Non Juwel bulbs in a Juwel aquarium?

Alkers

Just had one of my bulbs in my vision 180 blow on me this morning, so now neither bulb will operate. I remember shelling out an extortionate amount for a bulb the last time around, does anyone know if I can use another bulb that isn't branded by Juwel? Many thanks.

m4r10

Unfortunately, you're restricted to Juwel bulbs if you continue to use the hood as they are of a specific length. You can go the DIY route or buy some LED lights. I was in the same situation as yourself a while back, since then I relegated the Juwel lights/cover in the shed and am using an Arcadia unit and can use bulbs of different lengths if required.

kingerae86

bring the bulb to electrical wholesaler,
see if they have the same lenght/wattage
i picked up one for my tank today for €8.
i paid €22 for the same size one in petshop!
no difference at all.
also picked up a smaler one for my other tank €3 instead of €16.
both work fine

Alkers

kingerae86 wrote: »

bring the bulb to electrical wholesaler,
see if they have the same lenght/wattage
i picked up one for my tank today for €8.
i paid €22 for the same size one in petshop!
no difference at all.
also picked up a smaler one for my other tank €3 instead of €16.
both work fine

After some further research, turns out the bulbs are fine but the ballast in the actual light unit is broken. There's a thread detailing how to replace it so I'll give it a go rather than fork out for a whole new unit.

m4r10

You'll have a difficult time in getting a 742 mm bulb from any electrical wholesaler (I should know, I have the same tank).

Alkers

m4r10 wrote: »

Unfortunately, you're restricted to Juwel bulbs if you continue to use the hood as they are of a specific length. You can go the DIY route or buy some LED lights. I was in the same situation as yourself a while back, since then I relegated the Juwel lights/cover in the shed and am using an Arcadia unit and can use bulbs of different lengths if required.

What light unit did you go for? I'm having difficulty repairing mine so considering a replacement. Do any fit the Juwel tanks easily?

m4r10

As above, I'm using an Arcadia unit like this one
http://www.danditropicals.co.uk/index.php?view=product&product=1110
which you can attach to the Juwel flaps or maybe can tie the bulbs to the old ones if you want to leave them in their place.

If you want to repair your Juwel unit, all you need to source is an electronic balast, I did replaced mine and didn't had any problems with it after that, but the price of the Juwel bulbs was too much so decided to switch over to other bulbs.

Alkers

m4r10 wrote: »

As above, I'm using an Arcadia unit like this one
http://www.danditropicals.co.uk/index.php?view=product&product=1110
which you can attach to the Juwel flaps or maybe can tie the bulbs to the old ones if you want to leave them in their place.

If you want to repair your Juwel unit, all you need to source is an electronic balast, I did replaced mine and didn't had any problems with it after that, but the price of the Juwel bulbs was too much so decided to switch over to other bulbs.

Any idea where you got the ballast? I can't find a supplier anywhere. Also, what did you use to cut open the light assembly and to seal it up again afterwards?

m4r10

I got it off ebay, but if you go with the faulty ballast to any electrical wholesaler, they should be able to get a replacement for you. As for opening the unit, I used a regular cutter and made the opening wide enough to get the old ballast out. I cut the unit from the top and not from the bottom and didn't bother to reseal it as the unit is above eye level.