got ethical husbandry?

What is this ringing noise? ALSO! Quick question on Mag-Drives

A_Lee

A_Lee

Guest
BARcard
Hey all
I have a 20" 150w Current USA Sunpod. I've had it for not even 6 months yet. Lately I've been noticing a constant ringing/semi-high pitch noise coming from the fixture when it is on. It is not a super high pitched "hurt your ears" ringing, but it is noticeable. I am not sure if I just didn't notice this when I first got the Sunpod or not - but either way ... the ringing noise begs the question
Is this normal behavior for a Current USA ballast, HQI ballasts, or MH ballasts in general? Is there any reason I should be worried? Another reason I ask is because I will be ordering another next week for my new tank!

And also ... I will be using a Mag 9.5 as the return pump for my new tank. I hear these generate lots of heat compared to Eheim's ... true?
Thanks!
 
How many total gallons is your new setup going to be? The 9.5's produce some heat in smaller systems. IF your system is really large I wouldn't worry too much about it.. Another member was trying to use one on a 75g setup and had heat soak issues until he changed to an eheim... If you have a 180+gallon system you should be fine..
 
[quote author=fishnfst link=topic=5288.msg65472#msg65472 date=1227244567]
How many total gallons is your new setup going to be? The 9.5's produce some heat in smaller systems. IF your system is really large I wouldn't worry too much about it.. Another member was trying to use one on a 75g setup and had heat soak issues until he changed to an eheim... If you have a 180+gallon system you should be fine..
[/quote]

Dang! Are you serious? ~33g cube, and an ~18g sump, with a total of 43 operational gallons.
I had no clue Mag's produced THAT much heat. I guess I will need to give it a try, and if heat from the Mag is really a big deal, hello Eheim. How much better is the Eheim when it comes to heat compared to the Mag? Significant?

Mike
I don't know what 60Hz hum is?
 
60hz hum is what many older electronic equipment that have transformers in them (magnetic ballasts fall in this catagory) can produce, it's caused by magnetostriction (basically a magnetic field causing the metal to flex on a molecular/atomic scale causing the humming sound that's the same frequency as the AC power... 60Hz in this country). You may have heard it also with stereo equipment or what not (since they have amplifiers and the like), or near those high voltage backbone power lines.
 
Wow, I should have paid more attention on Physics 2 :D
Someone mentioned to me that MH ballasts are supposed to make the noise I am hearing - I'm not so worried anymore :)

Any insight or feedback about the Mag 9.5?
 
My 20" sunpod does this sometimes as well. It started happening when I put the 14k phoenix bulb in.

Mike, if I were to pick a frequency I would say its way up there, like 12-16khz whine. It's weird, it doesn't always do it, just sometimes.
 
I use a mag 9.5 to mix my water. If I let it sit overnight mixing, it heats up 15 gallons of water to at least 90 degrees.
 
Jay: now that I can't explain, unless it was an electronic ballast, and even then at 16kHz you're really pushing the range of human hearing (which depending upon how old you are might be smaller than kids).

Yeah, I use a Seio 2600 to mix water and it noticeably raises 30ish gallons quite a bit.
 
Well, I guess I will let the system run and see how hot it runs :(
I'm sure there are people who have tanks in my size range with a sump ... what kind of non-external pumps do they use normally?
Or should I just get a smaller Mag ... a 9.5 may be overkill, at a little under ~800gph at ~4ft of head. What would you all recommend? A smaller Mag, or an Eheim 1260?
 
Mike, the 20" Sunpods have electronic ballasts. I hear a similar noise in some of the Dell 21" monitors we have here at work. The younger folks will complain of a high pitch whine but the older partners hear nothing. I just do some sneaking around at night and swap the high pitch monitors out to the older folks. 16kHz is really high, maybe more like 10kHz.
 
IIRC electronic ballasts do operate in the 20kHz range, so yeah the younger ones could possibly just get the tail end of it, especially if there's some distortions causing that band to spread out a bit. It was funny I was doing a physics lab on frequency and waves, and we tested some of the equipment, the lab tech and myself couldn't hear past around 14kHz or so, but the younger kids were dying in agony :D
 
My MH bulbs do this when they are starting up, I thought it was the filament vibrating. It stops once the lights are fully on.

I'm using Icecap electronic ballasts.

V
 
only stock sunpod ballasts here :)
I'll live with the ringing noise, I was just curious as to what was causing it
so long as it doesn't start a fire
 
Mike, you'll like this!

http://www.ultrasonic-ringtones.com/

warning, some people (adults) can hear these, others don't, kind of fun but be careful in the office!

Cheers,

Josh
 
The highest one I can hear is the 16.7kHz, cool stuff.

You are about 20 years old I'm 26, close enough I guess
The teen repellent will no longer foil you, but you can still hear some pretty high tones.

The highest pitched ultrasonic mosquito ringtone that I can hear is 16.7kHz
 
[quote author=badbread link=topic=5288.msg65554#msg65554 date=1227294336]
The highest one I can hear is the 16.7kHz, cool stuff.

You are about 20 years old I'm 26, close enough I guess
The teen repellent will no longer foil you, but you can still hear some pretty high tones.

The highest pitched ultrasonic mosquito ringtone that I can hear is 16.7kHz
[/quote]

yeah, I'm 26 can can hear up to 16.7, not 17.7, but I can 18.8 and nothing after.

All three of my Chinese labmates 23-26 can hear the whole range...from way across the room too!
 
Ha! I can hear 15.8kHz and it says I'm in my twenties! :D

But then again, not sure of the specifications of my speakers but I'm fairly certain they don't fall within that range, as a result it might be playing something close but not exactly
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top