Freshwater Aqualight T5 Series - Double Linear Strip

[bschuhart]

My Coralife 30"Freshwater Aqualight T5 Series - Double Linear Strip failed tonight. It flickered then when dark. when I checked it out the lense had a melted spot where the metal ring is on the bulb.

Has anyone dealt with Energy Savers Inc./Coralife?

 

[Prince]

They are under Central pet like most of the stuff we buy. They seem to be okay i have to Zilla (also under Central Pet) bulbs for my geckos that I have to send back. Only thing they required from me is a reciept. I might be the too. If you can find any Petco is having a clearance and their Coralife T5Ho bulbs. They 30" ones are 5 bucks now. I have 8 sets 6700k/10000k sets. Andrew sold those fixturers at Scales so he might have some insight too. Thats where i got mine from. goodluck.

 

[bschuhart]

I could be just a burned out bulb, that's what I'll try first. The odd thing is the melted spot on the lense. Do bulbs get hotter just before they burn out?

 

[Prince]

I had that happen to me on one of my lights when a bulb blew too. Don't know if they heat up before they blow though. If I remember correctly the bulb end cap contacted the lens (user error or the fixture) and melted it a bit.

 

[AndyNarwhal]

As a lamp approaches end of life the filament gets hotter and can cause the lens to soften and then melt. This is mostly due to the fact that in the low profile Coralife fixtures the lens is also really close to the lamps. It also doesn't help that the Coralife ballasts overdrive the NO T5 lamps to get more light out of them which makes them run hotter too. Although it is a NO T5 fixture, HO T5 lamps work perfectly well in them and will actually run a little cooler and you may want to get them as replacements. If you contact Tech Support at Central Aquatics they should be able to get you a replacement lens.
Andy

 

[minifoot77]

i just got a confirmation email central is sending me two replacements fixtures one 36" and one 48"

 

[bschuhart]

I haven't got a reply from Central aquatics and it's been over a week.

I picked up 2 HO T5's for $5 each at Petco and will see if they last longer than a month.

Thanks for the tip, I didn't know you could use a HO bulb in a standard fixture. It works fine s far.