Coralife CF 50/50

[NZbound]

I bought a self-ballasted 10W 50/50 Compact flourescent bulb for my nano and wired it into an old light cord. A week later the bulb went out and there was no fillament "rattling" around inside. Could the bulb have burnt out due to not using a grounded power cord. I tested the socket with another bulb and it is fine. Please help, I want another bulb but need to find the culprit. My corals thank you in advance.

here is a pic of the light:
http://www.aquariumguys.com/minicompact3.html

[szwab]

that should have lasted longer than that. The grounding issue may be the culprit. Also check and see if there were any specifications as to if the bulb needs to be positioned a certain way. i.e. vertical or horizontal mount. Also was it in an enclosed fixture. They don't like that

[NZbound]

szwab:
Thanks for the reply. The bulb did not mention any mounting specs. It was mounted horizontally to my canopy. My canopy is open in the back, so it's not enclosed. There was a small amount of salt spray on the light... could that have done that in a week?

Also, how do I convert my non-grounded connection to a grounded connection. Do I need a new cord? Thank you again for the help.

[szwab]

not real good on electrical advice. so can't help with the grounding

the salt spray wouln't effect the light except for diffusing the light a bit. unless it makes it's way into the socket and created a bit of a short. salt water has a tendancy to do that. (personal experience :) )

It may just n=be a bad bulb havef you contacted the place where you bought it from? I'd see if they'll treplace it and if it does it again then you know it wasn't the bulb. A week is really short for those bulbs.

[NZbound]

I agree... I think i'll go to the LFS and see what I can work out. Thanks again.

Also, if anyone does know how to fix my grounding problem I would appreciate some input.