compact help please

i have a 48" current outer orbit that has 2 150w mhs and 2 130w compacts. 2 days ago 1 compact started flashing like a fast strob light today the other started to flash. now i have disco lights in my reef lol. is the cause of this because the ballests are going dead?

 

It may be the ballasts or the bulbs may be going bad.

 

they are brand new bulbs

 

How old is the Fixture? I have an Orbit PC fixture and had to replace one of the ballasts after 3yrs.

 

There isn't an easy test to find out what is wrong. Unless you saved the old bulbs. That is how I convinced a lighting company to send me new bulbs.
After I put in the new bulbs a couple of days later one of them didn't want to light up all the way, and sometimes not at all. So I emailed them to see if I could get new bulbs, the person told me it was probably the ballast. Not so says I, because I put the old bulb back in and it works fine . I didn't change them because they were dead, just old and not putting out enough light.
They sent me another one and it works fine. hth


Jim

 

my old bulbs were dead and i got 2 new bulbs both bulbs do it. the unit is like 2 years old.

 

Do they flicker when first started up ? or only after they warm up ..

 

You should replace PC bulbs every 6-9 months. The intensity really starts to drop off quickly with PC bulbs even after 1-2 months of use. I really havent been impressed with the longevity of PC bulbs. I'm switching to HO T-5 fixture soon. They are supposed to be good for 1-2 yrs but I take that with a grain of salt.

 

they flicker when they first start up. like i said they are brand new, now 1 week old, bulbs. i ordered 2 new ballests hope that works. they should be here on the 5th