EMI - Halides - Controllers

[Syntax1235]

Several years ago I ran three Reefbrite/xho pendants over a 180 gallon tank connected to a pre 2016 Apex, and I never experienced EMI issues. I installed two of the same pendants over a new build and instantly had issues with a Hydros and now an Apex. I used the Ferrite core cable devices that seemed to help; however, when I installed the third pendant a couple days ago the interference actually caused my FMM to disconnect, wreaking havoc with my ATO. Luckily, I had a "when" statement in my programming which turned off the pump before a disaster occurred, but it easily could have happened. I placed a few more ferrite core devices on the new optical sensor (I upgraded my ato and am now using an optical eye as opposed to the LSS) and I'll see if that works when the halides come on.

I can't be the only one dealing with these issues. How have you resolved them? Has anyone tried to wrap their ballast cords in EMI shielding? That may be the thing I try next. I don't want to get rid of my halides, I really like the lights.

 

[Reefing Madness]

BUMP

 

[Syntax1235]

BUMP

Thanks for the bump.

My eb32 and brain are mounted next to each other, but the ballasts are about 4 feet away from the brain. When I was using two halides the interference was barely noticeable; however, installing the third fixture has caused many issues. The lls seems most susceptible to the interference. I installed emi shielding ferite clips on all the wires, it may have helped a little but not enough for the sensors to be trusted. I actually have my ATO set to off when my halides are on to avoid overfilling.

I’m now looking at purchasing copper shielding tape to see if I can make a barrier around the brain. I’m also going to purchase an eb4 to try and move the wires away from the brain.

what a pain…. But I love my halides.

 

[Syntax1235]

Does the interference come from the ballast power cord or the ballast itself?

My fmm module disconnected again yesterday.

 

[Reefering1]

Try plugging the ballasts into a completely seperate circuit as the tank. Preferably on the other pole of breaker panel.

 

[A. grandis]

Have you contacted Hydros' and Apex's manufacturers? Do you run both in the same system? Perhaps you could also contact ReefBrite also? Those guys should have an answer.

 

[Syntax1235]

Have you contacted Hydros' and Apex's manufacturers? Do you run both in the same system? Perhaps you could also contact ReefBrite also? Those guys should have an answer.

I did contact Coral Vue and Neptune, they said it was emi from the halides and there’s nothing they could do. They both said to put the ballasts as far away as possible and use ferrite core clips.

 

[A. grandis]

I did contact Coral Vue and Neptune, they said it was emi from the halides and there’s nothing they could do. They both said to put the ballasts as far away as possible and use ferrite core clips.

Have you then spoken with Tullio, from ReefBrite?

 

[Syntax1235]

Have you then spoken with Tullio, from ReefBrite?

Yup. He says that if the ballast fires the lamp then the issue is with the controller.

 

[A. grandis]

Yup. He says that if the ballast fires the lamp then the issue is with the controller.

LOL! Oh man!! get rid of those controllers then. That's what I would do. You need to choose what's the priority here, my friend. Good luck.

 

[oreo54]

I love the pointing fingers game...

https://palomar-engineers.com/rfi-kits/grow-light-rfi-kits

No idea if the above works.
No doubt the ballasts are emitting some emi.

Notable products that cause reported problems include: Lumatek LK-400, LK-1000 electronic ballast.

Possibly poor shielding design in the controller as well.
Point is to deal with it.
Ton of info here regarding ALL lighting tech

Dealing with RFI….

hey guys I’m wondering how you deal with RFI? I know gavitas, LEDs and magnetic ballasts barely produce RFI and shortening the chord and faraday cages help but are there any other real fixes for electric ballasts? i know theres ferrite beads/chokes and RFI paint and products like nanolux...

www.rollitup.org

Seems awful messy .
https://growershouse.com/nanolux-rf-filter-set-reduce-rf-interference

And my guess is both " black boxes" are just a group of ferrite cores...

Grow Light Ballast

tomthompson.com

 

[Syntax1235]

I love the pointing fingers game...

https://palomar-engineers.com/rfi-kits/grow-light-rfi-kits

No idea if the above works.
No doubt the ballasts are emitting some emi.



Possibly poor shielding design in the controller as well.
Point is to deal with it.
Ton of info here regarding ALL lighting tech

Dealing with RFI….

hey guys I’m wondering how you deal with RFI? I know gavitas, LEDs and magnetic ballasts barely produce RFI and shortening the chord and faraday cages help but are there any other real fixes for electric ballasts? i know theres ferrite beads/chokes and RFI paint and products like nanolux...

www.rollitup.org

Seems awful messy .
https://growershouse.com/nanolux-rf-filter-set-reduce-rf-interference

And my guess is both " black boxes" are just a group of ferrite cores...

Grow Light Ballast

tomthompson.com

Thanks for the detailed information. I’ve ordered these from Amazon a couple days ago, they will be delivered on Tuesday


I’ll look into the other options you posted if this fails to do the job.

 

[crusso1993]

I love the pointing fingers game...

https://palomar-engineers.com/rfi-kits/grow-light-rfi-kits

No idea if the above works.
No doubt the ballasts are emitting some emi.



Possibly poor shielding design in the controller as well.
Point is to deal with it.
Ton of info here regarding ALL lighting tech

Dealing with RFI….

hey guys I’m wondering how you deal with RFI? I know gavitas, LEDs and magnetic ballasts barely produce RFI and shortening the chord and faraday cages help but are there any other real fixes for electric ballasts? i know theres ferrite beads/chokes and RFI paint and products like nanolux...

www.rollitup.org

Seems awful messy .
https://growershouse.com/nanolux-rf-filter-set-reduce-rf-interference

And my guess is both " black boxes" are just a group of ferrite cores...

Grow Light Ballast

tomthompson.com

Thanks for the detailed information. I’ve ordered these from Amazon a couple days ago, they will be delivered on Tuesday


I’ll look into the other options you posted if this fails to do the job.

I have used the ones from Palomar Engineering. Not the prettiest solution but they worked. (Kind of like me! )

 

[Syntax1235]

I just wrapped all my ballast wires in copper sleeve and it didn’t really help at all. $100 for the wrap and nothing. This is frustrating.

 

[oreo54]

I just wrapped all my ballast wires in copper sleeve and it didn’t really help at all. $100 for the wrap and nothing. This is frustrating.

The cable shield works best when the signal lines are completely surrounded by a conductive "tunnel" that is completely at ground potential. That means it should be grounded at BOTH ends (grounded at one end means the other end is similar to an antenna at some frequencies).

Talk:Shielded cable - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Besides you may need both" in" and " out" cables shielded.

 

[Syntax1235]

Talk:Shielded cable - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Besides you may need both" in" and " out" cables shielded.

How would I go about grounding the cable sleeve?

Yes, I have the wire covered from the outlet to the ballast AND from ballast to light.

 

[oreo54]

How would I go about grounding the cable sleeve?

Yes, I have the wire covered from the outlet to the ballast AND from ballast to light.

I ASSUME you just solder a wire to each end and hook it to chassis ground in the ballasts.
Green wire...

BUT.....AND A BIG BUT ....you should verify with someone more versed as an electrician

 

[Syntax1235]

I ASSUME you just solder a wire to each end and hook it to chassis ground in the ballasts.
Green wire...

BUT.....AND A BIG BUT ....you should verify with someone more versed as an electrician

Thanks for the info. I’m not comfortable with opening the ballasts, I think I’ll see if I can find another way to ground the ends. I’ll have to wrestle with this for a while.

 

[oreo54]

Thanks for the info. I’m not comfortable with opening the ballasts, I think I’ll see if I can find another way to ground the ends. I’ll have to wrestle with this for a while.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07NDKM6X7/ref=sspa_mw_detail_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9kZXRhaWwp13NParams

 

[Syntax1235]

The first dip in the readings is with the copper sleeve in place ungrounded. The second dip is with an attempted ground. I used an old ground probe and plugged it into an outlet. I zip tied the metal part of the probe to my metal light rack, all my wires make contact with it at some point in the run. As you can see it didn’t make much of a difference.

Maybe I need to connect wire to every end piece and connect to the ground that way? If the house being the common ground is the issue, then I may have to resort to installing another ground rod and connect the ground that way.
This has turned into quite the adventure, I am kind of beginning to feel like Ahab.