballast already went out on me, is this something that can be fixed or replaced? probably a dumb question but my corals aren't going to suffer from one less bulb being on right.
Question about my T5
- Thread starter Jarrett
- Start date
- Location
- 11756
Sorry to hear man.
I'm pretty sure you can replace the ballast, take the bulbs out, the the reflector and you should be able to access the ballast.
How many bulbs are still lit? 4? You should be fine, might lose some color but that's still a good deal of light IMO.
I'm pretty sure you can replace the ballast, take the bulbs out, the the reflector and you should be able to access the ballast.
How many bulbs are still lit? 4? You should be fine, might lose some color but that's still a good deal of light IMO.
no just one went out, so i have 5 bulbs but its going to be relying on just 5 for at least a week because my dad goes away on vacation tomorrow and i am really not handy enough to be replacing a ballast on a fixture that i cant replace if i break it lol.
- Location
- 11756
ahaha you'll be fine...are you sure the bulb didn't die on you?
If your fixture is anything like my tek, you have on ballast controlling the outermost bulbs and another ballast lighting the inner 4 bulbs.
Try putting a bulb you know works into the slot where the dead bulb is and see if it works.
If your fixture is anything like my tek, you have on ballast controlling the outermost bulbs and another ballast lighting the inner 4 bulbs.
Try putting a bulb you know works into the slot where the dead bulb is and see if it works.
alright ill just have to go out and buy a new purple plus bulb cause i just put another blue plus bulb in and it totally washes my corals color out, ill have to go pick one up tmw does anyone know of a place that sells ATI bulbs on the island other then tropical island.
the reason why i say other then tropical island is because i bought the purple plus bulb from mike a month ago and thats the one that went out so he obv has bad bulbs or old bulbs. is there a way to tell on the box to see how old a bulb is?
I don't think it's fair to make that judgement from one experience or transaction. Could just be that bulb. Besides I the tropical island is closed. Drive by it the other day and it was closed. I'm not 100% though.
- Location
- Westbury NY
He isn't closed. I was in there on Friday. I think he is closed Mondays or something you probably went then
I agree, if the ballast burned out then the whole series of bulbs would not work.
Is the suspect bulb on the 2 or 4 series of lights? Could you switch the bulbs between the ballasts to isolate if the bulb is shot?
One thing I have heard and I do not know if it is true or not. If you run a ballast with less bulbs than it is designed for you can either burn the ballast out or shorten the life of the remaining bulb because you are running more power through it.
If either of these are correct you should turn that series of bulbs off until you have taken care of the problem.
Is the suspect bulb on the 2 or 4 series of lights? Could you switch the bulbs between the ballasts to isolate if the bulb is shot?
One thing I have heard and I do not know if it is true or not. If you run a ballast with less bulbs than it is designed for you can either burn the ballast out or shorten the life of the remaining bulb because you are running more power through it.
If either of these are correct you should turn that series of bulbs off until you have taken care of the problem.
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