incandescent hoods don't need glass tops/coverings?

[mgkaelen]

hi friends, i bought a 10g tank which im' planting soon enough--- i just set up the tank and i realize that it didn't come with a glass hood/covering/protector thing. is this necessary? why wouldn't it be included? it's an incandescent hood, hwoever i'm using compact fluorescent bulbs on it. it looks like there's a tight plastic covering near the electrical portion, however is this enough? do i need the glass so there isn't a lot of splashing? i'm taking out all airstones and keeping the water topped off so there's as little water movement as possible (for the plants' sakes)... suggestions?

 

[grimlock3000]

"is this necessary?"

When I got my Coralife PC light, there were mulitple places in the installation that said specificially not to use it without a glass top. I am sure people use the lights without glass tops, but the glass top really adds another layer of safety, and helps reduce evaporation, and keeps fish from jumping out of the tank. It also shields the tank water from the hot light (which would cause more evaporation), and at one point or another, water will be splashed up on the light from a fish or odd current of water. I think if you had the light on mounting legs a few inches above water you would be ok though. I use a glass top and have my PC a few inches above the tank.

"why wouldn't it be included?"

So they can charge you extra for it later

 

[malkore]

the last thing you EVER want to happen is the light hood to get knocked into the tank. America's Funniest Videos recently ran a 30 second spot of various cats 'fishing' in the aquarium and falling in. In several cases the light got knocked in as well. I'm still unsure why sparks didn't fly and why the cats seemed to not be electrocuted.
I'd never run lights over an uncovered tank.

 

[tkos]

Those screw in cf generally say for indoor use only, not to use in areas that get wet. So I wouldn't assume that they are aquarium safe or really sealed. That being said I use them and will continue to as they do a great job. But a covering for a 10 gallon tank isn't a whole lot of money.

Most kits do include it though as a safety feature. I would ask the fish store if it is supposed to be there. Perhaps it was just missing in your kit.

 

[William]

There are PC screw in bulbs made for aquariums, wally world carries them for 5 bucks a piece. And their plant bulbs to.