Aquarium T8 Light Issues [emoji30]

Yesterday my t8 florescent light burnt out on my 20 gallon fish tank. Both ends were blackened and I could hear some rattling when it was tipped. So I did what any sane fish addict would do and I ran out to the nearest pet store to replace my bulb. My burnt out bulb was a normal, daylight, white bulb and it lit my tank up great but the store didn't have the daylight bulb in stock.

I decided since I have lots of plants, I'd get the floramax bulb. Brought it home, installed it, and turned it on. It was a dI'm pink. Didn't expect that... Maybe it needs to warm up? Left it on and came back a few hours later to it blown out!! No black ends, but there was rattling.

So today I went and exchanged the floramax bulb with the only other light in the store that'll fit in my tank cover, the colormax t8 light. I get it home, install it, turn it on, annnnnd it's dI'm pink too... I understand it's not supposed to be super bright and it's supposed to be pinkish... But I can't even see in my tank at all. It's not making anything pop. I'm afrain my tank hood is broken somehow and this one will be dead in a few hours..

What can I do? Is there a way to trouble shoot the hood? Thanks in advanced..

 

Here are some pictures of the colormax light. It looks a lot better on camera than it does in real life.

 

You can probably pick up a regular daylight spectrum bulb (5,5000K or 6000K) at a home improvement store like Home Depot. They usually carry standard sizes, and it's usually cheaper than pet stores. I've even seen 18 inch replacements at Walmart in the lighting aisle.

How old is the light strip? Does it have a starter? Usually when bulbs keep blowing it means either the starter is bad, or the ballast itself is going. Both are relatively easy to replace, though the starters are much cheaper and are usually the cause IF the light is old enough to use that technology.

 

At this point, I recommend just replacing the light with an LED light strip. There are a lot of value models available online.

 

You can probably pick up a regular daylight spectrum bulb (5,5000K or 6000K) at a home improvement store like Home Depot. They usually carry standard sizes, and it's usually cheaper than pet stores. I've even seen 18 inch replacements at Walmart in the lighting aisle.

How old is the light strip? Does it have a starter? Usually when bulbs keep blowing it means either the starter is bad, or the ballast itself is going. Both are relatively easy to replace, though the starters are much cheaper and are usually the cause IF the light is old enough to use that technology.

I was thinking about going to home Depot, but wasn't sure how bright to get it lol

The tank hood is about 8 months old.. I hope it's not broken! It's the aqueon deluxe 24" hood.

 

At this point, I recommend just replacing the light with an LED light strip. There are a lot of value models available online.

I was thinking about that...