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FAQs about Light and Lighting for Marine Systems,
Troubleshooting/Fixing
Related Articles: Marine
Light, & Lighting,
Marine Aquarium Light Fixtures and Canopies,
Lighting Marine Invertebrates, Anemone
Lighting, Coral System Lighting, Moving
Light Systems, Related FAQs:
Marine System Lighting,
Marine System Lighting 2,
FAQs 3, FAQs 4,
FAQs 5, FAQs 6,
FAQs 7, FAQs 8,
FAQs 9, FAQs 10,
FAQs 11,
FAQs 12, FAQs 13,
FAQs 14, FAQs 15,
FAQs 16,
FAQs 17, FAQs 18, & FAQs on Marine
Lighting: Fixture Selection 1,
Fixture Selection 2, Fixture Selection
3, (incandescent, fluorescent, MH/HQI, LED, natural...),
Lamp/Bulb Selection 1, Lamp/Bulb
Selection 2, (See Fluorescent, LED, MH... below),
Installing, Waste Heat
Production/Elimination, UV Shielding,
Measure, By Manufacturer
Make/Model: &
Actinic Lighting,
Metal Halide Lighting,
Fluorescent Lighting,
Compact Fluorescent Lighting, Small
System Lighting,
Lighting Marine Invertebrates, LR
Lighting, Tridacnid
Lighting, | 
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Ballast 05/30/2008
Dear Crew,
<<Good day...Andrew here>>
I
have a 29 gallon tank with a hood. The hood can hold two 18 inch bulbs.
When I first got my tank, the actinic bulb would flicker on and off when
I opened the hood and I would just shake it a little to make it come
back on.
<<A bad wire connection?>>
About a month later my corals
were slightly wilted so I bought another actinic bulb. Now it just
flickers on and off and it will not stay on for more than a second. I
now believe it is the ballast in the hood.
<<Could either be the
ballast or just a loose wire which has succumbed to salt ingress>>
I
have some expensive corals so I would like to know the best coarse of
action to fix the bulb. It is just one of the lights. My fluorescent
bulb stays on.
<<Personal opinion here...Actinic lighting does
nothing for the coral themselves, but is rather there for our viewing
pleasure to make the coral fluoresce. I am yet to see anything which
proves that an actinic bulb promotes coral growth>>
Thanks!
<<Thanks for the questions, hope this helps. A Nixon>>
Smelly Ballasts - 11/10/05
Hello all,
<<Howdy>>
I would
like to take this opportunity to thank you all for such a great and
informative site. All of your help is really appreciated.
<<Gratifying to hear... Thank you.>>
Well after doing much research
on this site I have upgraded my lighting system from PC's (200 watts) to
Catalina 2X250 watt HQI 15,000K (I love the color).
<<Wow, big
jump!>>
Anyway , I have been slowly introducing
<<very good>>
the light to my 90 gallon and its inhabitants, and I am noticing a
strong smell emitting from my ballast. The ballast is a big heavy heat
sink looking device, which gets very hot, but the smell is slightly
concerning me.
<<Hmm, sounds like you have what is sometimes referred
to as "Tar" ballasts.>>
Is this normal?
<<Not in my experience.>>
The smell is like kind of harsh.
<<I would contact the manufacturer
of the ballasts and see what they have to say.>>
Thanks
Paul
<<Regards, EricR>> Re: new lighting... Dangers of Ballasts, Too
Hot Wattage Transformers 11/12/2005
Should I return the
ballast or do you think the ballast will burn off the tar smell?
Thanks
Paul
<I would leave/use as is if it is working, HOWEVER, a
few cautionary remarks re: DO make sure this ballast is placed on a
non-flammable surface/material, with good air circulation around it, and
do check if it is "too hot", as in too hot to keep ones hand on it w/o
burning... If it is too hot, DO NOT use it. Do take care to not set this
ballast on, near acrylic (as in on the top of the tank if this is what
it is made of), as the flash point of this material is quite low...
Bob Fenner> A Flicker Of
Light...Is This The End of The Tunnel? – 09/23/07
I had a hard
time finding the information I am looking for.
<<Okay>>
I
apologize if this question is similar in content to others you have
answered.
<<No worries>>
I have a 55-gallon reef tank that has
been up and running successfully for two years.
<<Excellent>>
All
parameters are normal; fish and corals thriving. I have a Current
Satellite fixture that has been an excellent choice. However within the
past six months the lamps (bulbs) on one of the ballast began to
flicker.
<<Do swap bulbs around to determine this is not the
problem>>
At first the flickering was temporary, then it became
constant. I bought new lamps and this did not solve the problem. Then my
boyfriend (an electrician) disassembled and reassembled the unit. It did
not flicker again for about two weeks. Now it flickers randomly once or
twice a week, maybe more, and I am not there to notice. Several opinions
have me confused.
<<Oh?>>
One source told me that it was probably
a loose wire, not to worry.
<<Mmm, possibly…but “is” a worry and
should be found/fixed if so>>
Another told me that a new ballast was
needed.
<<Another possibility, yes>>
Before I spend the money on a
new ballast, is the now, temporary flickering, harmful and or indicative
of a larger issue?
<<If this is a loose wire, the flickering may well
prematurely wear the bulb or ballast…might even constitute a fire
hazard>>
If it is, or was, a loose wire would a new ballast be of any
benefit?
<<Only if replacing the ballast addresses the loose
wire…otherwise you are no better off. You state your boyfriend is an
electrician…I would think it a simple matter for him to determine the
problem here>>
I tend to be a hypochondriac but it seems that my
anemone may be "reaching" for light more than is usual.
<<The lamps
are likely in need of replacement>>
Could the lamps be producing less
light, without giving any visual indication?
<<Oh yes!>>
Is there
any way to measure the light that the tank is receiving?
<<Indeed
there is… To get a true reading of the Photosynthectically Available
Radiation (PAR), or effectiveness, of your chosen bulbs you would need
to invest in a PAR meter…and then one that has a waterproof sensor that
can be submersed (not cheap/easily found…though an enterprising DIYer
might rig one themselves). There is a waterproof LUX meter available in
the trade for about a C-note. This meter will measure foot-candles
(brightness/luminance) at a specific distance and if readings are taken
on new bulbs, they can be used as a “benchmark” to measure diminished
luminance with age…
Any input would be most appreciated.
Thank-you.
<<Quite welcome. EricR>> Shocking
reflector 1/12/04
hi, I am hoping you can help with a question I
have regarding halide voltages. I have just retrofitted my 46 gallon bow
with 175w Ushios powered by a blue wave 2(ps) and 2 17000k 96 w pc's. I
have noticed that if I contact the reflector and the water with a bare
arm I get a small zap. I am an auto tech by trade so know something of
electrical theory, be it 12volts dc. So I measured the ac volts between
the reflector an the water and found around 22 volts ,obviously this
prompted removal of the fixture and full investigation. It is definitely
being generated by the halide (proven by switching everything else off)
but I found no sign of a short. I ran a ground wire between an outlet
and the reflector which had no effect.
<Did you test the voltage
between the water and ground? It could be that the water is "hot" and
you were getting shocked by the competent ground of the
reflector. Metal halide and florescent lamps are known to create and
inductive current in adjacent conductors (salt water).>
I have all
this wired through a GFI but it is still concerning me where this
voltage is coming from. The reflector is a PFO and came with the mogul
installed, I just wired the sunlight cable to it, the ground for the
cable connects to the reflector which seems normal. I do not know what
amount of voltage is being produced by the ballast and am wondering if
it is a significantly high figure is it normal for there to be some
excess voltage produced just from the way these bulbs/ballasts work. I
would use ohms law to calculate the voltage but I don't have enough
parameters on the outputs of the ballast. Could it be possible there is
a problem with the ceramic socket?
<I would test several
things. First, measure the voltage between the reflector and ground
with the lights running "on the bench" away from the tank. If you do
not measure a voltage, the fixture is fine. I would also measure the
voltage from your tank water and ground with and without the lights
on. A voltage here with the lights off indicates another appliance is
leaking current (powerhead, heater, etc.). With the lights, your lights
are inducing a current in the water. If induction is occurring, you can
try raising the lamps or wrapping the first couple of inches of the
fluorescents in foil.>
I have found your site invaluable over the two
years. I have been reefkeeping and am hoping you can help me shed some
light sorry that just came out) on this problem, thanks in advance,
Liam.
<Glad that you have found the site beneficial. Be glad we
don't punish bad puns<g>. Best Regards. Adam> More lighting
reef animals
hey Anthony-
<whassup Josh>
The underlying
problem with the whole issue of adding more actinics and getting better
reflectors is this: I have been adding more and more sps corals to my
tank only to see them lose color, get browner, and exhibit little
growth.
<likely has nothing to do with lack of
actinics/fluorescents <G>. The lack of growth is most always
misdiagnosed. Generally caused by lack of water flow or water flow
misapplied (assuming your bio-mineral levels are VERY stable... not
fluctuating from weekly or erratic dosing instead of proper daily). Seek
closer to 20X tank turnover (no shared pumps/wave timers either...
dreadful)... of full-time random turbulent flow... avoid laminar too as
with powerheads. The browning up of the corals is more likely from
excess organics fertilizing your zooxanthellae (need fairly low DOC.
nitrate, etc levels).>
After i upgraded my skimmer to an aqua-c
ev240, many of the sps have gotten less brown.
<consistent with my
theory above... less fertilizer>
However, they still lack a good
amount of color.
<could be UV too... try removing the lens between
the halides and water over one side of the tank. Unless of course the
lens had been neglected in the past (not cleaned frequently) and allowed
dust/salt creep on bulb or lens to ruin coral color>
I believe that i
need more light intensity to maintain their color.
<unlikely IMO...
but try one side of the tank only first if your must so as not to shock
all corals>
I would
like to upgrade to 3-250 watt halides and if i
do, are the reflectors that essential?
<on the halides, yes>
I am
deciding between using Iwasaki 6500k or AquaLine 10k. I know the
Iwasaki have a higher par rating and more lumens but the AquaLine might
be better for coloration. What is your opinion?
<agreed... do 10K
for color... and use better water flow to pick up lost growth for not
using 6500>
Also, after viewing many sps coral tank setups online, i
see a trend towards VHO supplementation to the halides which seems to
result in good coral coloration. It seems the
power compact actinics
are not that great for coral fluorescing. That is why i was considering
adding VHO actinic to my setup(3-175 watt Aqualines w/ 4-96watt pc
actinics) currently and adding the reflectors- to maximize the amount of
light from my current setup.
<do think you can "survive" without the
halide upgrade>
Also, i don't have a top on my tank and that was why
i was concerned with having the VHOs too close b/c of salt
spray.
<not a bulb problem here... but a bubble/return line problem. Should be
able to avoid dangerous salt spray easily... and all bulbs really need
wiped down weekly at any rate for max efficacy>
Would a top block any
light or uv?
<yes... and not recommended here. Just keep the lamps
wiped down>
You said the VHOs are not needed for the corals- why is
that?
<they do not penetrate water at depth as well (certainly not
from 4" plus) and have more blue than needed. Plenty of blue in all
modern halides. Just cool for effect to have actinics <G>>
Thank you
so much for your help once again, i greatly appreciate it. Josh
<best
regards, Anthony> - Replacement Ballast -
Where can I
find a replacement ballast for the Helios remote ballast 4-55w lighting
system?
<That's a good question. If you don't want to approach Helios
directly, then I would just check with a local electrical supply house
and then match up the specifications - if the lamps are Power Compact,
then make sure you specify that when dealing with the supplier as well
as the number of bulbs you intend to drive. Cheers, J -- >
Blinded By The Light?
Hi guys,
<Scott F. this morning>
I have a 155/gal bow front mini reef that has been up and running
for about 4yrs. I run 6 96watt power compacts, two of which are
blue. Berlin skimmer, sump filter with live rock, UV sterilizer, and
I use a Kent Maxima RO/DI for all water that goes into the
tank. Chemistry as of yesterday:
PH: 7.9-8.0
Alk: 4
Ammonia: 0
Phosphates: 1.0
Nitrite: 0.22mg/L
Nitrate: 10mg/L
Ca: 480mg/L
Salinity 1.024-1.025
<Check
that nitrite and pH again, okay? The phosphate is a bit high, too.>
We do 25% water changes 1/wk. Residents include: Sail fin Tang,
Mandarin, Xmas wrasse, 6 Line wrasse, Ferry wrasse, Yellow Coris
wrasse, 8 clown gobies about ½ inch each, percula clown, yellow
spotted watchman goby. All fish are less than 2 inches. Clean up
crew consists of about 150 hermit crabs, 1 emerald crab and 20 turbo
snails. I feed the tank two cubes of frozen mysis/day and Spectra
Vital 1/wk. The tank has been thriving up until about a week ago. I
mean it really looked incredible.
Now, my frogs spawn and
hammer corals won’t open at all. They’re sliming or
disintegrating. I’ve already completely lost two frog spawn heads.
Mushrooms looked shriveled, polyps won’t open up either. Brain
corals, trumpets, and plate corals seem to be fine. I also noticed a
bit of red slime algae on the sand.
<Possibly due to accumulating
organics from the coral meltdown...>
On 11/4/02 we added two
175watt metal halides and started to leave the lights on longer.
Previously we only had the lights on for 10 hours/day. Any advice on
this would be greatly appreciated!!!!! We’re desperate! Thanks for
your help!
Kristie
<Well, Kristie, it sounds to me like a case
of too much light too soon, as far as some of your corals are
concerned. They need to be slowly acclimated to different lighting
schemes, or something like what you're experiencing can result.
Anthony wrote a great article on this topic- do check the
Wetwebmedia.com site for this. I will forward this to Anthony for
some suggestions. Good luck!>Blinded By The Light (Pt. @)
Thanks for your help! I turned off the halides since yesterday and
have gone back to the 6 96watt power compacts. Nothing has gotten
worse, but doesn't look any better yet. Should I add any
supplements to the tank? Such as Seachem's Reef Plus? Or Coral
Excel??? We don't usually use this stuff too often.
<I am not a
big one for additives, myself, and given the possible higher
nutrient load from dying animals that may be in your system-I'd pass
on adding anything else. Just kick the skimmer into overdrive and
execute regular water changes.>
Just stick to mysis and Spectra
Vital for the tank. I checked the ph: 8.0 and Nitrites: 0. I read
Anthony's article on lighting. Thank you. I think I must of added
too much too soon. Do you recommend slowly adding the halides?????
<Just acclimate the animals slowly, using a technique like Anthony
suggests.>
Or should I forget about them all together?
<Nope-
they are great lights!>
Thanks again!
Kristie
<You're
welcome! I'm sure things will improve soon! Good Luck!
Scott F.> |
Lighting upgrade... too much too soon... marine
I recently
upgrade my 72 gal tank (21 inches deep) from 260 watts PC to 440 watts
PC. I made the switch about 3 weeks ago. In fear of bleaching out my
existing corals, I started off with 330 for the first 5 days and then
went to the full 440 watts (220 blue/220 white). I have several coral
plugs from GARF both soft and SPS. In the last few days , I have noticed
some of the Ricordea mushrooms not opening and other soft corals not
losing their color but developing a whitish tone. Is this a form of
bleaching?
<Surely stress from such a large increase in lighting
(doubled in five days). Mushrooms and some soft corals do not require or
tolerate this much light, so do place/shade accordingly. Your sps will
want to be near the top (where their growth can help shade the Shrooms
below.>
Or is this too much for soft corals? I though my increase was
gradual enough.
<This is the trick with mixed tanks. You have deep
water mushrooms that like low light and LPSs which likes moderate to
high light, and you have SPS which tend to require high light levels.
You now need to raise the light so you don't shock/burn/bleach even your
SPS. Place the low light corals out of the light or shade them, and very
slowly lower the light over weeks, not days.>
I have been running
the lights 12hrs on 12hrs off. Should I cut back on hours?
<NO.>
If so for how long? At the same time I don't want to deprive light to my
SPS. Please let me know what you think. - Thanks Ron
<It's easier for
corals to adapt to temporary lower light levels that huge increases in
light levels. Raised the lights and use shading materials. Craig>
Aquarium problems (more light = more life)
I have a 55 gallon
tank with 2 fluorescent 30watt bulbs. I just purchased an icecap 660
ballast and now am running 2 fluorescent 30watt bulbs and 2 95watt VHO
bulbs. Every since I started running all 4 lights I have noticed air
bubbles on the tank walls and rocks. They start to show after the lights
have been on for about 5 hours and the longer they are on the worse the
bubbles get. What is causing this and what can I do. Thanks
<"It" is
life... photosynthetic organisms (a mix of algae and more) are being
"boosted" by the increased light/ing... You can reduce their exuberant
oxygen production by limiting nutrient availability (filtration, growing
other purposeful photosynthetic organisms, DSB, denitration in other
ways... per recommendations on WetWebMedia.com
Do take a read through
the many filtration articles and more here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/setup/index.htm and/or use the search
feature at the bottom of the homepage with the above terms. Bob Fenner>
Bulb breaking
Hello. I've got what I hope isn't a problem, but I
want to find out for sure. While adding on a MH pendant to my 180 reef
last night, I managed to bump one of my 96w Actinic PC bulbs. It fell
into the tank and broke. (good thing I took your advice and had
everything on a GFI unit).
<Yikes. Thank goodness>
By the time I
reached in and got the bulb out, I could see a cloudy substance drifting
out of the broken tube and into the tank. I'm assuming this is the
phosphorus that is in the bulb. My question is: is this toxic to fish
and corals? I do have carbon running in the system, would this
neutralize the phosphorus?
<Hmm, if it has not killed the
livestock... probably not. And yes to the carbon likely helping.>
On
a happier note, I'm looking into purchasing an established salt water
only fish store (they also do custom tank installation), and was
wondering if you could give me any advice on what to look for when I
audit the current owners books.
<Congratulations, and welcome to the
trade... many challenges and great fun ahead. Best to actually hire an
accountancy firm/individual to look at the books (and help you set up
your bookkeeping) and tax returns for/with you from the get-go here...
and your attorney, especially if they're involved in this transaction.
Have you had time to work in the shop with the present folks for a few
weeks? I STRONGLY encourage this>
Thanks for your time, and the great
service you perform to hobbyists everywhere.
Kevin
P.S. If you're
ever in the Ft. Lauderdale area, I know of an all you can eat sushi bar,
and I've got a batch of beer brewing with your name on it.
<Hmm, may
be going that way sooner than I thought. Be chatting, and do read over
the "Business Index" parts of the wetwebmedia.com site. Bob Fenner>
Water leak in ballast <!!!> 8/5/05
Hey everyone,
<Nilesh>
A month ago, I had a leak from my external skimmer onto my ballast
casing. I have three 175w MH bulbs with 3 ballasts encased in a
box. One of the lights no longer works. Over the past month, I let the
ballast dry out but it seems like salt is shorting the ballast.
<!
Unplug this unit! Very dangerous!!!>
What is the best way to
remove this salt. Do you think vinegar and water? I'm hoping that I
can get my bulb working again.
Thanks
Nilesh
<Not likely
economically repairable, but you might try sending it back to the
manufacturer or distributor (their name, probably address is posted
somewhere on the product)... Ballasts need to be carefully protected
from water, heat, dust accumulation... mounted somewhere away from such
influences. Bob Fenner>
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