wandering wonderer Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Hello, Approximately 9 months ago, I purchased 2 48" Coralife fixtures, each containing 2 T5 bulbs - one 6700k and the other, Colormax. I realized after buying them that this amount of light was sort of overkill for a 75 g tank, so I generally only run one fixture at a time (and even with that, my plants and algae go crazy). Anyway, 2 weeks ago the 6700k burnt out on one fixture and the Colormax does an annoying humming/flickering thing. On the other, both bulbs are still going, but flickering to the point of a seizure-inducing strobe. Is it normal for these bulbs to die so quickly (and seemingly all at the same time)? I don't know a lot about fluorescents - could something else be the problem? So far, I've tried wiggling them, but to no avail. Help, please! Thanks, Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegrandpoohbah Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 Weird, those fixtures are normal output. I'm surprised your plants and algae went nuts. I had two of the double 36" strips over my 33G (2x 21W 10000K and 2x 21W 6700K for a total of 84W) and I could only grow moderate light requiring plants. At any rate, they should definitely last longer than a couple weeks. I ran mine for 1.5 years before I sold it and the plants were doing fine the whole time. It is important to not move them while they are turned on as that can shorten the lifespan of the bulbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 They should last much longer. It is possible that there is a problem with the ballast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 From what I have been reading on this forum, as well as a few others, there have been quite a few problems with the 48" T5 Coralife lights that you purchased. I have the same light over one of my tanks, and have had no issues for 1 1/2 yrs now, so I guess that I'm one of the lucky ones. Below is a link to a discussion about this very fixture, where a number of people have had problems with the Coralife T5 fixtures. Unfortunately the thread was locked by the overzealous mods & admin on that site, but I guess that their definition of 'vendor' is a bit different than most everyone elses. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=153260 HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mbuna Ron Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 From what I have been reading on this forum, as well as a few others, there have been quite a few problems with the 48" T5 Coralife lights that you purchased. I have the same light over one of my tanks, and have had no issues for 1 1/2 yrs now, so I guess that I'm one of the lucky ones. Below is a link to a discussion about this very fixture, where a number of people have had problems with the Coralife T5 fixtures. Unfortunately the thread was locked by the overzealous mods & admin on that site, but I guess that their definition of 'vendor' is a bit different than most everyone elses.http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=153260 HTH I have 2 48"Coralife T5's and 2 36" T5's and have had issues with both sizes. I have a surge protector for the fixtures-however they are prone to problems during a spike and seem to have weak ballasts. I would not recommend them as a reliable product. In fact, nothing seems to be reliable any more-there is poor quality control in China Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wandering wonderer Posted October 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 Thanks for all the input Looks like I made a poor purchasing decision.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinW Posted October 16, 2007 Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 I also had a 48" Coralife fixture that had the ballast burn out during a thunderstorm this past August. The fixture was only10 months old. At around this time there was a post on this site from someone who had recently purchased a 48" light that had the ballast die. I had previously run a 36" light for a couple of years with no problems prior to this however. These lights are cheaper than their competitors but there might be a reason for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fshkpr4evr Posted October 19, 2007 Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 I have had bad luck with these fixtures a well. After a lot of investigating I add the following: Coralife T5 fixtures do NOT pass the strict CSA electrical requirement. This product legally should not be sold in Canada. The reason why it is, is because the CSA enforcement panel does not have pet stores on their radar screen. They are more concerned with the major retailers....Walmart, Canadian Tire, and department stores. Having said all that, I recommend the Hagen GLO T5 HO light fixture and HO bulbs. These items have not only passed the CSA electrical approval but the European electrical standard; which are the most strict in the world. The GLO fixture have the best sealed caps, a highly polished aluminum reflector, and 3 different ways to install. It also looks very high tech as well. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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