What Do I Replace? (Lighting)

[rosswarren]

Hi, my light keeps flashing on and off. But which bit do I need a new one of?

Here is a picture. There is the long tube then that white cylinder thing.

Thanks, Ross.

 

[DrRob]

You have what appears to be a T8 tube with a bayonet starter block.

The tube looks fairly old and burned. I'd probably be thinking of replacing that anyway, they tend to wear out after about 6-12 months, they still work but the brightness drops off.

The starter you can test by simply twisting it out with the light on. Starters are very cheap and you can pick them up at hardware stores fairly easily. Flickering light is often the starter's fault.

 

[rosswarren]

Thanks for the reply.

When you say I should test by twisting it out, what do I look for when I do that? What will show me if that is at fault or not?

 

[mishmash]

Hi, you have a Tropiquarium there (nice tanks by the way). The lights are encased in a plastic lid which you probably know you access by twisting the black lugs through 90[sup]o[/sup] (or 180[sup]o[/sup] I cant remember). The light tubes then twist to release them from the holder. You will hear them "click" when they are twisted to the right position and they will then just pull down from the lid to remove.

The "starter" is a small cylinder that measures about 2" long by 1" diameter and has two contact pins at the end that it connects to the starter unit. Its white and is a bit smaller than an old film canister. It provides the initial charge to energise the gases in the light tubes. After a while they lose their ability to work properly (think its capacitance but not sure, lol, and you don't need to know any more than it works or needs replacing lol). Again, just twist the started through 90[sup]o[/sup] or 180[sup]o[/sup] and it will pull out.

You can get new starters from any electrical store or pay more and get them from a local fish shop. Same actually applies to replacement tubes.... Do a search on here and you will find several references of where to get cheaper tubes from.

Good luck, and enjoy your tank...

 

[rosswarren]

OK thanks very much