Bad Bulb or Ballast?

[Dugless]

Came home yesterday to find a half lit tank. The ballast was cool to the touch. Checked all the connections and everything was good. When unplugging and replugging the bulb would flash as if it wanted to start and then nothing. Tried this a handful of times and the bulb finally lit, but after warming up the color was noticeably more red and different from the normally operating bulb it is next to. Would a ballast recognize a bad bulb and therefore stay cool? Or is this a typical bad bulb, it is only 1 1/2 months old, Reeflux 10k.

 

[jfingers8]

Take the good bulb and stick it in that slot to see if it functions normal or not. That way you will find out if it's the bulb or ballast.

 

[zigzag1]

Take the good bulb and stick it in that slot to see if it functions normal or not. That way you will find out if it's the bulb or ballast.

+1

Yes, usually the best way to go. Swap the bulbs and see what the result is. That will tell you which is bad. And if you are setting up a fixture that only has one bulb, keep the old ones or try to obtain a used but known working bulb to keep on hand for just such testing situations. GL!

 

[Dugless]

Turns out its the bulb. Switch them and the problem followed the bulb. Thanks guys. Cross your fingers Coralvue replaces it.