Please help, My canopy almost caught on fire!!!

[reeferman06]

Hello all, today around 3 pm I smelled something burning, so I thought maybe it was my heat since it had just turned on! So I went back to feeding my week old son ! Well and hour later when I went to feed my fish I noticed my VHO's were off, when I lifted up my canopy this is what I found!
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k193/southernreefer21/IMG_1758.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k193/southernreefer21/IMG_1757.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k193/southernreefer21/IMG_1756.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>
P.S
I have 2 175w 14k MH, will my corals be ok with just those lights? I have sps and all the other coral types!

 

[SpektralerSpeer]

Hi reeferman06,

it looks to me like water got between the tube and the socket. However it looks as if you have the waterproof type, so it's a bit strange. Also strange is how it has only melted around the rim, unless it was seeping out from inside. Maybe it's just for the photo, but I wouldn't leave the wires so exposed, how is it usually mounted? I would replace them with new sockets, perhaps of a different brand and check the tube in case it is also damaged. You could even just replace the lot to be on the safe side... In the mean time, your corals will be fine with just the metal halides.

Paul

 

[RicGio]

A loose connection caused that damage, not water. Same thing happened to me! Those endcaps are a real PITA. (I'm sure you know) Unless the endcaps are seated just right they can loosen. My endcap didn't fry, I was able to salvage it, but the bulb pins were pitted/melted. So much so, that I couldn't use the bulb. Do you have an Icecap ballast, BTW?