T5 Lighting unit problem

Hi,

I have a Juwel T5 unit in my 450L Cichlid tank which is a room divider i.e. open on both sides not against wall. I only mention this becuase I know most tanks back onto a wall or have a background of some sort and the lighting choice can be influenced by what goes in the back and what goes in the front.

I've had the unit for 2 years with no problems. One high lite tube is a 1200mm 54 watt "Blue" tube and the other is a 1200mm 54 watt white light tube but I'm not sure what the actual name is as the print has been smudged. It definetly starts with "Ma" but the third letter seems to be "d" or something similar and not "r" as would be the case if it was a "Marine" tube. I can't find any other High Lite which starts "Ma" other than "Marine" though. Confused

Today the unit stopped working altogether. I tried changing the fuse and re-wiring the plug but with no effect. I also swapped the tubes over but again no joy.

I therefore have the following questions :-

1. If one tube goes does the unit stop working altogether?
2. If the answer to 1. above is "No" then I guess the unit itself has stopped working as the odds of both tubes stopping working at the exact same time must be pretty remote?
3. If the answer to 1. above is "yes" then what combination of replacement tubes do people recommend I get? Should I get a Blue and Marine or some other combination of Blue, Nature, Colour, Day, Marine??? My tank is fairly simple with 70kg of rocks and no plants so whatever is best for the fish and looks good!!

Appreciate all feedback.

FYI here's a pic of the tank. (The plants are gone now!!)



BenEadir

dunno what that system is like myself iv never seen it but theres a possibility it could be a ballast or choke gone in the unit itself? the ballast is the liighting gear so if thats gone usually nothing lights......hope that helps
Stuie

Hi Stuie,

Thnaks for the reply. Can the Ballast (or choke) be fixed or am I looking at forking out for a new unit? (I've no idea what the ballast or choke are and I'm not Mr. DIY!!)

Ben

Were you see the "MA - D" is it possible these are smudged? It could say midday 6400k. Which is a tropical white bulb.

I have never had one of these light unis so i cant really help with the rest. But maybe someone on here has a Juwel T5 high light unit and could remove one of the bulbs on there tank to see if both bulbs go off when one is removed.
This would at least answer weather the ballast is working or not.

My juwel T5 will not work with one bulb, or my fluval ballast either, or my electronic T5s.
Lights need to be independent of each other circuit wise I think to work with only one bulb in. But once they are in thats should be ok even if one has failed.


Any chance moisture got in there and is still in there, a short? You caould give it a gryout in a warm place to see if this is the case.
Mark

The d may be ri in marine mangles up?

yeah you can change the ballast or choke easy enough if thats the problem,as mark said it could be a short either , if you have any mates that are sparks or 3rd or4th year apprentices they would be able to tell you der and den ( i should hope),hope ya get it sorted,you can pick up ballast easy enough i find michael garrys in the northwest buisness park the best and cheapest
regards Stuie

Hi all,

Thanks for the insighful posts. This really is my achilles heel. I have zero DIY skills and have no idea what Choke or Ballast even means!! I changed the fuse and changed the plug without success. The unit itself seems sealed to me so I can't open it up to see if there is a short inside in the unit.

I don't want to throw out a repairable T5 and incur the cost of a new one if I can help it!!

Where are you based mate?


Mark

Stillorgan

I am in Finglas mate, I have an electronic T5 ballast you can test the lamps if you want.

Assuming you have a on/off switch on the lighting cable, have you checked out the wiring on the switch, inspecting it might give you some clue, see if it's loose in any way.

Have you tried drying it out, if it is a short from moisture builup in a faulty ballast that may also be a bit hazardous to keeper and fish alike.

If you have not completely closed te seal caps moisture may have built up in one of the end cap lamp sockets, is there any sort of discolouration/rustage on the lamp pins?

I also have that same Juwel T5 lighting unit ina vision 450, 1200mm so you could bring your lamps if it was handy for you.



Mark

Hi Mark,

I removed the switch altogether and installed the plug before the location of the switch so that shouldn't be a problem.

I'll check for rust etc this evening. Thanks fort he offer to test the ballast, I might have to take you up on that.

Ben

Hi all,

TommyT kindly let me test my bulbs in his house (fantastic new tank BTW TommyT) and they both work so my problem is with the T5 unit itself.

I've cleaned the unit it and replaced the plug (and fuse) above the switch i.e. I cut the wire above the switch and installed a new plug but when I reinstall the bulbs they don't light.

I guess it's time to explore replacing the "Choke or Ballast" before laying out €'s for a new unit but this presents two problems for me:-

1. I've no idea what "Choke or Ballast" are!!
2. The T5 unit looks to be a sealed unit to me with no screws or obvious ways to open it and get at the insides.

If there is anyone here who can guide me through the process of checking and replacing the Choke and Ballast on a T5 I'm all ears!!

Here's hoping someone can help me.

Ben

I'm no Electrician but these don't have a great reputation, you could bring the unit to an electrical wholesalers, I deal with them on a regular basis and they are always obliging, firstly, I have the same unit and the switch ( The Tank is just running for a few Months.) keeps crackling indicating a poor connection, I bought Aquaray led lights and the Bin has it's arms out waiting to receive the crap Juwel lights, why does it continue, there were comments earlier about knock off/copied Tanks etc, if the Genuine manufacturers keep churning out crap for the consumer at high prices we have to look elsewhere. Any way, sorry for the Tangent.

So , back to the issue at Hand, the Electrical wholesalers have a pen like device that can track the current up from the plug to the ballast etc, this will give you an idea where the unit is malfunctioning.

There are links on the web to replacing the innards but the plastic units need to be cracked open, then they need re sealing etc.

Kev.

Thanks Kev,

Sounds like I'm going to have to fork out for a new lighting system.

Suggestions for a replacement to a T5 system anyone? (Won't be buying one of these again!!)

Ben

How old is it?

Kev.

Hi Kev,

It's 2.5 years old.

Ben

Hi Ben, I'd say it's shot, if you can get it up to me I can get a guy to look at it for you.

Kev.

I think you're right Kev. Putting more time and effort into trying to diagnose the problem and then effect a repair may exceed the cost of purchasing a replacement.

So, what do people recommend bearing in mind the T5 seemed to do a good job (while it lasted) and the tank is a an open sided room divider. (Not sure that has any real bearing but thought I'd mention it just in case, see the picture on the first page)

Cheers all.

Ben

It depends on A. What you are willing to pay.
B. What you want it to do.
C. Are you willing to use different technology?


You could contact the lfs both here as sponsors or your own lfs to see if there is a replacement lighting unit that would fit your Tank ( not Juwel I assume )

You could buy an Arcadia Ballast and two Tubes, you could leave your current light unit in place and attach the new tubes via T5 clips to the old tubes, this would make things very easy and you won't ruin the look of the top of the Tank.

The last solution would be to buy two led bars like AquaRay Aquabeam, If you live near me you can take a look at mine, they can be attached to the two leaves/lids still leaving you with a decent looking Tank Lid.


Take two of these clips, remove the nipples meant for the reflector, then glue both flat surfaces to each other, this will let you piggyback one tube onto another, Hope that makes sense.

Kev.

Hi Kev,

Using an Arcadia Twin Controller 54W to 'piggy back' onto the Juwel chasis is the way I'll go but my LFS isn't able to source one for me so I'm back to square one.

Can you (or anyone) recommend where I can get one, preferably in South Dublin or online. Please PM me if necessary

Ben