mh kicking breaker

[NYreefNoob]

ok my hamilton reefstar 250 mh everytime it turns on it kick's cfi off, once it turns on it stays on with no problem, but i had it connected to my ac jr which i hate to turn into a $300 ph meter any suggestions or thing's i should look for to be wrong

 

[Davidl919]

A capacitor would probably help. You have to find a way to install it between the outlet and the ballast... Hope someone else can interject more info for you about this.

 

[jab161]

has it always done this?

 

[jab161]

how does it stay on if it trip gfi?

 

[NYreefNoob]

just got it used, i reset the gfi and turn it on and it will stay on then, but when it initially goes to turn on it pop's the gfi

 

[Bob 1000]

Your gfi can't handle the power you need to get a new one with higher wattage on it...Unless it was installed improperly from the start...

 

[NYreefNoob]

gfi plug's into any outlet and it's rated for 20 amp's. i think it's the initial draw when it fire's up. alot of other thing's are plugged into same wall outlet

 

[Bob 1000]

Okay so then it's the total circiut for that wall and you are taking a chance everytime the lights come on...
And a Gfi that plugs into an out let...No good... Some people go for years like this and nothing happens....Some burn down their home the first week...
Not wishing anything bad on you, but we should be careful what extremes we go to for this hobby...

 

[alistair]

Have you thought about running another dedicated circuit for your tank?
I you take everything else off the GFCI and the light switches on, does it still trip?

 

[cali_reef]

Does your GFI plug look like this:

l l
o

or like this:

l --
o

First one is 15 amps, second one is 20amps.

I think you are at the amp limit of your outlet. MH ballast pulls more amps during startup so the GFI is tripping only at start up.

 

[alistair]

If the GFCI is old, maybe its "tired" (seriously thats what they call it when they get weak), and needs replacing.