Marina 54 Lighting Failure

Hi Everyone,

I have a Marina 54 aquarium that has a faulty light now.
Its a good few years old so I can't moan too much. I've tried replacing the tube, but it still doesn't work so i've come to the conclusion I need a new light.

Its currently built into the underside of the lid.

What should I replace it with? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Craig

Ah - you have exactly the same tank as I have. This also happened to me - and I contacted Hagen Marina directly about it. I'll dig out my post and add it to this thread as I think I might also have included details of the communication with the manufacturers (or, if not, I'll dig that out and let you know their response).

[Updated to add: I thought I had a thread on this but it seems it was only a few mentions of it in https://forums.thinkfish.co.uk/general-fishkeeping-chat/think-fish-keepers-daily-news/msg32550/#msg32550, with posts 602 and 625 and possibly a few in between referring to it.]

[Updated to add e-mail exchange with Hagen on 31/01/2017 and reply the following day:
Hello, I bought the Marina 54L aquarium in Oct 2014 and all has been functioning well since. However, the light stopped functioning yesterday and I assumed that the bulb required replacing. I've tried 2 new bulbs in it, with no luck. The fuse in the plug socket has been changed to a new one, different plug sockets have been tried, all to no avail. We've unscrewed the lighting unit and removed its cover - all the wires are connected as they should be. We thought it was best not to tamper with the white box "electric ballast", however. I'd be grateful for your advice on what to do next.
REPLY (sic):
The light ballast within the canopy will have failed, this is not a replacable part and a new canopy will need to be purchased. Below is the links to the replacement canopys from our spares website, I have sent links for both colours.
http://uk.hagen.com/Aquatic/Replacement-Parts/A3545B
http://uk.hagen.com/Aquatic/Replacement-Parts/A3546B]

Ultimately, I ended up purchasing a new lid/hood of the tank which was expensive but neither I nor Mr FCMF had sufficient DIY skills to do otherwise. [Updated to add: I've checked the details and I ordered it from Complete Aquatics as it was slightly cheaper at the time.] Since getting that replacement, and I see this was over two years ago, this has been absolutely fine and the bulb hasn't required replacing either [large touchwood as I see that I'm approaching the 2yr,3mth lifespan that the previous one lasted for!].

Hope that's helpful.

I used to have an Eheim Aquastar tank which was 54 litres nominal volume, 60 x 30 cm footprint. It came with a hood which held a standard type fluorescent tube. I replaced it with an LED retrofit tube. There was only one make at the time, there are probably more now though. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Superfish-T8-Super-Bright-LED-Aquarium-Fish-Tank-Light-30w/223382587097?hash=item3402a3c6d9:g:YvwAAOSwAdhcYLdb

They now make T8 and T5 sizes and three different colours - I bought super bright. I also have two of these tubes over my 180 litre tank.

If you look at the photo on the box in that link you'll see the tube has plastic end caps with prongs that stick out like a fluorescent tube. You use these to place it in the lamp holders in the hood, but it has it's own power supply. Since the ballast on yours has broken, you may as well just remove the mains cable attached to the hood as it will just get in the way.
If you decided to go down this route, just measure the tube you have now to get the correct size.

It should be possible to replace the ballast. If there's any writing on it giving the watts, or whatever, make sure you get the same type. And make a note of which terminal each strand of the cables are attached to. There should be two sets, one from the mains and another set connected to the lamp holders

As this topic relates to my own, and to which I refer earlier in this thread, I'm resurrecting this thread.

The ballast appears to have blown again after just over 3 years of use ( typical - after I finally find a plant that has been thriving for quite some time limnophila sessiliflora and a couple of others that have been surviving for months ) .  It's no longer possible to buy a replacement black hood/canopy from the manufacturer or elsewhere.  Therefore, I'm going to have to either make do with a tablelamp or else get LEDs. 

Having looked into a convenient and economical way of getting LEDs, and with a new tank not being an option , I've figured out that a tube version of a LED that sits in the existing structure seems to be what I require, as any alternative retro-fit kit (eg Dennerle) or LED strip (eg Superfish Slim LED) isn't going to work with my tank lid and the tank's lack of 'lip', brace bars, etc. I'll be getting a https://www.aquael-aquarium.co.uk/produkty/aquaristics/aq-lighting/leddy-slim/, and only the 8W Sunny model is the appropriate 45cm length to fit between the existing holes.

You're quite right, @Sue - I linked to the incorrect one but had fortunately (phew) ordered the correct one (ie the Retrofit one) that you link to! 
Thanks for the suggestion re what to do with the original cable.

Update 14/05/20: Aqual Retrofit light successfully arrived and installed, and original cable removed.