Did My Ballast Die?

[PrettyFishies]

So...I had my lights on this morning, turned them off and left hem for the timer to turn on at 1pm. Came home and NO LIGHTS. So, I checked the timer...working. Unplugged it and put it straight into the power strip. NO LIGHTS. My bulb is less than 2 weeks old.

Is it my ballast?

I Have the coralife Aqualight unit - 65W. I opened it up and it has a really bad smell to it.

[rich311k]

Could be. I would call the vendor or at least contact them,. They will help you troubleshoot. Do you have another bulb that you know is good? Maybe put that in and see what happens.

I am going to move this to hardware.

[Sidi]

Edit: Nevermind, reread your post and it has to be CF with that much wattage (well, that or HO/VHO)...so going the hardware store and picking up a $15 ballast doesn't really apply.

Yeah, I'd call up the manufacturer to try to get a replacement...it's almost certainly the ballast. Otherwise you're looking at picking up something like an Ice Cap ballast on eBay for as cheap as possible, or ordering one online. They're the most expensive part of a lighting setup, unfortunately.

[PrettyFishies]

I tried the old bulb, which was working when I swapped them.

Here's my Ballast -

http://hellolights.com/index.asp?Pag...ROD&ProdID=509

Says Rapid Start...I'm guessing that's self-starting?

[Sidi]

Oh, that isn't a bad price at all, even when you figure in shipping. That's great that they offer the same ballast form factor, so it should just plug right into the hood without even the basic wiring to do.

As far as I know, compact fluorescent setups never have a starter....so you don't have that to worry about. They're the round white things that plug into older regular fluorescent strips.

[PrettyFishies]

So I ordered from HelloLights.com and don't expect it until Friday. The LFS's didn't have the unit or the ballast in stock and wouldn't get it any faster.

Should I be worried that my tank will have no real light until the end of next week?