halide doesnt fire up with out repeated on-off-on attempts

[BobinCovington]

I installed my pacific garden and Supply 250W halide ballast (similar to the lumitek. When I plug it in to my DJ outlet strip, it doesnt come on the first time unless I flip the switch on-off then back on, then it runs fine for hours and looks great.
I plugged it into the reefkeeper and it does not come on at all. Not sure what is wrong.

Any ideas? anyone experience this type of thing?

 

[NaH2O]

Really dumb question, but does it fire up fine when it is plugged into a regular wall outlet?

 

[trido]

Really dumb question, but does it fire up fine when it is plugged into a regular wall outlet?

Naw, its not a dumb question. I thought it to. I had my MH ran off a digital light switch for a while and found it would only fire if I used a certain style of switch.


Bob, My first thought is a bad bulb or just a bulb that is incompatible with your ballast. I would try to plug it into the wall as suggested and if it acts the same try a different bulb.
Regarding the reefkeeper, It could have a soft start plug option much like the AC Jr does on the DC8. Certain outlets on the DC8 have the soft start to help prolong pump life when used as a wave maker.


Hope that helps