Acrylic sheet cover will melt?

[coolbucks]

Hi All,

I would like to know whether acrylic sheet that cover the HO T5 lighting set will melt away ? Heard froma LFS guy told me it will melt if on too long as the heat will melt it??

[evolim83]

My acrylic cover of my Matrix 4x36 PL melted!
No idea about HO T5 though!
Think it depends on the thickness of the acrylic cover.
The acrylic cover for my new HO T5 is quite thick, don't think it will melt from the heat emitted from the tubes!

[grey_fox]

My Solite set is using an acrylic sheet over 4 x 54WT5 HOs, so far no sign of melting of bubbling.

I have 2 sets and its still good

[michael lai]

I think T5 does not emit as much heat as PL, don't think it will melt the acrylic.

[juggler]

Just sharing...

If the lights tubes are secured properly, I don't think there's a need to use the acrylic sheet. The acrylic sheet collects dust and turn yellowish over time, blocking light and retaining heat.

Our planted tanks shouldn't have surface agitation that causes water spray to splash onto the light set.

My tank light sets are without any acrylic protection, basically because they are DIY. But I have used them last 5 years without any mishap.

Unless you are keeping fish that occasionally splash water on the light? Like arowana ...

[FishFan]

Hey Juggler,

Interesting suggestion you have there by not using the acrylic sheet. Any noticeable corrision of the electrical contacts? The contacts of my DIY fans often get corroded after a few months due to moisture from the evaporated water. I had to resort to using blue-tack in a bid to arrest the corrosion.

[grey_fox]

Same concern I had initially when I too wanted to remove the acrylic sheet. It's the fear of having the electrical & metal contacts corroded or getting rusted away.

What I do now is to clean the acrylic cover each week when I do the tank maintenance.

[coolbucks]

that why when i ask them, they mentioned it in this way... is jebo t5 lighting set is good?? quite cheap in term of prices..

[juggler]

In my DIY set, the only electrical contacts unavoidably exposed to the water surface looks like this:



I faced the screw side up away from water. So far OK. No corrosion. The light set is dry too from the heat of the PL lights. The C-clips holding the lights are the stainless steel (won't rust) ones. Very strong, got from Nature Aquarium.

I can't say if the materials used for your light set will rust or corrode easily. I guess it is best to check your set.

I just checked below one of my 3 yr plus light set and the aluminum reflector has lost its new shine. There are water marks collected from fish splashing occasionally. But no corrosion. Feels dry too.


When new... 2003


Currently ... Jun 2006

I may have to take back my suggestion earlier ... perhaps that's one reason to keep the acrylic sheet on for you guys - to keep the shine on the reflector.
I have tried cleaning such aluminum reflector with Brasso before. It brought back the shine. But I also read that Brasso is not intended for aluminum.

FishFan: That bad? Is your fan position very close to the water or exposed to water spray? Mine seems OK. But mine is secured using plastic cable-tie, the point of electrical joints are futher away and not exposed.

[FishFan]

Hi Juggler,

Thanks for sharing your set-up. It sure looks like an Engineering masterpiece.

I guess that my fans are positioned too close to the water surface. I face them straight down onto the water with a gap about 2 - 3cm. It is the electrical contacts to the fan's chipset that gets corroded. But at least the blue-tack works pretty well to insulate them.

[zenscape]

Koah Fong's DIY light setting are really neat .

One of my light casing holding 4x 36W PLs has been without acrylic sheet for a year plus. The acrylic sheet melted after one of the PL tudes fell and laid on the sheet for many days without my notice. Had been enduring its warped state for many months until i couldn't take it anymore and threw it away.

Have been hunting around for shops selling pre-cut acrylic sheets. Anyone knows where can i get them?

[cairocks]

The acrylic sheet on one of my old PL lights melted below the electric connection end. It deformed and as a result, unable to slide out for changing of bulbs. Right now, one set of PL lights of the same brand has the same part on the acrylic fogged up. But as the set is modded with a electronic ballast since, no further deformation has been detected for the past 1 year. My other light set is of another brand and the acrylic is still very clear and undeformed at all.

[Star-flog]

Hi All,

I would like to know whether acrylic sheet that cover the HO T5 lighting set will melt away ? Heard froma LFS guy told me it will melt if on too long as the heat will melt it??

Yes, I have a 4ft T5 and the acrylic sheet cover already deformed and can't use anymore.

[grey_fox]

How old is your T5, quite afraid mine will end up melting away haha

[coolbucks]

Is there is a way to prevent the acrylic sheet cover from melting??

[FishFan]

Have been hunting around for shops selling pre-cut acrylic sheets. Anyone knows where can i get them?

There's a hardware shop called Fu An in Serangoon North (next to the kopitiam opposite the multi-story carpark) that can cut acrylic sheets to almost any size you want. You can try your luck there but I am not too sure if the thickness of the acrylic sheet would be suitable.

[zenscape]

Thanks fishfan. I will check them out.