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Hi all, well, the saga continues. If you've seen my other posts, you'll know that I've recently started up a 120 gallon planted tank. For lighting, I got a 4 x 54 T-5 HO light from my LFS by Deep blue professional. It's called the Solar Xtreme. All was well for about a week and now the GFCI keeps kicking out and it looks like two of the bulbs are not lighting. It appears that one of the bulbs is burnt out. My question is would a burned out bulb cause the GFCI to trip? The manual doesn't have much in the way of troubleshooting. The whole troubleshooting section says:

PROBLEM: LAMP AND LEDS WON'T TURN ON
SOLUTION: CHECK THE MASTER SWITCH

PROBLEM: LEDS TURN ON BUT LAMP WON'T TURN ON
SOLUTION: LAMP MAY HAVE COME LOOSE DURING SHIPPING, REFER TO THE LAMP REPLACEMENT SECTION TO ENSURE THE LAMPS HAVE A PROPER CONNECTION.

AND THAT'S IT!!!! So, does anyone here have any experience with this light? I've called the LFS but of course they are closed on New Year's Day. I've also checked their website, and that doesn't have much in the way of info either.

Hi,
Do you have any electronic test equipment? An ohm meter
would help. Unless a bulb shorts out, and I don't see how
it could, there has to be a grounding problem. It could
be as easy as a loose screw holding a wire to a metal
connector, or a problem in the wiring itself. I'd go for
the loose connection as from your comments, it worked fine
for a while. If you have moisture inside the bulb enclosure
say from bubbles bursting on the surface getting the light
assembly damp or wet. Or you have condensation occuring
after the lights go out, that too could cause it.

If it is a new assembly, I would return it immediately
either for a new one, or for another brand.
Also, you can go online and by properly phrasing
a question, find out if there are others with similiar
problems with that specific manufacturer or that specific
model.

The GFI's are designed to "trip" if they sense ANY current,
no matter how small, going to ground.

Since I'm speaking in generalities, you can tell that
I do not have any experiance with that particular light
assembly.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Thanks Frank,
Took it back to my LFS and they had another ... switched out the bulbs and found that it wasn't working either! They are ordering me another and gave me a "loaner" strip light. If the new one is bad as well, I'll go with a different model. Something is definitely shorting out inside, and the bulbs were working as we switched them to the other sockets and they lit up. I would suspect a short in the controller. For time being, running the four foot double CF (130 watts) and a 3 foot double strip light I had laying around from my old tank ... not ideal, but should tide me over till the new light comes in. Can certainly tell the difference between the T-5 and the CF/T-8 bulbs.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

UPDATE: Got a call from my LFS. They contacted the manufacturer and discovered that they had re-called an entire run of these lights because of faulty GFCI's. New redesigned light should be in next Friday. Meanwhile, even under the decreased lighting, the plants are doing well ... had to trim back my Cabomba after just a week. I am seeing some growth lag on the rotala, but hope it'll survive till the light comes in!

Thanks for the feedback
Frank

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Hi, I am new here but I googled the Deep Blue SolarXtreme Light and came across this. I bought one of these back in november 2010 and had it about 3 weeks and half of the LED's burned out. I took it back to my LFS and they gave me another and that was the 21st of December. Last night the light completely stopped working all together. No LED's or bulbs. The display screen for the timer went blank as well. The light on the GFCI is lit red and has no indication of the circuit shorting out. Of course Deep Blue is almost impossible to contact so I didn't know if anyone here had any suggestions. Also if anyone knows where I could get a replacement mounting leg. When I was putting in on the tank I didn't realize I had them too close together and the plastic cracked on one leg. Thanks

Hi,
I've visited several sites were other folks were praising
this lighting system. You could have bought a lemon,
or that series has a problem.

This is a set of the instructions that they (I assume)
send along in the box:
http://www.3reef.com/forums/reef-lighting/solar-xtreme-t5-lighting-system-pic-heavy-97956.html

In reading the instructions, I'm gathering that the red
light should be on, indicating that there is no problem
with your home electrical system nor that of the light.
Had the GFI system detected any currents to ground it would
have shut the system down and the light in the hand held
tester, would not be glowing red. In some cases, the
indicator will turn green if all is right, and red if it
is not. Since the instructions don't say anything about
the light changing color, I don't think that is the
case with this system.

If you are sure you have the timer set correctly, and the
bulbs arn't turning off because the misadjusted timer is
turning them off then it would be time to return the
system.

I would, again, take the system back to your dealer. It's
not working, it's under warranty, and simply plead complete
ignorance of anything electric. As for the broken foot,
I would think an email to the manufacturer should resolve
that problem. It's too new for your dealer to have
accumulated any "extra" parts for it...Unless, you can
convince him to take one off of the assembly you first
turned in.



-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--