# Help with Helios



## hokuspokus (Dec 2, 2006)

Hello everyone. This is my first post to this forum. I've had a few tanks over the years but I have really been getting into aquascaping as a new hobby. I've moved down from the 75 gallon size to experimenting with smaller tanks. I was in a thrift store the other day and I found a 26 gallon bowfront tank and stand with a Helios fixture. Its the prefab kind that comes with a lens cover and legs to sit above the tank. I thought I'd go for a planted Invert setup and so I grabbed the whole set up for $70.

Well it turns out the light is failing. It will run for about an hour or so and then switch off. If I unplug it and let it "cool off" for a bit, it will fire right up again. So I am assuming that the ballast is about to take a dirt nap.

I looked online and I haven't found anything about Helios fixtures, so I am not sure if its wise or possible to replace the ballast. Where do I look to get a replacement for this ballast? I opened the case and these are the specs on printed on the side:
Input: 120v AC 1.8 60Hz
Output: 55Wx2

I've seen people recommending Workhorse ballasts, would these work or would this be overkill for a cheep light fixture like this?
Thanks folks


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

Helios fixtures are manufactured by http://www.commodityaxis.com/Home.aspx

They claim the fixtures are "disposable" and so they probably use cheap ballasts and bulbs.


CommodityAxis said:


> We have high performance and HO two type of T-5
> The color temperatures are:
> 
> Pink for plant growth
> ...


http://www.aquariumpros.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=18645

How long is the tank? I'd ditch the fixture and go for a "real" fixture.


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

Nick, that is a specific fixture from Helios. I've got a 2x55 and 2x36 retro kit from Helios that uses external ballasts as well. 

hokuspokus, it is possible for you to find the appropriate ballast fairly easily. From having taken one apart, it seems as they are a very inexpensive magnetic ballast that is easy to replace (I used a Workhorse 5).

What kind of lights are in the hood? With that, you can check which Fulham ballast is appropriate and see if it will fit.


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## hokuspokus (Dec 2, 2006)

turbomkt said:


> Nick, that is a specific fixture from Helios. I've got a 2x55 and 2x36 retro kit from Helios that uses external ballasts as well.
> 
> hokuspokus, it is possible for you to find the appropriate ballast fairly easily. From having taken one apart, it seems as they are a very inexpensive magnetic ballast that is easy to replace (I used a Workhorse 5).
> 
> What kind of lights are in the hood? With that, you can check which Fulham ballast is appropriate and see if it will fit.


Thanks for the help again. The fixture is 23.5" long and sits on a 24"Lx21"Hx~10"W bowfront tank. The fluorescents bulbs themselves are 20" long plus the base. When I pulled it apart I think they were 4pin biax.

You're right about it having an external ballast. That's where I was getting confused in the forums. People were referring to retro kits (which in my mind translated to completely swapping out the hardware in a fixture) and that Helios were "disposable." I thought "what kind of Sustainable Development guy would I be if I didn't try and find the parts myself," rather than pitch the whole thing or the majority of its guts. Better to find a replacement ballast, even if I have to Frankenstein something together.

I think the Workhorse 5 is the right one for me as well. So am I correct in assuming I need to get something that can put out 110w (2 x 55w?) The Workhorse 5 puts out 128w or something, will larger ballasts work or is it that specific? I was thinking that I could use the ballast for awhile and upgrade even if the fixture is craptastic.


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

I actually gutted the existing ballast fixture and put the workhorse in. That way the wiring was already there, including a power switch


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## Blacksunshine (Aug 11, 2006)

The helios T5 fixtures are disposeable. The PC ones are not. 
I had bought a 4x55 setup off my LFS here. one of the ballasts were smoked. After some searching I finally came across the commodityaxis.com website and CUstomer service sent me a replacement parts form. 30 bucks later I had a replacement ballast shipped. The nice thing is it fit in the housing for the ballasts. and allowed me to use the existing hookups for the lights. As they are modular. to day the replacement has been working fine. One thing Id suggest to extend the life of yoru ballasts is to get them in a cool place or get a fan on them to keep them cool. 
As well a surge suppressor would be a wonderfull idea to extend their life. 
I think I still have a copy of the order form somewhere here on this computer. If you want I can email it to you and you will be able to get all the contact info from there. shoot me a PM with your email addy.


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## hokuspokus (Dec 2, 2006)

turbomkt said:


> I actually gutted the existing ballast fixture and put the workhorse in. That way the wiring was already there, including a power switch


I think that's the route I may take as well.

I gave CommodityAxis a ring and to get a brand specific ballast for my Helios light............Seventy-5 dollars! Ack. Too much for a "disposable" light with a six month warranty. For that I could start the process of getting a better ballast/light kit, get some kind of hanging fixture, or for that matter buy 10 ugly shop lights.

Well, since the fixture itself seems to be satisfactory, think I'll look into the retro-ing a workhorse5 for the system.


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

Look around for a local Workhorse source. I found them for $22 at a place just off my commute.


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## hokuspokus (Dec 2, 2006)

Holy crap, I can't believe I've been sitting on this light project for so long. 2007? Come On.... hehe. In my defense, I was waiting to set up this tank until I made my big move to the SF Bay area, but since someone went and broke the economy, I am staying put until the weather clears.

Anyhoo, finally getting around to try and fix up that Helios fixture, since I am not going anywhere any time soon. I picked up a Workhorse 5 ballast and pulled everything apart on the old fixture. I hot wired the lamps without caps to make sure I had the basics down and to be sure my switch and case worked. So far so good.

I want to wire to the existing Helios caps and I am running into a puzzle (at least for me the non-electrician). The Helios bulbs seem to be wired differently than how they recommend wiring in the Workhorse wiring diagram (#11). For a twin Compact 55w tube, they have both the right tube pins wired to the Red, and both the left tube pins wired to the Yellow. This seems wrong when I looked at it, and sure enough, when I bare wire tested it, one tube glowed at about 50 percent strength while the other weakly lit up at maybe 10%. That seems to make sense since if red is hot and yellow completes the circuit, then I was running all the power into one side and nothing but whatever charge the yellow wire has into the other.

The original wiring has the two inner pins, one from the right tube and one from the left, jumpered with a single wire and what looks like a resistor or something. I'll throw in some picts and a diagram I made to illustrate.








This wiring set up makes some sense as it looks like the current will flow through both sides of the lamp and light up both tubes. I verified this works with the Fulham ballast by switching the wiring to Red on outer pins and jumpered center with a the yellow split to touch both center pins; the tube lit up to full intensity immediately.

Now here is the Problem. The Original wiring had the center pins jumpered- connected to each other by a single wire with a resistor in the middle. I could only make the Fulham ballast work was by touching the bare wires (without caps) to the pins in this order:

1. Two red leads- one to each of the outer pins
2. Single Yellow Lead- Split single lead into two (Y'd it) and connected it to both center leads. (See Diagram)









This bypasses the whole resistor/jumper setup the original ballast used, and creates a problem because even if the original power cord had enough wires (which it doesn't, only four) then it would also mean that to hook up both tubes in the fixture, I would have to split or Y the yellow wire on the Workhorse twice to create four separate leads, which seems wrong and clearly isn't the way it is shown in the Fulham Compact wiring diagram. I don't think running an eight wire power cable to my tank light is the most efficient way to go and I worry about setting myself on :flame:

I tested the lamps and they seem alright for now so sticking with them seems okay, and I know if I went out and got new caps, I think I would be running into the same issue with these bulbs, so I think it would be better to get an idea about what is going on before i go any further. Anyone out there have any idea what I should do?


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## hokuspokus (Dec 2, 2006)

Anyone out there?


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