T5 HO 4x54W Fixture DEAD!

So to start with I bought one of these fixtures January 08. I didnt use it until December 09. February 23rd 2010 one of the two ballasts dies. Now March 4 2010 the other is dead.

Very frustrated. I called the company and I am out of warranty. So I guess its time to save up cash for some lights, that i now need yesterday!

Someone had given me reef 50/50 T8 bulbs. So I am going to throw those on there for now to atleast get SOME light in there. Luckily I have no corals yet.

Im pretty angry at the fact that this thing didnt last more than 6 months. I guess you get what you pay for.

 

Im about to rip this p.o.s apart and see if its something I can somehow fix.

 

Dang man, sorry for your troubles.

 

My mistake, and its not letting me adjust the thread title.... its not made by Odyssea actually the bulbs that came with it were. I dont recall who made this thing and it has no branding on it.

edit: tried again and it let me the second time.

 

it might be shorting out. make sure all the wire connection going into the end caps are in there firm and plugs into ballasts. and for that matter check every wire in the fixture to make sure nothings loose. where did you buy the fixture, this might help us help you.

 

well so far no dice. its still dead. the ballasts can be replaced for $30/ea, but in the end i want 150/175W metal halides on this tank. im not sure yet which would yield better growth results in the corals without bleaching them from too much light.

so im not sure what to do. i only have about $200 i can throw at this right now. i have only one GSP in my tank at the moment so its kinda not a huge deal to get it done yesterday, but still it needs to be fixed.

im not sure what to do. i might get one pendant/ballast and just light half the tank where the coral is and hope the fish dont mind, or just get the replacement ballasts and stick with my 4x54W t5 which i feel is inadequate for my 75gal.

opinions?

 

i got it off of ebay "new". ill have to back track to figure out where it was from. gimme a few ill login to paypal and see if i can figure it out.

 

only site ive found a duplicate of what it came with and how its made... Aquarium Lighting. DeepBlue Aquarium supplies for your tropical fish tank, saltwater fish tank, saltwater aquarium fish, freshwater aquarium fish & reef aquarium. Aquarium filters,aquarium pumps, aquarium lighting, aquarium tanks, protein skimmers &

you have to scroll down to T5 HO its the first one:

Built-In Electronic T5 Ballasts
3x Power Switch (1 - T5 + Cooling Fan, 1 - T5, 1 - Bluemoon LED)
Non-Corrosive Powder Coated Aluminum Housing
Built-In Cooling Fan
Clear Acrylic Lens Cover
Highly Polished Reflector
Flipable Mounting Legs Included

2x Odyssea 54W T5 High Output Daylight 12000K
2x Odyssea 54W T5 High OutputActinic Blue
4x Dual Bluemoon LED (120cm version)

 

If your positive its the ballasts that's an easy fix, and you can put better ones in. But if you buy them and it still doesn't work that would suck.

 

well, i think im going to get just one new ballast for now. a 2x54W Fulham WH5 its $30 shipped.

if it doesnt fix my existing fixture it can atleast power two 54W bulbs that can supplement actnic when i go with MH down the road.

cheapest option for me right now is to just get a new T5HO ballast and try to use the existing parts I have to make something work in the interim. Moneys tight at the moment.