lanman July 10, 2010 Share July 10, 2010 I am new to MH... I tried a 150W Aqua-medic over one of my frag tanks, and it wasn't enough light. I ordered a brand new 250W Aqua-medic pendant w/ballast. I have been running it for several months. The Phoenix 14K bulb seems to have died young. I put in a 10K bulb that it came with. Once you are used to 14K, 10K seems so yellowish... yuck. I noticed with the 14K, but even more so with the 10K, that the light seems to 'flicker' - change brightness - quite a bit. Neither bulb really seems to be making the corals happy. Is this flickering normal? Could it be a bad ballast? Thanks, bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhcorals July 10, 2010 Share July 10, 2010 Bob, I have MH's and i have not noticed any flickering. Is it possible for you to try a different circuit. Maybe a little to much on that particular one. Atleast if you try it and nothing changes that is one thing you can mark off the list. As far as the corals not being happy, did you let the adjust to the MH "s over a period of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman July 10, 2010 Author Share July 10, 2010 Most of the corals have been in there several months. But SPS in general doesn't do well, and chalices don't do as well as in my various T5-lighted tanks. I have two identical tanks on the same system, and the other tank (with T5's) seems to do everything better. The LPS at least grow nicely for a while, but eventually seem to get dead spots in them that aren't common in my other tanks. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhcorals July 10, 2010 Share July 10, 2010 From what i remember your frag tanks are not that deep ( correct me if i am wrong ). It just might be to much light for the Chalices, and LPS. I know in the 265 the Chalices are happiest on the bottom of my tank. When i had them on the frag rack they really turned a lighter color. My LPS are pretty much on the bottom of the tank or in a semi shaded area. Except the Frog Spawn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman July 10, 2010 Author Share July 10, 2010 Guess maybe I should check out the PAR-meter borrowing thread... measure happy chalices, and measure unhappy chalices. But the ones in the other 'tub' on that system SEEM to be in brighter light. I guess the human eye is fallible. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller July 10, 2010 Share July 10, 2010 Bob, Just to be sure i understand, You are not noticing shimmering from the lights in the water, you can actually see the bulb itself flicker? If the later, check all connections first. With the unit off, check the base where the bulb screws in. You may need to pull the contact out a little. Other thing is these should not be plugged into a normal strip light cord or extension cord but can be plugged into a DC8 or a DC4HD. Anything else, call me mobile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind July 10, 2010 Share July 10, 2010 Bulb flickering is normally caused by an unstable arc which gives off the inconsistant colors you are seeing. MH bulbs need to be run at least 100hrs, sometimes 150hrs before the salts settle and the arc stablizes. There could be several reasons from loose connections, ballast issues, impurities in the bulb, orientation of the bulb, and even a fan blowing air across the lamp can cause cool spots and an unstable arc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now