dead lights in juwel tank?

vibe666

my tank lights have (literally) been on the blink in my juwel vision 260 for a while and have recently stopped working entirely.

if i turn the tube it lights up briefly and then turns off again, so i'm not sure if it's the bulbs or if the unit is dodgy.

i've seen guides on replacing the ballast, but i'm not sure if it's just the bulbs that have gone or ballast, or even how to tell?

i can get another one on ebay for about €100, but i'm jut not sure if i'm wasting my money or if new bulbs would do the trick.

anyone have any thoughts/experience?

eg6 vtec

funny enough i have just finished repairing my 260 light unit, i bought the tank and it was already busted, i done my own how to thread on it on a few fish sites if you want i can pm you links, all in the repair will set you back just over 30 euro

you say when you turn the tubes they light up maybe the tube sockets are faulty, these can be got on eBay for very little as well

vibe666

that would be great if you didn't mind sending the links on?

i'm *reasonably* handy and it doesn't look all that complicated to do. just seems like you have to cut open the case and swap out the ballast for a new one? €30 sounds a lot better than €100 anyway!

eg6 vtec

there is a bit of cutting involved, just a heads up if you do decide to cut it open, unlike the other threads online where the ballast is at one of the ends, on the 260 it is in the center, i made this mistake and cut open way to much of the unit and had a lot more to seal up, if you do a small cut in the center you will see the ballast inside and just follow it along

pm coming your way

vibe666

thanks for that.

do you remember the specifics (wattage etc.) of the required ballast?

just so I can leave it where it is in the tank without cutting it open until the new one arrives.

eg6 vtec

this is the one i took out

Meleftone

Could you pm me those links as well if you don't mind. Thanks.

eg6 vtec

Pm sent

vibe666

i got curious and had a look at the bottom of mine and it's actually 2x38w unit, so i'll just replace like for like i think. i'm happy enough with the light output anyway.

i had actually wondered what it would take to swap out the tubes for LED's, but i think it's a bit beyond my skills.

eg6 vtec

vibe666 wrote: »

i got curious and had a look at the bottom of mine and it's actually 2x38w unit, so i'll just replace like for like i think. i'm happy enough with the light output anyway.

i had actually wondered what it would take to swap out the tubes for LED's, but i think it's a bit beyond my skills.

You probably have T8 tubes then? My one has T5

There is loads of how to on led have a look

vibe666

no markings at all on the tubes (one just has juwel stamped on it but nothing else), so i have no idea.

just need to find time to look into it properly, but with a 2 year old in the house and a wife giving birth sometime in the next 6 weeks, free time isn't something that i get a lot of!

Alkers

I have a spare ballast for a Vision 180, not sure if it is the same?

m4r10

vibe666 wrote: »

no markings at all on the tubes (one just has juwel stamped on it but nothing else), so i have no idea.

T8 - size of your thumb (in diameter)
T5 - size of your pinky

I don't think that it will make any difference what type of bulbs you got there as long as the ballast has the correct wattage (I'm open to correction though).

vibe666

m4r10 wrote: »

T8 - size of your thumb (in diameter)
T5 - size of your pinky

I don't think that it will make any difference what type of bulbs you got there as long as the ballast has the correct wattage (I'm open to correction though).

definitely a T8 in that case, thanks. never knew what the actual difference was.

eg6 vtec

i know the feeling about finding time, my oldest just turned 2 and our youngest is just 8 weeks now, i was a good month getting mine up and running


T8 and T5 ballast will be different so just make sure you get the right one for your tubes