Lighting ?

[Bob Hooper]

I recently built a new lighting strip for a 10 gal. tank. I used 2 new bulbs (chroma 50's) and a new ballast. The bulbs will not light unless I touch the area between the bulb and the reflector.As soon as i do that, they go on and stay on. Can anyone tell why? I would like to attach this light strip to my timer but this situation prevents me from doing this.
Thanks,
Hoop