Please do not make the mistake I did and buy any Danner Pondmaster product. As another reviewer stated, its impossible to tell if its the bulb or ballast that failed. My light quit working after only 4 1/2 months.
Its still under warranty so I called the phone number on the warranty paperwork (631) 234-5261. I was told to ship both parts back. I told the lady on the phone that the filter will not work with those parts removed and asked how long it would take to return the parts. Was told its really busy season now, could take a few weeks. I didnt want to go without any filter for several weeks so I procrastinated a couple days. I called back and was told to send in the ballast, it has a high failure rate and likely the cause. Since my water was turning greener by the day, I boxed up the ballast and sent it priority mail to Islandia, NY. Well after waiting a couple weeks I contact them to see if my part was shipped. I was told to prove they received the package. They wont ask the warehouse folks to look for a box unless you can prove they received it.
Long story short, I did not use tracking and consequently they wont look for it or provide any support. Please protect yourselves from this company and dont buy any of their products. A replacement ballast is ~$90!
The filter as a whole is poorly designed. The manufacturer forgets or ignores the fact that these types of filters sit outside 24/7. Consequently all the cheap plastic parts start to breakdown in the sun light. The first thing to crack will be the hose fittings. Dont worry, they'll accuse you of over tightening them, but really its the sun breaking down the plastic.
The silver band that holds the top and bottom together is cheap and flimsy too. It also stretches over time. Now it wont seal that well. So I had to add a whole bunch of washers to the screw so that I can somewhat tighten it.
They say to replace the bulb at least once a year. Thats another ~$70. Seems like you need to replace the ballast every 6months and the bulb once a year. So that averages to $250 per year in replacement parts.
Bottomline, buyer beware. Cost of ownership is great, components break down rapidly if installed in daylight, customer service is non existant anything you ship to them you better track.
The jury's still out on this one. I bought a Pondmaster filter which had the ballast and bulb included. The bulb lasted a short while before dying. Then, the new bulb which I ordered died as well and so I ordered yet another. It turns out that it was the ballast that actually died, not the bulb, and so I ordered this one to replace it.
The UV light works incredibly well. Within a few days of the bulb dying, my koi pond was green with algae and so dark you could not see the shallow shelf one foot under the water. After installing the new bulb / ballast, the water was clear again within a week.
However, I wish that there was a light on the ballast so that you can tell if the bulb is dead or if it is the ballast that needs replacing.
Another thing, there is a big label on the ballast which says "The light won't work without the ballast". That label should be on the light, not on the ballast and, anyway, there is no way to get the light into the filter without the ballast. This label makes it appear as if you need another piece to go into the ballast; you don't.
My issue is that it takes several days for me to get a new bulb or ballast. Since you cannot tell which part is not working, you would be wise to have a spare of both. This is especially true where I live since my pond will grow algae in a few days.
The other issue that I have is that the manufacturer (Dana) would not help me out on this matter. I had to order new ballasts and bulbs, and then send the old parts to them for evaluation before they would do anything. I thought that perhaps the issue might have been the seal on the tube that the ballast will screw onto (into which the bulb is inserted). I thought that perhaps there was moisture getting into the sealed system. It was suggested by Dana that I buy a new tube because they do not sell, nor would send me, the seal by itself.
So I am now into my 2nd ballast, 3rd bulb and 2nd tube. This can get real expensive!
I will send the parts back to Dana, see how they respond, and update this report.
On the other hand, when the light works, it works great.
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I made a warentee claim on my previous one, and Danner wanted it back for the claim. Since removing the old one meant re-plumbing, I bought this replacement. What hapened to the last one? It seems like it was overheating and then it melted the seal for the quartz sleeve.
Danner customer suport is a bit of a pain... so don't buy their stuff if you don't want to be scratching your head after dealing with them. After sending photos of the damage and clearly telling them the problem (leave on for 30-60mins and it overheats and shuts off) and after makng me send it in (and have to fork out for a replacement to do so) they sent the old one back stating they could find nothing wrong with it, and what they sent back "may" be the same one I sent them, or be a reconditioned one, but it is not clear which... and they will not respond to my queries.
But... it does work really well to get rid of algae and floating critters... when it is working. I have a 1200 gal pond and the water is very clear without needing chems.
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Worked for approximately 5 months. Replaced lamp, still did not work called Danner and was told to replace ballast. I asked " shouldn't the ballast have lasted more than one season" answer..."probably". JUNK!! $260 down the drain !
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I GOT LESS THAN 8 MONTHS USE FROM MY LAST BALLAST. THAT IS WHY I HAD THE NEED TO BUY THIS ONE. THEY ARE NOT CHEAP AND ARE SUPPOSED TO LAST AT LEAST 2 YEARS.
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This is a replacement light for my main light on my aquarium, which is now defective. It works OK, light is a little weak, doesn't fit right in my aquarium hood. But a decent alternative.
