FAQ/Troubleshooting/Technical Information

Ballasts:

My new ballast will not fire a bulb.
Check the output cable length from the ballast to the lamp. Our ballast come with 8′ of output cable, if you connect another length of cord from a pendant or reflector to the ballast cable you could exceed the length the ballast can drive to fire the lamp. We recommend no more than 10′ to 12′ on mogul base lamps and no more than 8′ on DE (HQI) lamps.

Mogul base SE lamps have a cone shaped nipple on the end of the base. This nipple must make contact with base of the mogul socket. The tab that is in the center of the mogul socket is spring loaded and at times will get stuck in the position of the last bulb that was installed. With the power off on the ballast pull the tab forward to increase the strike distance and to insure your lamp is making contact with the mogul socket.

The ballast will make one fire attempt every 7 minutes. If you attempt to fire a lamp and remove power from the ballast you should wait 7 minutes before trying to fire the lamp again or until the lamp is cool. Hot lamps will not able to fire until they are cool enough. Give a hot lamp time to cool before trying to fire it again.

Ballast GFCI Technical Information.
Lighting ballasts have what’s called “leakage current” measured in the milliamps. GFCI circuits measure the difference between the incoming and outgoing current. When the difference is above the threshold it trips. As more ballasts are turned on, the “leakage current” adds up to the point it goes above the threshold of the GFCI and trips it. You may be able to run two ballasts and stay below the threshold, but three will cause the GFCI to trip. Most GFCI are not designed to work with electrical devices such as lighting ballasts. There are a few GFCI’s out there that have a high threshold for the leakage current which you will need to source from specialty electronics stores. Otherwise your best bet is to use a non-GFCI circuit and make sure you have a drip loop in the power cord. All of our ballasts are grounded just so you are aware.

Bulbs:

Loose filaments of glass rattling inside the lamp
This is a common occurrence when manufacturing the glass when placing the metal base onto the glass. This does not hinder the performance or reliability of the lamp.

Metal halide bulb glass sleeve is cracked after use.
Metal halide bulbs will run at temperatures in excess of 600 degrees F. At these high temperatures any spec of water or even a cold draft from an AC vent can cause them to break.  It is important that you place the metal halide lamps high enough off the water to prevent water splashes from hitting them or run them in a pendant housing with a tempered UV shielded glass cover. We do not warranty any lamps that have any sign of water stains on the glass. Saltwater scars the lamp glass when it is hit while burning making it easily detectable to us for this neglect. Running a SE mogul base lamp without a glass shield is OK to do but you take the risk of damaging the lamp from water splashing it by doing this. Cool water hitting a hot lamp damages the inner arc tube and will shorten the lifespan of the bulb and alter the color temperature of the lamp.

Bulb has shifted color over short time.
Cool water hitting a hot lamp will not only cause the glass to crack but also damages the inner arc tube due to the rapid change in temperature. This damage to the arc tub will alter the color temperature the lamps were designed to run at.

Bulb is not firing after some time.

Check the ballast and make sure that is not the problem by placing a known working lamp in the same socket. Check your wiring and make sure all connections are clean and free of corrosion or saltwater. Is the lamp is still not firing and is under warranty contact us for a RMA number and return it to us for repair or replacement.

One bulb appears to be a different color than the others.
Make sure that you are using the same make and model number for all the metal halide bulbs you are using. Different manufacturers ballast and different ANSI coded ballast will drive bulbs at different output wattages which affect the actual color temperature of the lamp.

When using SE mogul base lamps make sure that all the inner arc tube exhaust ports (Nipples) are pointed in the 12pm to 3pm position when screwed into the socket. If the arc tube exhaust port is positioned facing the water it will alter the color temperature of the lamp. With the arc tube exhaust port pointed in the correct position it will allow the arc to release pressure and produce its true color temperature. To get your mogul base lamp in the correct position you may need to pull the inner spring loaded tab in the mogul socket out some so that you have more contact length with the base of the lamp. Make sure to have the power off on the ballast before putting your finger in mogul socket.

About DE lamps and how to use them.
Double ended (HQI) lamps should always be run in a pendant with a UV tempered glass shield. Unlike mogul base lamps DE lamps do not have any UV protective glass used to manufacturer them. Mogul base lamps have a protective shield called Borosilicate blow into the glass that helps filter UV light. DE lamps have no UV protection and without a proper pendant and glass shied you will burn the tissue off corals and fish in a short amount of time. Never listen to anyone that says you can run a DE lamp without a UV tempered glass shield under the lamp

DE lamp will not fit into my socket.
DE (HQI) lamps are very fragile and need to be handled carefully. When installing DE lamps you must loosen the Rx7 (150 watt DE lamp) ceramic bases and the Fc2 (250/400 watt DE lamp) ceramic bases. When you loosen the screws that hold the ceramic bases in place it allows the lamp to slide into the metal clips that are inside the bases. 150 watt DE bulbs have spring loaded metal tabs and you may not have

to loosen the bases on this style lamp, but with 250/400 watt DE lamps you must loosen them or run the risk or damaging or breaking your lamp.

DE lamp breaks when installing lamp or shortly after installation.
This is caused by improper alignment of the metal tabs of the lamp with the metal clips in the bases. If you force the lamp into the sockets without loosening the bases it will cause a stress crack on the ends of the DE lamps. You can tell when you are not aligned properly when you hear ceramic grinding against the bases and the ceramic on the bulbs. It is very easy for us to know when the lamps were not handled properly because it breaks on the glass ends near the ceramic every time. Sometimes you will not see the stress crack until the lamp has been fired and heated up then cools down. This is a sign that the lamp was not handled properly during installation. We do not warranty lamps with this type of damage to them, please be sure install these fragile lamps carefully and if you have any questions contact us and we will be happy to help you through the installation process.

Reflectors/Pendants:

My Reflectors are rusting. I have a lot of salt creep on my reflectors and want to know how to clean them?
Saltwater is the most corrosive element on earth. With that in mind you must perform regular cleaning on your reflectors. All of our mirror reflector metal is purchased from Alanod in Germany. Alanod produces the best quality mirror finish metal in the world, but it can still rust if proper cleaning is not done on a regular basis. Use only a soft cloth and fresh water to clean the reflector material. Do not use any cleaning chemicals, as this will damage the reflective surface of the reflectors!