Changing T5 Bulbs

OK this is a bit of a stupid question. I have 2 T5 fixtures (a nova and a Tek) -and right now I have problems with them both:

Tek - I was running with 4 bulbs, just changed to 6 had them all running when I had light out of hood. Worked fine for a day...and then yesterday I noticed that the actinic bulbs weren't running. I'm going to take it out of the hood again today (nerve wracking - I always fear dropping it in the tank) and fiddle around -what should I look for? It seems the fixtures are pretty sensitive to how the bulbs are set in the sockets - is there a correct way to put in a t5 bulb ie place, rotate 270 degrees left or something? I did check that power was on on the actinics.

Nova: This light did get partially dropped in a tank a couple of weeks ago (hence reason for fear above!) I layed it out to dry for a couple of days and then put it back in use - the actinics don't work now. The bulbs will flicker on and off on one of the circuits, the other circuit runs fine. I checked its not the bulbs. One bulb is very tough to take out and put in (rotates very stiffly) so I'm wondering if there is something wrong with the endcap -are these easy to change out? Can I rule out the ballast if the lights are flickering (I can sometimes get one to power up but then it flickers). Right now I'm leaving that switch turned off in case there is a short or something.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
Top