Baffled by ballast - help!

[swee'pea]

Ok, so my lights died, and for various reasons (v aged ballast, relatively young tubes with no visible signs of issues) I decided it was probably the ballast. The only problem is, the connections on the new one I bought are rather different from the old unit, and I just can't figure out how I need to wire it.

The old one effectively had the mains connections at one end of the block and three connectors at t'other end, which made connecting the three wires emerging from the tank lid (one from one end, two from t'other) relatively straightforward. The new one has the mains connectors + three others at one end (L, N, 1, 2, 3) and four connectors (4 thru' 7) at the other. The more I peer at the diagrams the more it makes my head spin. If anyone can tell me which of the seven connectors available (excluding the mains ones) to connect the three wires to, I'd be very grateful. I took what I thought was a common sense punt and when I clicked on at the wall there was a loud bang and all the sockets in the kitchen went dead, so I thought so much for common sense and decided to seek help from People Who Know.

Many thanks if you can help. I think my fish are quite enjoying the gloom, and it certainly slows down the algae, but it would be nice to see them again.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Welcome to TFF

I'd return the ballast, and replace the fixture with LED, if that's feasible

 

[Essjay]

There are retrofit led tubes made the same size and shape as fluorescent tubes. They have plastic sleeves which slot over the end of the tubes, and these sleeves have plastic 'pins' to enable the tubes to fit in the original lamp holders to hold them in place. But the led tubes have their own power supply, the original cable should not be plugged in.

 

[swee'pea]

Thanks for responding. Have to say I'm not anti the idea of LEDs, but seeing as I already have this whole setup, barring the wiring up, I'd kind of like to stick with it. But like I say, thanks.

 

[Uberhoust]

Hi and welcome to the group.

To be honest I was going to describe how to do this but as I did I started to look at the potential issues and decided it isn't something I want to do, it would be easy to incorrectly wire the unit and the top schematic suggests that there are some information missing in that some of the leads and their functions in the unit are hidden. I don't know what type of tubes are used, whether the new ballast is the correct one, and why the schematic on the old one doesn't show all the leads I would expect to see.. I wouldn't want to be responsible for you mixing up a lead connection or missing a ground connection especially with the higher voltages used by florescent lamps overtop the water of the tank. Sorry but my recommendation, if you want to keep the hood, is to get someone local that can look at the unit and trace where the old leads went and discover how to wire in the new leads. I wouldn't want to do that online.

Right now I would suggest that @Essjay or @Slaphppy7 recommendations are the best.

 

[swee'pea]

Hi and welcome to the group.

To be honest I was going to describe how to do this but as I did I started to look at the potential issues and decided it isn't something I want to do, it would be easy to incorrectly wire the unit and the top schematic suggests that there are some information missing in that some of the leads and their functions in the unit are hidden. I don't know what type of tubes are used, whether the new ballast is the correct one, and why the schematic on the old one doesn't show all the leads I would expect to see.. I wouldn't want to be responsible for you mixing up a lead connection or missing a ground connection especially with the higher voltages used by florescent lamps overtop the water of the tank. Sorry but my recommendation, if you want to keep the hood, is to get someone local that can look at the unit and trace where the old leads went and discover how to wire in the new leads. I wouldn't want to do that online.

Right now I would suggest that @Essjay or @Slaphppy7 recommendations are the best.

Thanks. Excellent points, well made. Yes indeed, electricity + water - I can see why people might hesitate to get involved! No need to worry tho' - I am immune to electricity. I discovered this when I mowed over the power cord, picked up the severed cable and thought 'I wonder if that's still live'. You'll never guess how I found out the answer was yes. But I'm still here...

I shall have to think on. But in the meantime, thanks for taking the time & investing the effort - much appreciated.

 

[Slaphppy7]

What an electrifying experience...

 

[swee'pea]

What an electrifying experience...

I like a good pun but that's shocking.

 

[Slaphppy7]

I like a good pun but that's shocking.

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Actually using an AC power lighting (fluorescent lamp) on top of your tank pose a risk of electric shock.

Today LED lightings are powered by DC low voltage from an enclosed power supply which is very safe.
LED lights also save your electric bills as compare to fluorescent lamps, and they are very compact/slim and light weight.
Anyway, this is just my opinions.

 

[swee'pea]

I'd just like to thank everyone for their input - I ended up doing as I was bid & getting an LED light, and after a certain amount of my own personal brand of DIY (cutting, hacking, cursing, swearing, that sort of thing) I have it installed and running and it looks great! No more faffing around with ballasts and tubes for me - I have joined the Younger Generation. Hooray!