FAQs SeeBrite™ Underwater Video Cameras

Q. How many SeeBrite™ Underwater Lights do I need in a cage? A. In general the lighting of a 50 x 50ft cage can be optimised by using two-(2) 400-watt metal halide lamp. A 100ft x 100ft cage would require four (4) evenly spaced lights to cover the pen. Q. I want larger wattage lights in my cage systems to maximise performance and minimise the number of cables, fixtures and ballasts along with the associated farm site wiring costs. How many lights do I need if I increase the wattage of each lamp? A. There is a danger in focusing on the "numbers" approach, as it does not insure the maximum benefits in using underwater lighting. Unfortunately, the common approach is to look at light wattage when determining the number of lights required and when comparing between makes and model of lighting. When making decisions on types and quantities of underwater lights it is more important to direct attention towards: 1. Comparing LUMENS - a measure of light output to rated wattage. This is a ratio called EFFICACY measured in lumens per watt (LPW). You should look for the highest lumens output for the lowest possible wattage. 2. Addressing water quality as a factor of light diffusion and the resulting impact on fish. Specifically the placement of multiple lower wattage fixtures verses one or two centrally high wattage fixtures provides more even lighting in turbidity and insures continual photo manipulation even if one fixture goes out. Q. How deep do I position my SeeBrite™ Underwater Lights? A. We recommend that your SeeBrite™ Lights be positioned at approximately 5 to 6 meters (15 to18 feet) to insure maximum light use. The design of the metal halide lamp is such that light radiates out from the arc tube at 70 degrees off an imaginary vertical line running through the center of the fixture. If the light is placed too deeply, a large number of fish will school in the unlit area to the sides and above the fixture, compromising the effect of the light. Q. You supply a specific lamp for your underwater fixtures. Why? A. Besides the basic mechanical requirements for a lamp to be the correct wattage for the size of ballast and for the lamp to be designed to operate with the lamp base positioned up, we have also worked to insure the following: 1. The best possible CCT - Correlated Colour Temperature. The perceived colour of the light emitted by the lamp expressed in Kelvin (K) 2. The closest possible CRI- Colour Rendering Index with 100 being natural light. 3. The maximum possible lumens output for the wattage required to operate with the assigned ballast. Q. What is the operating life of the metal halide lamp in the underwater fixture? A. Rated life is 10,000 hours under normal operating conditions. When used on farm sites using generator power, we typically rate the lamp life at 5,000 hours to address the power fluctuations that often occur that are very hard on the lamp due to added heat generation in the light head. Q. Should I be budgeting my lamp replacement costs based on this 10,000 hour operating life? A. No, for the following reasons: 1. The most important factor in a lamp's performance is the LUMENS output - the amount of useable light that effects the fish. At approximately 40% of the lamps rated life the LUMENS output drops from 36,000 lumens to 23,000 lumens. 2. At the 50% life of the lamp the occurrence of lamp failure increases dramatically. Lamp manufacturers call this "non passive failure" which means the lamp could unexpectedly explode. An exploding lamp will in some case rupture the outer protective dome, cause the light head to flood, and require the fixture to be removed for servicing. As with any farm equipment a regular maintenance schedule to include the recording and tracking of lamp and lamp replacements is essential to avoiding lamp failure at inopportune times. Q. My SeeBrite™ 250-watt outdoor ballast does not work. What is the problem? A. If your outdoor ballast has been fitted with a Hubbell™ Ground Fault Interrupter (GFI), you may have unknowingly used this ground fault circuitry found in this GFI as an ON/OFF switch. By using the GFI in this manner you will cause the reset switch inside the GFI to fail. 1. The reset button is NOT to be used as a switch, failure of the GFI unit will occur. 2. Check to insure that the power ON light for the GFI is not illuminated. If it is, then press the reset button on the GFI. 3. If still no illuminator light, then check main power to the plug receptacle Otherwise, check main power to the ballast. If this is OK, then check the cable plug and receptacle connection to insure that there is power to the underwater light head. The assumption here is that the only way you will know if the ballast is working is if the light head illuminates! Q. My SeeBrite™ Underwater Light goes on and off by itself. What is happening? A. While one may think that it is the fault of the lamp, in actual fact it is the power supply that is causing the on/off cycle of lamp illumination. The ballast is designed to manage 110 volt AC power to the metal halide lamp within a +/- range of 10% At a point below 109 volts the ballast can no longer boost the power and the lamp goes out. After a 15-20 minute cool down and reset period for the ballast and lamp, the system will attempt to re-strike the metal halide lamp. If the voltage to the ballast has not been improved after a period of time, the ballast and lamp will again turn off. Q. What does the grey 2-piece centering guide do at the end of the glass dome? A. The grey centering gasket is designed to hold the glass lamp in the center of the outer protective dome. Without the centering gasket the lamp is in danger of working like a clapper in a bell. If the underwater light is suddenly hit by an active fish or through rough handling, the lamp could be jarred sufficient to hit and break the lamp glass against the inside of the protective outer dome. Q. Why do I need to use a ballast with the underwater light. What does the ballast do? A. The ballast provides a minimum starting voltage to ignite the lamp. A voltage pulse is required to ionise the gases within the lamp arc tube. Once the lamp is ignited, the ballast limits and regulates the current through the lamp over a range of line voltage variations. This regulation of lamp power maximises lamp life and performance. Finally, as the lamp ages it draws higher voltage to operate. The ballast prevents lamp dropout or cycling (on/off) during the lamps rated life. Q. I have a light head and cable with a plug that will not fit to the ballast? What is happening? A. We have been careful to insure that a SeeBrite™ 250-watt light head and a SeeBrite™ 400-watt light head cannot be interchanged with their corresponding ballast. All SeeBrite™ 250-watt ballasts and cable plugs are manufactured with three -(3) pin male and female pins and receptacles. All SeeBrite™ 400-watt ballasts and cable plugs are manufactured with two -(2) pin male pins and receptacles. Q. I am seeing burnt plug and receptacle pins on my light head cable and ballast, what is happening? A. This could be the result of several things: 1. Plugging in or unplugging your SeeBrite™ Underwater Light head from the ballast with the power to the system/ballast energised. The burnt plug and receptacle is the result of arcing across the contacts 2. Using the IP68 rated plug and receptacle as a switch to isolate a light head. 3. Not insuring through a scheduled inspection schedule that the cable and receptacle connections are tight. 4. Water entering into the plug and receptacle through the rear gland. 5. The waterproof cap was not tightly positioned over the plug when moving and the plug was allowed to drop into the water. Q. I see a little condensation inside the glass dome when I am inspecting the fixture. Why is this? A. At some time in the life of the SeeBrite™ Underwater Light head a lamp was changed out in a humid environment and moist air was trapped inside the protective dome. As the lamp heats up this moisture is driven from the air and condenses on the inside cool face of the dome. Q. The outer stainless steel protective cage fits loosely over the glass dome. Is this normal? A. Yes, this loose fit has been designed into the product to further dampen a side hit on the dome. You will observe that the cage cannot itself touch the dome in spite of severe lateral bumps and knocks.

Support: Technical support on all IAS products is available by telephone between the hours of 08:00 and 17:00 Pacific Standard Time, Monday to Friday by calling
+1 604 924-1844.
Parts and repairs are available from IAS or Authorized Service Providers in your area.

Warranty: IAS Products Ltd. warrants product of its own manufacture against defects in materials and workmanship for a period of twelve (12) months from the date of shipment. This warranty does not apply if the goods have been damaged by accident, abuse, misuse, modification, misapplication, by damage during shipment, or by improper service or storage. Our obligation under this warranty is limited to repairing or replacing, at our option, without charge, F.O.B. our place of business, any part of our own manufacture which is proven to have been defective at the time of shipment provided the Buyer i). provides immediate written notice at the time such defect is discovered. ii). establishes its normal use and service of the product, and iii). returns the defective equipment or product, transportation prepaid, to establish the claim. IAS Products Ltd. shall in no case be responsible for labour charges, lost production, damages or delays as a result of such defects.

Contact: IAS Products Ltd.
1415 Dominion Street
North Vancouver BC
Canada V7J1B3

Telephone: +1 604 924-1844
Facsimile: +1 604 924-1848
Email: info@iasproducts.com
Web Site: www.iasproducts.com

Although IAS Products Ltd. makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of these product specification sheets at the time of publication, specifications for products described in this publication are subject to change without notice. No warrant for customer applications or usage is implied. IAS Products Ltd. makes no representation that the goods comply with any present or future federal, state, provincial, or local ordinance. Compliance is the Buyer’s responsibility.