Giesemann 60" Spectra won't light ATI bulbs (or if it does, it's only for a couple minutes)

[Dakota_reef]

I've had a beautiful Spectra 1500mm for a couple of years now, but I've run into an issue with new bulbs not working.

Last year I purchased 4 ATI bulbs. The 2 actinics worked just fine, and so did my blue plus. The Purple Plus from ATI refused to light, and even after getting a second Purple Plus, it still failed. I through in my old Aquablue Coral bulbs and ignored the issue.

Fast forward to today, I bought 2x Coral Plus ATI bulbs, and both fired up for a few minutes and then quit. Since then they have not functioned and I've tried different combinations of which socket I put them into and unplugging the ballasts and plugging them back in. I've tried flipping them around, changing their orientation, and even yelling at them. But they usually just flicker on for a split second, and shut down.

But my old bulbs still fire just fine. Plus, two actinics and one blue plus had no issues.

I contacted ATI and they have not had any reports of their bulbs not working in Giesemann ballasts. They said it could be the sockets.
I contacted Bulk Reef Supply (where I bought them) and they said the same thing, plus they use Giesemann ballasts with ATI bulbs

I contacted Giesemann and they said they have seen this issue, especially in the 60"/80w bulbs. But they told me it was probably a "bad charge" issue with the bulbs, but I can't fathom 4 bulbs being broken on arrival. I'm half tempted to just replace the ballasts with ATI ballasts and hope that fixes it?????

Below is the only post I could find relating to my issue, but not sure what the solution is.

Giesemann Spectra T5 ballast issue?

I have a 72" Giesemann Spectra with a front bank of T5s that have stopped turning on. This occurred yesterday when I changed the bulbs. Initially all four bulbs turned on. I'm using 3 blue plus and one purple bulb and wanted to see how the purple bulb would look in a different position...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[oreo54]

I've had a beautiful Spectra 1500mm for a couple of years now, but I've run into an issue with new bulbs not working.

Last year I purchased 4 ATI bulbs. The 2 actinics worked just fine, and so did my blue plus. The Purple Plus from ATI refused to light, and even after getting a second Purple Plus, it still failed. I through in my old Aquablue Coral bulbs and ignored the issue.

Fast forward to today, I bought 2x Coral Plus ATI bulbs, and both fired up for a few minutes and then quit. Since then they have not functioned and I've tried different combinations of which socket I put them into and unplugging the ballasts and plugging them back in. I've tried flipping them around, changing their orientation, and even yelling at them. But they usually just flicker on for a split second, and shut down.

But my old bulbs still fire just fine. Plus, two actinics and one blue plus had no issues.

I contacted ATI and they have not had any reports of their bulbs not working in Giesemann ballasts. They said it could be the sockets.
I contacted Bulk Reef Supply (where I bought them) and they said the same thing, plus they use Giesemann ballasts with ATI bulbs

I contacted Giesemann and they said they have seen this issue, especially in the 60"/80w bulbs. But they told me it was probably a "bad charge" issue with the bulbs, but I can't fathom 4 bulbs being broken on arrival. I'm half tempted to just replace the ballasts with ATI ballasts and hope that fixes it?????

Below is the only post I could find relating to my issue, but not sure what the solution is.

Giesemann Spectra T5 ballast issue?

I have a 72" Giesemann Spectra with a front bank of T5s that have stopped turning on. This occurred yesterday when I changed the bulbs. Initially all four bulbs turned on. I'm using 3 blue plus and one purple bulb and wanted to see how the purple bulb would look in a different position...

www.reef2reef.com

The thread you posted was a different issue..
There any bulbs (old or new) added to the socket had refused to fire.

You have success with 2 different (or more?) bulbs but only problems with a certain type.
I'm going with Giesemann on this one.
Neither they nor ATI "makes" the bulbs. Whoever is TODAY is probably questionable.
but no matter if I understand what they implied with a "bad charge" that could be a whole "lot" of bulbs so having the 2 from the same vendor and likely the same lot (they buy by the case) would not be unheard of.

so "that" ballast (may be aged a bit and not at its prime) and "that" bulb ( different gas ratio/amount) do not want to play together. Historically not unheard of. Well depending .
Note the 2 are on one ballast.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ati-t5-actinic-bulbs-not-working.907262/

I have a aquatic Life T5 Hybrid fixture. I bought 8 different ATI bulbs online in all different colors. The only one that didn't work was the actinic. Called the reseller and they sent me a new one. That didn't work either. Last week bought a 3rd one from local store. Nope, that one doesn't work either. All the other colors are fine. They are 60" ATI T5 bulbs. They don't even allow the other bulb in the bank to light up either. Tried both banks and same results.
Any ideas??

IF its not wiring/tombstones you are caught in the blame game.. Ballast vendor saying bulbs are defective. Bulb vendor blaming bad ballasts.

 

[Dakota_reef]

Thank you for the reply. It sounds like I'm in a conundrum no matter what the problem is or isn't. Now I have like $100 in bulbs that don't work, and I may be able to return 2 of them to BRS. I wish I had someone local who sold T5s so I wouldn't be anxious about getting new bulbs.

My next move is to buy Giesemann bulbs if I can find them somewhere in the US, since I doubt Giesemann would refund me if they came from Germany (which is how I got my Spectra since it wasn't sold here).

 

[oreo54]

Thank you for the reply. It sounds like I'm in a conundrum no matter what the problem is or isn't. Now I have like $100 in bulbs that don't work, and I may be able to return 2 of them to BRS. I wish I had someone local who sold T5s so I wouldn't be anxious about getting new bulbs.

My next move is to buy Giesemann bulbs if I can find them somewhere in the US, since I doubt Giesemann would refund me if they came from Germany (which is how I got my Spectra since it wasn't sold here).

Well you could just get a local replacement ballast if you are handy with that sort of thing.
not exactly cheap either but a spare..
https://aquacave.com/hep-2x80w-t5-h...uXiPA6lh6YwhrMncBGJA8YM2z8JT28FBoCq-gQAvD_BwE


How old is the Giesemann ballast? Out of curiosity.

 

[FUNGI]

Thank you for the reply. It sounds like I'm in a conundrum no matter what the problem is or isn't. Now I have like $100 in bulbs that don't work, and I may be able to return 2 of them to BRS. I wish I had someone local who sold T5s so I wouldn't be anxious about getting new bulbs.

My next move is to buy Giesemann bulbs if I can find them somewhere in the US, since I doubt Giesemann would refund me if they came from Germany (which is how I got my Spectra since it wasn't sold here).

Try here:

Giesemann PowerChrome T5 Bulbs - Mix and Match 10 Pack (CLOSEOUT)

Mix and match your favorite Giesemann PowerChrome T5 Bulbs.

store.coralvue.com

 

[Dakota_reef]

Well you could just get a local replacement ballast if you are handy with that sort of thing.
not exactly cheap either but a spare..
https://aquacave.com/hep-2x80w-t5-h...uXiPA6lh6YwhrMncBGJA8YM2z8JT28FBoCq-gQAvD_BwE


How old is the Giesemann ballast? Out of curiosity.

The ballast is two years old. I got the fixture in June of 2022. But it did the same thing last here with the ATI Purple Plus Bulbs.

Try here:

Giesemann PowerChrome T5 Bulbs - Mix and Match 10 Pack (CLOSEOUT)

Mix and match your favorite Giesemann PowerChrome T5 Bulbs.

store.coralvue.com

Thanks for the reference. I looked, and they are out of the 80w bulbs I need/want.

 

[oreo54]

The ballast is two years old. I got the fixture in June of 2022. But it did the same thing last here with the ATI Purple Plus Bulbs.



Thanks for the reference. I looked, and they are out of the 80w bulbs I need/want.

Coral Light II New Generation T5 Lamp

T5 high-performance tube. Long lasting bulbs with high-quality German Engineering. T5 Coral Light II New Generation from Korallen-Zucht makes an excellent mix of colors when used in conjunction with Fiji Purple and Super Blue. Blend of blue and white light 14,000K Sizes available 24W - 24"...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

"14000k" cct .. At least they are available.

On paper the 2 are similar. KZ may be whiter.

 

[Reefering1]

Have you given the bulbs the old wiggle and twist, when they should be on but aren't, if no flicker i would verify connections then replace ballast.

 

[Dakota_reef]

Have you given the bulbs the old wiggle and twist, when they should be on but aren't, if no flicker i would verify connections then replace ballast.

I've tried this, yes. They do flicker upon initial power-up.

 

[Dakota_reef]

Coral Light II New Generation T5 Lamp

T5 high-performance tube. Long lasting bulbs with high-quality German Engineering. T5 Coral Light II New Generation from Korallen-Zucht makes an excellent mix of colors when used in conjunction with Fiji Purple and Super Blue. Blend of blue and white light 14,000K Sizes available 24W - 24"...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

"14000k" cct .. At least they are available.

On paper the 2 are similar. KZ may be whiter.

Is there a link to the site that I can use to compare bulbs? That is awesome.

 

[oreo54]

Is there a link to the site that I can use to compare bulbs? That is awesome.

This has some

RAYCAL

RAYCAL can perform the optical simulation of many required for coral breeding. RAYCALはサンゴ飼育に必要な多くの光学シミュレーションを行う事が可能です。

1023world.net

And here. Some links are broke but most data is there .

Giesemann/ATI T5 lamp comparison - pics, PAR, and a whole mess of data

(For viewing this document as a single post, please click here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WHuol0uRn2W7Jk-rxYWmtNgUF-lkY_VlUpAiNsMwME4/pub )So I am relatively new to the T5 scene. I’m more an LED guy myself, but the same principles apply (it’s all physics anyway). My first T5 added were ...

www.nano-reef.com

Data...

ATI/Giesemann lamp writeup

docs.google.com

 

[Reefering1]

I've tried this, yes. They do flicker upon initial power-up.

What about after they should already by on, can you get them to flicker? If only on initial start up, you need new ballast

 

[oreo54]

What about after they should already by on, can you get them to flicker? If only on initial start up, you need new ballast

Probably right BUT the ballasts are fine for other bulbs. Its just the ati coral plus ( now) and purple plus ( past).

But my old bulbs still fire just fine. Plus, two actinics and one blue plus had no issues.

 

[Dakota_reef]

BRS is sending me 2 of the Coral Light II bulbs so hopefully that will work. If not, I'm definitely going to replace the ballasts.

Since I have 20K halides now (lost PAR relative to the previous 10K bulbs), I might just double up on these and forgo Actinics if they do a good job fluorescing. The Crisp Blue/white of the halides is stunning. In the past I've always been a 10K/14K guy, but hey. I can change!

 

[Reefering1]

10/14k is still readily available...

AQUA BRIGHT SOLUTIONS

Supplier of high quality aquarium products

aquabrightsolutions.com

 

[Dakota_reef]

10/14k is still readily available...

AQUA BRIGHT SOLUTIONS

Supplier of high quality aquarium products

aquabrightsolutions.com

I actually got my 20Ks from them! My issue was I thought I had 14Ks currently in my fixture, so I bought the 20Ks, but then realized I had 10Ks when I replaced them. Oops! But so far I'm happy with the 20Ks. I only run my halides 4.5 hours a day, so I can just crank that to 8 hours over the course of a few weeks if I wanted more growth. I still get 275-300 PAR on the sand bed (22 inches). 500+ 10 inches below the surface

 

[Reefering1]

Nice!! i hear good things about their bulbs. What ballast and configuration are you running(se/de)?

 

[Reefering1]

Share a couple pics please. I don't think I've seen the 20k..

 

[Dakota_reef]

Nice!! i hear good things about their bulbs. What ballast and configuration are you running(se/de)?

These are the SE bulbs. I have a super old Icecap ballast and the other is a Luxcore. Bulbs are only a couple weeks old, but They look great. I'll take a pic when they come on later today

 

[Dakota_reef]

Share a couple pics please. I don't think I've seen the 20k..

IGNORE THE RED ALGAE. ::waves hand:: I'm just terrible at water changes :\