calling upon the gods of wisdom

[waymack97]

very bad day in my reef. last week i ordered a power compact with halides, could not wait to get it. checked the tracking number, it is coming today. i had doc appt today so i was there all day for test (i have low blood sugar) anyway before new lights came my wife called me and said that the lights i have now went out poof gone. i have had them for a year 4x65 power compacts, upon further inspection the ballast were blown dang. i thought no worry my new lights are on the way. anyway ups came i got the new lights, put every thing together and then, bad luck again. sparks flew from the ballast and i got zapped, zapped good. well anyway now i have no light. and i am broke. email the site and no answer. i know i am going to get stuck with this bad things come in 3s. my question is is there a ballast i can get that is reliable and that will work with the new hood i got, i am willing to go in the hole a little to make sure my fish and coral live. i do have a 24g nano i can put some coral in for now. my problem is the old lights i have the ballast cost just as much as the whole setup. and i know i am going to get stuck with this other piece of crap. it has 2 175w 20,000k halides and 2 96w actinics. i need a ballast i can buy that will work for this hood. it also has 6 moonlights. dang i hate ebay.
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Mercedes Benz 230

 

[Anonymous]

I don't think there is any gods of wisdom in the reef hobby, so you probably end up with no reply for a few hundred years.

Well, as a fellow hobby who has many set of 3X bad lucks, I can comment a little.

The coral will be fine without light for a few days. If you put a desk lame (PC lamp, not halogen lamp), they will fine for two weeks or more. So don't do anything urgent and get mess up again, but don't do what I do and have something like this drag on for 6 months, and on the last two weeks, things go down hill really fast.

Well, see if the new ballast has a QA issue. Most will be dead in the first two hours. Sounds like yours is one of them.

You have two options. Get ballast replacement for the old lamp (check LFS or electric supply like Grainger, etc.). You properly want to get it fixed if you want to get some decent money for it later. Or you can get the new light return and get a new one, or has the seller sen you the parts.

Well, good luck!

 

[Rob Top]

I've been nearly screwed e-bay sellers a few time and all I can say is paypal is your friend, they can help with issues with the seller, but give the seller a fair chance 1st. As for the lights a couple things come to mind. First is a replacement for the pc's. Workhorse is a great ballast will drive pc's and t-5's if you deside to go that way some day. I bought mine off e-bay There are currently Workhorse 5's for $26 those will burn 2 of your pc's. You can get used metal halide ballasts from there as well. A 175 ballast tar and coil style is refered to as a M57 ballast google it and you can come up with dozens of places that will sell them for $50+, OR go to e-bay serch metal halide for the entire site and you can find used warehouse lights for as cheap as $10. It is the same ballast. I bought 3 "high-bay" fixture and got them at my door for $36 after shipping. Some DIY work and refectors and I have a fixture that burns 3x175 for under $150. You have the reflctor in the hood, just wire the ballast up.

Hope your issues get worked out soon, not just the lights, but blood sugar too!

 

[Anonymous]

I don't think there is any gods of wisdom in the reef hobby, so you probably end up with no reply for a few hundred years.

Ditto.

 

[pcardone]

the reef will be fine without light for a while. If you frequent a fish store ask him for a loaner.

 

[waymack97]

whew got a hold of the ebayer and he was very helpful. he is sending new ballast no charge. i was worried cause i have never spent that much on ebay before. but it all worked out. im using lights of of two five gallon tanks for know. new ballast will be here tue/wed. thanks for the input.
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Mercedes SSK