Question About New Lights

[Kelso]

I just got new lighting for my tank. Got a great deal on two 36" T5 HO. My quesion is, they say that they should only be used on a covered aquarium. All advice says to keep the top open. Is it ok to put my lights on without a cover? They come with stands that I am going to use.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Im pretty sure that is a legal warning like the one on fast food coffee cups that say these ridiculous warning things... They dont want to be responsible if you drop the fixture in the water and it causes a fire or shocks you or something like that... they all say that

 

[Kelso]

So I'm good. Awosome thanks.

 

[neilanh]

Yeah, it's protection for them. For instance, splashing water can fry your ballasts. This is how they protect themselves.

Personally, all my aquariums are open top.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

What kind/brand of fixture did you get? Some fixtures that come without protective acrylic covers for the bulbs will give you that warning because of the salt buildup you'll end up with inside the fixture.

 

[cmor1701d]

If there is no splash guard I would heed the warning. What make/modle are they?

 

[Kelso]

Coralife Aqualight T5 HO dual lamp 2x 39w. I got two of them and put them both on my tank. Got a great deal like I said, get this. $44.95 each brand new! I think there listed everwhere else between $150-$200. They were on clearence at my local Petco. I saw the price tag and thought it was an error or misslabel. Got a store employee and said, "I think someone messed up here." He said nope, checked the UPC and it was real. He said no one buys the 36", everyone he's seen has basic size tanks. Lucky me, I snagged two and got home as soon as possible. Light problem solved.

 

[cmor1701d]

Great deal. And it comes with an Acrylic Splash Guard.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

... He said no one buys the 36", everyone he's seen has basic size tanks....

Even stranger... 36" IS a "basic" size for tanks.

Sounds like a good deal - they DID come with the acrylic guards, right? If you have them installed, then I wouldn't be concerned about having it over an open top tank.

 

[Kelso]

Yea, there are gaurds on them. Im most likely going to have to clean them every now and then, they seem to already have a little speckel built up. You can barly see it so I will give it a few weeks before I clean. Ya the guy told me the 30" were the popular ones. They were sitting right next to these with no sale or clearence with a price of $179 I think. Next to that were the 24" on clearence for $98.99. I was so confused, $45 bucks was a little unbelievable seeing as they were the largest they had yet lowest price.

 

[BigJim]

Nice pickup! It's hard to find 30" fixtures, so I can't imagine they're very popular. I got my 30" T5 fixture on clearance because no one wanted that length.

 

[Kelso]

Strange, the guy at the store said the oppiosite. The 30" were still marked at original price. Maybe they just haven't gotten around to it yet and the kid didn't know what he was talking about. Gees it seems like all the employees at my LFS seem to not know what they are talking about.