MH bulb delay

[ALRHA]

When i turn my MH bulbs, it takes them some time to turn on (and then once they are on, they warm up in a few seconds). Is it normal for them to not turn on right away? sometimes i hear a buzzing sound while it's waiting to turn on and sometimes it doesnt turn on at all unless i shut it and try again.
is this normal? are the bulbs just "breaking in"? is something loose?
these are the SpaceLights.

[xerces]

Sounds normal to me!

[One Salty Dog]

whose bulbs are they? I had to replace both my coral View 250 watt bulbs 2 times before changing brands. What you have happening is exactly how the problem started with my bulbs.
Rob

[ALRHA]

They are the ones that came with the Spacelight - i still have the bulbs boxes and can check.
what happened with your bulbs?

[One Salty Dog]

My bulbs just stopped firing. I would have to turn the ballast on and off quickly several times until they would fire. It did start as a simple "sometimes" they didn't fire up and it went down hill from there. This issue would start as early as a week and as long as a few months after they were put in service.
Rob

[Toutouche]

Alrha,
From your equipment list, that is a total of 6 bulbs. MH bulbs pull a lot when firing up and for 6 to turn on at the sametime is a lot ( depending on how you have them plugged in on circuits). It is rather normal for them to turn on staggered in this case. However, do some of them never turn on unless you play with them? If so, then there is a problem.

[frank]

make shure your ballast are correct for the type of lights even if the ballast says there good for that wattage does not mean they are good for that lampalso verifie your cappacitor or the ignotion stater

[ALRHA]

I have them all on different timers, so at most there are two bulbs turning on within an hour.
the ballast are internal with the fixture (i didnt buy them separately, they're installed by the manufacturer)
i will see if this problems persists or goes away as they burn in.

[vette68]

I'd have to agree with Frank, I am an Electricain (18 years).
http://www.aquarium-lighting-guide.com
Try this site to make sure your wiring is correct, as well look at it for ASNI codes to see the set ups for bulbs (watts) to Ballasts
Remember this, MH are filled with gas that ignites at high temperatures so the gas has to be heated up to that temperature first. This is what takes the couple minutes for the light to be the strongest. If for what ever reason you turn the MH light off it has a re-igniting time , which is usually 4-10 minutes depending on the light. If the power is interupped for any reason, say from hydro like a voltage drop, as simple as if your light is on the same phase as your fridge and when your fridge comes on it will draw a voltage drop. (sometimes you can see this when your fridge comes on your lights in the kitchen dim for a second.) Wel this will cause the MH light to have to re ignite.

[Toutouche]

Vette & Frank,
His units are all internal and I'm sure the ballast is the right type for the bulbs.

Alrha,
Is each unit on a different breaker or are they all on the same one and what is the Amp rating of the breakers? On my tank I'm running all 20 Amp breakers and my 3 Halides are split 2/1 on different breakers.

[ALRHA]

Well the way my tank is set up, it's all in one breaker because its all going into one outlet (i didnt rewire the house for the tank). But i think it is a strong outlet as it used to be designated for a big A/C unit.
I came home again to find the same light was off. But this time, before pressing the button on the timer, i checked it and found that the timer was on "OFF" it is programmed right like the other 3 timers, but for some reason didnt turn the bulb on. I am not gonna touch that timer now anymore and see if it works tomorrow, if not, i'll try switching timers to see if its the timer or the fixture. they are electronic timers. i'll keep you posted.
and like greg said, the whole fixture is one piece (and this is exactly why i wanted it like that, fewer places i could mess up on) so i doubt the ballasts would be the problem, unless they were defective which i doubt.

[Toutouche]

Well from what you've just said, I'm still going to go with the 6 bulbs on one circuit ( among other things too) is a lot to be firing. You have 3 bulbs going on at each time and from what I've heard that can be problematic.., not always, but definitely can be. As I said, I have 2 of mine going on together and the other just after.

[One Salty Dog]

Usually the designated outlet for an air conditioning unit is a full 15 Amps to itself and sometimes it is also a slow blow type fuse / breaker. I have no experience running more then 2 bulbs but I would be inclined to think that if the receptacle can fire a single high wattage bulb then it should be able to also handle several smaller wattage bulbs because the draw on the circuit would be the same. Firing them in a staggered fashion will however be easier on the circuit. Because you have added that the timer is still in the OFF setting there is likely something else going on. Dose the timer have a on off override switch? If so give that a shot and see if the bulb fires up.
Rob

[ALRHA]

I too have one on then one one then two on then two on.
yes, when i overide it, it went on. so i think it might have just been the timer.

[One Salty Dog]

I would have to agree with you that the timer is looking like the problem.
Rob

[ALRHA]

now i got the moderator to agree wth me - i'm in good shape!

[Toutouche]

Well then, I'll agree too.., afterall, it's not the 1st time I've heard of a timer going bad.