Help! Ballast blew

[daisy]

Hey everyone!

So for the past several days, there has been this terrible smell in my apartment, and I've spent those days leaving things off to narrow down the source of the smell. Sadly, this morning I realized beyond a shadow of a doubt that the source of the smell (acrid burning) is the ballast for my 250w HQI MH (double-ended bulb) (it's from sunlight supply).

Any chance anybody near Manhattan, Bx or Pratt has a sunlight supply 250w HQI MH ballast lying around that I could borrow till I get mine back from being fixed? (I know it's a long shot...)

Thanks!

 

[KathyC]

Will an Ice Cap 660 work as a substitute? Anyone?

 

[prattreef]

Nope an IC 660 is only for flourescents. I have an IC 175W MH but you'd need a different lamp and someone to wire it up for you. What length is the tank? You might be best off just throwing a flourescent fixture over the tank for a few days--your corals will be fine and it is far more likely someone will have one to lend you.

 

[Solace Aquatics LLC]

Yikes! Wish I was up there, I would be able to throw you one.

How old is your SS MH Ballast? Is it under warranty?

Are you using the Sunlight Supply wiring harness? If you intend on using something other than a Sunlight Supply Ballast, you will have to cut of the plug and re-wire. Just a heads up.

Good Luck Daisy~

 

[daisy]

the ballast is about 4 years old. It was Chris's ballast - he's not sure if it's still under warranty. We're checking on it.

The tank is 30" long. I have an old PC light, but it's too long and the shield is cracked

This ballast is the Blue Wave III

Leo - thanks so much for the good vibes and the advice. Yes, I am using the wiring harness. The idea of cutting wires does not make me so happy...

 

[daisy]

update!

The good news first: as it turns out, the ballast is fine. The kitchen tank is safe and sound, lit and happy.

the Bad news: the wiring in the wall on which is located my main tank has been smoldering for days, and this evening was smoking, red-hot and nearly burning. Thankfully, I finally found the REAL problem (noticing a scorch mark that had not been there this morning), called my super, and he took apart the primary outlet (not where the tank electrics are pluged in), taped off the wires, and killed that fuse. Thing is, that outlet is in series with the outlets that power my tank as well as entertainment system.

I had unpluged my entertainment system the night before last hoping to unburden the system generally, but I was praying this wall was not the problem. It is.

So for now, the tank is running off a heavy duty 40-foot extension cord to the back bedroom which has 20 amps all its own. This will work for now. The electrician comes tomorrow to see how bad the damage is, figure out how soon the same problem may hit the kitchen (where the kitchen tank is), and how I might solve these problems - hopefully while still having two tanks.

wish me luck!

 

[House of Laughter]

HOLY COW!

man, I am glad you caught that - lessons to everyone living in an APT building.

Glad it worked out in the end (well, you know what I mean)

J

 

[daisy]

Yeah - the truth is that it makes me really really worry about the building in general - I'm sure I'm not the only one running a bunch of electronics on one line in her apartment. I may be the only one with a tank, but other folks have other stuff....

and if there was a fire in my place, my apt would not be the only one damaged! So too, if a neighbor's apt burns, I'm screwed

And what REALLY worries me - is that the guy who lives next door is NEVER home. So he wouldn't even be there to notice!

 

[rickytsui]

+1 what jim said i had a bad heater that the wire was coming off from the heater it self and almost caught on fire the other day =( good luck

 

[Solace Aquatics LLC]

Daisy,
Just be sure you are using a super heavy gauge extension cord or that too will start to become hot and potentially melt (this is a devil's advocate thing, I have no idea how much amperage your system draws). Be sure to check the cord for extraneous amounts of heat. Just making sure your safe!

 

[fcamargo6thave]

whoa this could have caused a fire. Any chance water got behind there??

 

[daisy]

Yes, it could have caused a fire.

As it turns out, it was not because of too much draw on the system. As it turns out, it was in the wall - the tank was not even the problem at all!

But today's odyssey only begins with this....

...so the electrician arrives at 9 to re-wire and make sure everything is safe. He is a really nice guy, ogles the tank, asks the appropriate questions.....

After he checks the outlet in the diningroom, he heads for the one that is behind the tank - tons of clearance, no worries - as long as you are willing to go OVER the sump. So I partially empty the sump and pivot it out so that he can get to the outlet sans contortionism. No worries. He fixes that outlet without a hitch (which Kathy and Frank spent HOURS trying to do back in June).

Then he and my super agree - they have to check out the kitchen. The look around, see the kitchen tank, ogle, and then start to change all the outlets to gfi. I figure, good time to put everything back together in the main tank. So I get started

And after I get the sump back where it belongs and get all the water back in... I notice... a drip. look at the back of the tank, and there it is - coming from the bulkhead of the return. a slow drip. Great.

Jim (House of Laughter) to the rescue - talks me through (on the phone) tightening down the bulkehead, and thank God - it works!

Then I hear the electrician say, "Oh no! I'm so sorry." And he sticks his head out of the kitchen and says, "you better come in here." I brace myself. How bad could it be?.....

In order to allow the electrician access to the outlet that services my kitchen tank, I partially emptied that tank and pivoted it away from the outlet.

Well, it was too close quarters, and I wasn't there to see it, but somehow, the electrician (who, I'd like to stress, is a really nice guy) bumped the tank with something hard, and it cracked.

It cracked above the water level, but the tank was finished.

"No problem, really" I said. I had two other tanks in the apartment. One is a ten gallon (WAY to small for the contents of a 20 long). The other is a 20 tall - PERFECT!

...and also BROKEN

...so a trip to petco and eight hours later, all of my animals are out of the bukcets and back into tanks, and hopefully, they'll re-establish and start to color up again, after quite a day!

No more smoke. But there are still the remains of several tanks littering my kitchen, living room and dining room. Oy the work yet to do today.

I'm pooped.

 

[tomtoothdoc]

wow what a day you had. at least everything is fixed. you're safe, the animals are safe....have a coke and a smile.


to help you feel better.....here's a link to my day

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum...dventures-huge-leather-corals.html#post704833

 

[KathyC]

Wow. Double wow.
You know how happy I am that everything worked out ok! :hug: