PC ballast (Biocue 29) - help

[BrooklynReefer]

Hello DIY reefers. I know very little about electrical so I though someone might be able to help me out. I have two 36 watt Power compacts running on a Biocube 29 (a set up I found on the street outside my apartment). It has been running for around 6 months. In that time I have had 2 ballasts burnout, both on the same bulb. The hood has 2 separate ballasts, and the other ballast is fine so I am thinking there might be a wiring issue thats causing the ballast to burn out. Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[bertyboy69]

Im not sure why the ballast keeps breaking but you could replace with a workhorse ballast which has much better quality than the stock ballasts , i believe for tye 36 watt u would need a workhorse 3 , wiring isnt too dificult and it will last you much longer , plus the workhore is only like 25$ where the biocube ballast is like 40

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Reefs

 

[BrooklynReefer]

Excellent. I will check it out. If the power is not rated to exactly 36 watt is this a problem? Thanks

 

[bertyboy69]

It needs to be rated for a minnimum of 36 watts more than that is fine , if you want to run both bulbs off the same ballast then you could use one 96watt ballast and 3 bubls add another 36 ect ect

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Reefs