What's wrong? New lights don't work!

[MNChams]

I just got two brand new lights shipped to me, hoods and bulbs. They are Reptisun 5.0's. Both just flicker and never fire up or stay on. Whatever the problem is, it must be the same on both. Did I get two bad hoods or two bad bulbs? Or what the bleep is the problem? I've waited 15 mins for them to warm up but that didn't work either. I searched for prior threads on this but didn't find my answer. Please help if you know.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy,

Post detailed info on the fixtures. It could be that the fixtures are rated for a different wattage than those tubes.

 

[writh]

where did you order the hood and lights from?

 

[cushcameleon]

I had the same type of problem before. It turned out the fixture was broken .

 

[Vegas Chad]

Sounds like the wrong type of fixture or it is bustakaded.

 

[Nicodemayo]

What length are they? I know the new 48" reptisuns are t8's and require a ballast on most 48" fixtures

 

[jojackson]

Did you check and replace the starter/s?

YOU CAN ELIMINATE TWO BAD BULBS BY REPLACING THE STARTER ON ATLEAST ONE HOOD.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F...electronic_ballast_starter-movie_VNr°0001.ogv

 

[MNChams]

I bought the light kits from the Kammer's at Chameleonsonly.com. They sold me two hoods with the bulbs packaged together. The Reptisun 5.0 bulbs are new and came in their original boxes. They are 24" bulbs. The hoods came in a package with the label "Coral Reef Aquariums F-57251 24 1/2 Flourescent Hood" The bulbs fit fine but just flicker non-stop.

There is no name on the hood itself. I looked on the power supplies and they have the brand name "Radionic Inc" model WP452. Rated up to 20 watts. The bulbs are 18 watts so should be fine.

But then I did some more research...on the Reptisun box it warns that electric ballasts should be used and not magnetic ballasts or flickering may occur. Well, a search of the Radionic Inc website for that part number shows it to be a magnetic ballast!! I think that's my answer. They are not compatible. But that leads me to even a bigger question...why would they send me a kit that was not compatible? I'm sure they would have not done so knowingly but surely other customers would have complained about this. And they are out of town for a week now so I'll have to wait until they return on the 25th.

 

[Bradkc]

Sounds like the lamp is a t12 and the fixture is a t8, or vise versa.

 

[PantherVeileD]

Did you check and replace the starter/s?

YOU CAN ELIMINATE TWO BAD BULBS BY REPLACING THE STARTER ON ATLEAST ONE HOOD.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F...electronic_ballast_starter-movie_VNr°0001.ogv

Yeah, check the silver cap... turn it left and remove it and put it back in again.

 

[KrewElement394]

Myabe your problem is what was mine....make sure you turn the light all the way untill you hear a lock(snap) then turn it on and presto! i thought i had the lights on tight enough but i did not so i tied it but more and they turn on

 

[MNChams]

Myabe your problem is what was mine....make sure you turn the light all the way untill you hear a lock(snap) then turn it on and presto! i thought i had the lights on tight enough but i did not so i tied it but more and they turn on

That's what I thought at first too, but I've adjusted them and re-adjusted and then some more and nothing improves. I can actually twist them all the way around without any snap. But I can also see when they are positioned correctly so that's been ruled out as the cause.

As for replacing the starter...there is no starter. They are listed as "magnetic" ballasts but there is no starter for the consumer to remove and replace, which means it's concealed by the manufacturer not to be replaced.

Anyways...I went shopping today and searched several places until I found some hoods to replace them with. Only drawback is that I had to pay $40 each and they are 30" long in order to fit the 24" bulbs, longer then the ones they shipped me. They don't fit the cage perfectly but the replacements work no problem. I still don't know what the deal was with those other hoods. Thanks for all the help.

 

[tkilgour]

i bought 2 day blue sun glows the other day brought them home and neither worked. I was POd and went back to return them.

 

[summoner12]

if you have two cages... just buy 48" tubes and you can get a dual lamp hood from HD for $24 dollars. Make sure you order the T-8 lamps and the T-8 fixture. In my dual fixtures I use a UVB lamp in one position and a 'grow' light in the other. It keeps my plants happy, and they do grow much better. They are also brighter than

Honestly sometimes UVB lamps just take a dump. It is easy to warranty them. If you have the receipt call Zoo Med and tell them you would like some lamps replaced that you just purchased. If you don't have a receipt thats fine too. They will just ask you to send the lamps and then they will send you new lamps. I have done this several times with different issues and they are very easy to deal with.