VHO Lighting problem

Neoz

Neoz

New member
Ok so I'm re-installing the wiring harness hookup for my tank lighting. It has MH and VHO's. Got the 4 MH working fine (man them suckers are bright!). Now the problem with the VHO's. I can't get them to come on.

I'll try to describe. First of all there are only 2 bulbs. The hood is wired for 4. Its running a controller with the name of "Solar 1000" and a Icecap Ballast 660.

I downloaded the manual off the internet for the Solor 1000. Set the controller to default settings. The controller has a self test mode which comes back "system check passed" I set the time up correct and everything. So I don't think that is the problem.

A few questions for you as I trouble shoot this. One there is no on off switch for the VHO's. Is this normal? The entire wiring goes from the lights to the ballast and controller and one plug to the electrical outlet. What if I wanted to just turn on the VHO's at any given time to view the tank? No switch?

I'm wondering if the Icecap ballast is bad. I checked the fuse and replaced that with the same thing. Just trying to get Lucky there I guess.

Any ideas anyone can suggest to start trouble shooting this. I'll try to post some pictures if that will help. Thanks...
 
Dave,

Icecap has a wiring diagram for the 660 here: http://www.icecapinc.com/01/document2.pdf

If it isn't wired correctly it will not fire the bulbs, and if you have any loose connections it will flash on and then go out immediately. I would follow the diagram for the two bulb configuration and just to make sure I would re-connect all of the end-caps. I have had a bad wire harness and a replacement isn't a bad idea especially if the wires look jacked. The last resort is to contact Icecap and send the ballast back to be refurbished. They charged me $65 to refurbish an older model that I bought used that didn't work. If the ballast that you have is still under warranty then they will fix it for free. The turn around for them is less than a week and they have great customer service.

Dave
 
Re: VHO Lighting problem

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15017033#post15017033 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Neoz

A few questions for you as I trouble shoot this. One there is no on off switch for the VHO's. Is this normal? The entire wiring goes from the lights to the ballast and controller and one plug to the electrical outlet. What if I wanted to just turn on the VHO's at any given time to view the tank? No switch?
Click to expand...

You can add a switch to the power cord.
 
Dave thanks for the link!

I think I have a messed up harness. Because I have blown 4 fuses in the Icecap trying to hook it up different ways. :o

I'll have the wife build me a new from from the diagram you posted. I think shes qualified, she designs, builds and trouble shoots very complex wiring harnesses for the goverment :D

She has the "proper tools"..... Guess I'll be buying dinner tonight ;) I'll let you know how it turns out...
 
I will because she deserves it either way for putting up with my new obsession :) . She actually can't wait until the first fish goes in.

Carol I remember seeing your light setup. Very nice and so neatly organized. Great job to both of you. What I liked the best was that you could actually get behind your tank with no problems.
 
No real need for a switch since most likely you be plugging into a timer device which has a switch if you want to turn it on when the lights are in timer off mode.
 
Neoz - I hope you get that lighting straightened out. 4MH and VHO's will really brighten up your tank like crazy! What wattage are the MH and VHO? Is it all one fixture? I can't wait to see some pics of your tank. You've been doing your research, which is great, and soon enough all your hard work will start paying off
 
The 4 MH's are all separate but wired together in a harness. They are 175 Watt 20K bulbs.

The 2 VHO's are Super Actinic 160 Watt. Have a place pre-wired and brackets to add 2 more VHO's. Not sure if I need them or not.

I haven't really concentrated on lighting yet. Thats what was in there when I purchased the tank. So being new I'm not even sure that is good or not for what I want to have.

So lets have some members ring in here. I'm mainly wanting to keep all kinds of corals in my tank. This will be a reef tank in the end when everything is ready. I know years down the road before my tank is ready :D. But will that lighting suffice for a coral tank or would I have to go stronger on the MH's and add 2 more VHO's.

I don't plan on having a lot of fish at all. Just all sorts of corals and hopefully some anemones. My wife loves those.
 
Yeah I seen that. Was planning on adding another ballast when and if I get to needing another 2 bulbs. But do you think down the road I will need to for corals? Guess It matter as to what corals correct?...
 
Two VHOs lamps as supplemental lighting for the halides should be plenty no matter what corals you plan on IMO. You also don't want NYSEG to get all your income:) You also might want to think about changing out the 20K MH lamps for lamps with higher PAR values. In my opinion, 175 watt 10k lamps with actinic supplements are an ideal combination both aesthetically and for coral growth and coloration. Just look at NWRogers tank as an example.
 
Single ended or Double ended MH bulbs? I've seen a 175watt XM 10k run on Ice Cap electronic ballast thats almost as blue as my 250watt 20k on GE Magnetic ballast. Both bulbs are Single Ended. 10k would give you more growth
 
Thanks for the suggestion guys. My MH bulbs are single ended. So I think down the road then I'll take both of your suggestion and switch them out for 10K bulbs. Thanks again....

As for NwRogers Tank I haven't seen it. Heard lots of good things about it from several members here. Any pictures of it floating around the forum?
 
not sure you even need 4 MH, you could proabably get away with two. How many MH ballasts are there? I'm confused by "The 4 MH's are all separate but wired together in a harness. "
 
They are all single fixtures. They are in a canopy. The original owner then made a harness which goes to two black ballasts. The bigger ballast box controls 3 of the MH lights. Meaning there are 3 seperate switchs on the one box. Then the 4th MH is running to another smaller box that sits on top of the bigger box. I'll post some pics later when I get home.

I agree about not needing all them. I'll learn by researching and some trial and error. :) Cause when I had them all lit up.... whew it was damn... bright!. As Drbronx said NYSEG might love me..
 
You do not NEED them all, but if you have them all available and ready to go, why not use them? If you keep them high enough off your water, 12-18", there will be no need for a chiller as they are only 175watters. Also having an extra 350watts of 10k MH will definately make a difference in your coral growth
 
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