Halide Not Igniting!

[Alex A]

We have a situation here: Came home yest. and my halide was not on when it should have been. Checked all the timers, checked the ballast switch, even checked the breaker. Long story short, I think either my ballast went, or my igniter went. Fixture is Aqualight Pro 250W MH, with 2 x65W PC's. Guys at marinedepot, thought ist was bulb, but I tested with a different one that I wrote: "Has 3 mos life left" No luck. Order a new ballast today, with overnight shipping, here tomorrow. Also got them to throw in an igniter just in case. So did I cover all options? The fans are going, and they only go when MH is on, but when I flip the ballast switch they turn on, but no Halide. The 2 x 65W PC's are running, going on day 2 of just those and my brand spanking new carpet anemone is not feeling loved. He was doing great for the last 5 days - GREAT!. But now he retraced down to his base and is opened, just very tiny. This was also after I added ReefBuffer for the Alk. I will have the ballast tomorrow and the igniter Fri. I have a total of 130W for a 37 gal. custom cube. - that's 3.5W/Gal.

2nd question is, do you think this is going to seal his fate after 72 hrs. of just the PC's. He looked nice yesterday under them, not loving it, but surviving. What do you think? LMK if I can provide more info to help you answer and thanks so much!

 

[KathyC]

Technically he should be fine..it does get dark over the oceans sometimes for days at a time when a big storm is around. I would be sure to get it installed tomorrow when you get home and leave it on for a few hours, then resume regular lighting hours on Friday.

How much did you adjust the alk?
Usually not best to do things like that when you have another issue going on, as you won't ever know which might have affected things if you end up with a bad outcome

 

[Alex A]

Technically he should be fine..it does get dark over the oceans sometimes for days at a time when a big storm is around. I would be sure to get it installed tomorrow when you get home and leave it on for a few hours, then resume regular lighting hours on Friday.

How much did you adjust the alk?
Usually not best to do things like that when you have another issue going on, as you won't ever know which might have affected things if you end up with a bad outcome

Hi Kathy, Thanks for getting back to me! I was told the exact same thing buy another buddy RE: Storms Over the Ocean - Word for Word. I guess good reefers think alike! It was simply a normal dosing of Alk, according to my schedule (1 TSP of Reed Buffer added to a 37 gal. tank) normally raises it from about 7.5 to 8.5 I normally dose that daily, to every other day, and always see a reaction in my SPS from it. Duncans hate it when it goes in ? same for the Acans and Zoos. It was much better when I dosed that in the morning, as everything seems to enjoy that more. Perhaps will go back to dosing alk in the a.m. After 1-2 hrs. Gr. Carpet popped right back up like nothing ever happened..during the late dusk lighting he looked fine and he really loves plumping up during the lunar cycle, so I think all is well with him. Ballast is sitting on my doorstep, waiting for me for a change.:p Very good advice on not doing more than 1 thing when you already have something causing concerns - I will remember that and really makes sense!

**In your opinion, How likely is it, that it is the ballast rather than igniter (which arrives tomorrow, or Sat) I would hate for it to have to go another day while waiting for this component...
Thanks very much, again!

 

[Alex A]

Back In Busines!!

New ballast just arrived, hooked her up - no longer have a situation. Halide going nice and strong. Going to run for 3 Hrs. then go back to normal cycle, tomorrow. I guess the one question that comes up now is, how comman an occuarnce is this?
Kathy, I appreciate you taking the time to reply and give me some guidance earlier.. Thanks again!