u/Enigmaxy

I’ve had geckos for 8 years and have been using Lucky Reptile Bright Sun 50-watt lamps since day one. I replace them once a year, so I’ve had about 8 of these lamps. Once, I bought a defective lamp at a local store, which I was able to exchange - this was 4–5 years ago.

This time, I ordered from a well-known reptile supply retailer, and the first lamp broke after about 3 hours of operation, with a loud bang. After that, it started rattling inside the lamp. I filed a complaint and got a replacement. In the meantime, from the complaint until the replacement arrived, I put the old lamp back in, which had been running for about a year without any problems. The replacement arrived on Saturday; I installed it today, and just like that it broke again. This time after 1–4 hours; I don’t know exactly because I wasn’t at home. I put the old one back in, and that one works fine. So it definitely isn’t the ballast, which I’ve also had for 8 years and has always worked perfectly (original Lucky Reptile).

Did I just have bad luck, or are there similar experiences? I find this really unpleasant and don’t know how to explain that the new one broke again. On the other hand, it can’t be the ballast because the old lamp works flawlessly with it.

https://preview.redd.it/p600rkegsvyg1.jpg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=288506390a9be03ee6548f1d51a37b4871da4117

I have two self 3D-printed hydroponic towers (PETG), as shown in the photo. On the left is lettuce, on the right strawberries. The lettuce is growing well (the photo is already 3 weeks old, and I’ve since been able to harvest a lot of delicious lettuce).

Anyway, due to the white filament, I have a massive algae problem despite adding 10 ml of 12% hydrogen peroxide every 4–5 days to my 30-liter tanks (2 units, which are light-proof and buried in the ground under wooden boards).

I have now covered the right tower as best as possible with aluminum foil, but I still have algae. Just 2 days after the last water change and H₂O₂ treatment, the water was already green again. If I don’t change the water for 2 weeks, I get an extreme biofilm.

As you can see, the towers are in a greenhouse, but the water temperature currently never exceeds 22°C because the tanks are buried in the ground.

What options do I have? Sandwich coating? Reprinting in another color (black is not an option because it would melt in the sun).

The lettuce is actually growing well, so I’m wondering if I might be overthinking the algae issue. The strawberries, on the other hand, are struggling, which I suspect is due to low humidity (<30% during the day). I plan to replace them with lettuce in the near future.