250 Watt MH Question

MuralReef

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#1
One of my MH has gone out the last couple of days around 10:15-10:30. It will then fire up on its own after a cool down period. I have not changed any settings on my Apex and this is not happening with any of the other fixtures. Is it the bulb? Is it the ballast? What do you guys think?
 

scchase

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#2
Usually that is a bulb going bad easiest way to check is just swap 2 bulbs
 

halmus

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#3
Some basic troubleshooting would be to plug it directly into a socket and bypass the Apex. Eliminate that variable.

Swap bulbs and/or ballest with known good ones.

You might be able to isolate the problem that way.

Let me know if you come up with a fried unit. I’ve got two 250 w MH ballasts and DE pendants I won’t be using again from my last tank. They’d look good in the school.
 

MuralReef

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#4
Do you have it programmed to turn off at a certain temp? Maybe the tank has gotten a bit warmer the last few days?
I do but they are all programmed the same way and the temp is currently a problem.
 

MuralReef

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#5
Some basic troubleshooting would be to plug it directly into a socket and bypass the Apex. Eliminate that variable.

Swap bulbs and/or ballest with known good ones.

You might be able to isolate the problem that way.

Let me know if you come up with a fried unit. I’ve got two 250 w MH ballasts and DE pendants I won’t be using again from my last tank. They’d look good in the school.
I am going to try and swap the bulb tomorrow morning and see what happens.

What kind of pendants? I currently have two on one half of the tank and three on the other and the side with two is brighter than the other three.
 

jda123

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#7
Tricky if you are needing the apex to shut them off if the temp gets high, but MH ballasts are best left to light timers and skip the electronics. Also, turn the fan on as soon as the lights come on, if you are not already - waiting until the temp climbs already puts you WAY behind and you can sometimes never catch up.

Vornado fans is what I use blowing across the top - 5 MH over my 7 foot 240 and this thing on the lowest speed keep the tank from rising even .1 degrees. Computer and DC fans are a joke, IMO.

I have a lot of used, but still working bulbs. Hollar and I can put a few of them in a box and ship them to you.
 

MuralReef

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#9
What is your apex code?

Sent from my SM-G935V using MASC mobile app
Not sure. I’ll have to check. On a separate note why would an Apex only kind of connect to the internet? The time reset and I can input the IP address and get to the login but it won’t go past the loading screen or show Fusion as connected?
 

zombie

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#10
Not sure. I’ll have to check. On a separate note why would an Apex only kind of connect to the internet? The time reset and I can input the IP address and get to the login but it won’t go past the loading screen or show Fusion as connected?
Usually means something is corrupted if your ip settings are good. I update firmware and webpages when something funky like that happens and if it's still funky I have support do a corruption check.

Sent from my SM-G935V using MASC mobile app
 

MuralReef

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#11
Usually means something is corrupted if your ip settings are good. I update firmware and webpages when something funky like that happens and if it's still funky I have support do a corruption check.

Sent from my SM-G935V using MASC mobile app
You can update without connecting?
 

zombie

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#14
It is how do I ping it? And then how do I run the update?
Ping means it responds based on its up address. If you can access the classic dashboard that means it pings.

You download the apex flash utility from the "latest firmware" page on Neptunes website then follow the instructions there.

Sent from my SM-G935V using MASC mobile app
 

halmus

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#15
I didn’t see the brand name on the fixture. It is a relatively compact footprint 12” x 12”. So, not as much spread as you get with the bigger reflectors.
 

MuralReef

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#16
Ping means it responds based on its up address. If you can access the classic dashboard that means it pings.

You download the apex flash utility from the "latest firmware" page on Neptunes website then follow the instructions there.

Sent from my SM-G935V using MASC mobile app
Turned out to be some bad code that occurred due to a power surge.
 
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