Juwel 180rio Lighting Bar

[fishyfinger]

Hi all
the lighting bar has been flashing(both tubes simultaneously) and now will not come on at all.
I have changed the tubes. This has not changed a thing.The aquarium set up is only a year old. I have the lights on 2pm-10pm daily.
It does seem like a bad connection in the unit or something similar. Inbuilt starter?
The unit is sealed, so other than buying another(£50ish)seems a bit of a pain. Have sent a email to Juwel
Advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance

 

[raptorrex]

these units are known for their unreliability, though i am far from sure you can get into these things without damaging them. i will dig my old one out to see if i can help.

 

[adamgreen240]

is it the T8 or T5 bulbs ? And i take it it is the Multilux system.

 

[fishyfinger]

is it the T8 or T5 bulbs ? And i take it it is the Multilux system.

Hi Adam
yes it is a multilux system but i dont know if they are t8 or t5 i cannot find any references on the tubes or lighting bar.
I wondering wether to shallow drill out the 4 plug plastic welds either end and split the casing.
I could then do the deed and glue back together with silicone sealant after.
£50 replacement? Is there another way?
How long can the fish go without light from tubes?
Cheers

 

[cheesy feet]

is it the T8 or T5 bulbs ? And i take it it is the Multilux system.

Hi Adam
yes it is a multilux system but i dont know if they are t8 or t5 i cannot find any references on the tubes or lighting bar.
I wondering wether to shallow drill out the 4 plug plastic welds either end and split the casing.
I could then do the deed and glue back together with silicone sealant after.
£50 replacement? Is there another way?
How long can the fish go without light from tubes?
Cheers

t8 mean 8 8's of an inch and t5 means 5/8 of an inch.Measure them.
Mine has recently broken on my rio 400, I couldn't get into it (but managed to break it even more lol).
Goodluck on fixing it.My b-day present is going to be an arcadia luminaire now ahaha.
O and they can live withut light no probs

 

[raptorrex]

is it the T8 or T5 bulbs ? And i take it it is the Multilux system.

Hi Adam
yes it is a multilux system but i dont know if they are t8 or t5 i cannot find any references on the tubes or lighting bar.
I wondering wether to shallow drill out the 4 plug plastic welds either end and split the casing.
I could then do the deed and glue back together with silicone sealant after.
£50 replacement? Is there another way?
How long can the fish go without light from tubes?
Cheers

two Arcadia ballasts can be bought for, roughley £28.i, personally would avoid the "twin Ballasts" as if one goes you will still need to replace the whole thing. and you could use your old tubes too. i would gut, as providing you are careful it no longer matters if its bust, the Ibar and fix the new lights to that, avoiding the need to get a hood.

also take a look at the "sale of goods act". by law goods have to be of merchantable quality, and fit for their purpose. just because it is out of the twelve months manufacturers guarantee, does not mean you have no recourse for a free repair, though now the retailer is responsible. twelve months or just over, is not a reasonable time for an item to last, though £400 is not a lot of money, unless you aint got it, in this day and age. the retailer will of course say that is not right, though a trip to trading standards will back up my comments. stand your ground, these people make money from selling things, it only fair to make them take their responsibility's seriously. now if it were a £99 special, ok fair enough. but you should have a case for repair, though not replacement.

 

[fishyfinger]

Hi folks
thanks for all that advice.
I decided to disect the thing in the end.
pulled of the end caps then stanley knifed a little hatch on the outer facing side.
This exposed the ballast box. I pushed all the connections tighter, tapped the box and hey presto
it worked. Rattled it about with the lights on and it wouldn't go out.
stuck plastic back in the hatch and duct taped it back up. Finally put the end caps back on.
Turned it off last night,back on again this morning works ok.Its not played up yet.
Can't help thinking damp is getting into the ballast box the way it is manufactured.
The two lids that slot on get a lot of condensation on the underside in normal use. When you open the lid/s for feeding,water runs into the grooves.
This then collects in the two grooves and then sits there. I reckon over a period of time seeps in between the layers and gets to the ballast box messes up the electronics.
Only a theory.
Thanks for your help.
Happy New Year!

 

[shroob]

Glad to see you got it working.

Just thought I'd add, on both my juwel tanks (rio 180 + vision 260 the light unit failed this year, costing me about £140 quid, I don't think I would buy a juwel tank again because of the reliability issues I've heard and experienced. It was cheaper for me to pick up a complete second hand tank (2yrs old) with all the works for half the price.

 

[vinylman]

It never ceases to amaze me that for a company with such a good reputation who makes such good TANKS, their lighting units seem to be monstrously unreliable.

 

[cheesy feet]

It never ceases to amaze me that for a company with such a good reputation who makes such good TANKS, their lighting units seem to be monstrously unreliable.

and powerheads, apparently?Mine our working fine though...And the flaps on my rio 400 are flimsy as hell and all of the end bits have snapped because of this.
I'm never going to buy a juwel again lol

 

[raptorrex]

It never ceases to amaze me that for a company with such a good reputation who makes such good TANKS, their lighting units seem to be monstrously unreliable.

and powerheads, apparently?Mine our working fine though...And the flaps on my rio 400 are flimsy as hell and all of the end bits have snapped because of this.
I'm never going to buy a juwel again lol

you can add their heaters to this list too, the older style were dreadful, the new ones, made by hagen, look like they may be no better. add to this a filter body that is almost impossible to clean properly, tanks that are known to split. makes you wonder where this "good reputation" comes from.