Lighting Accident

[AmberK]

Hello,

Ok, so I was building an open top lighting hood for my tank so that my toddler stops trying to pet the pretty fishes. I built it, set it on the tank to make sure it still fit, and it did! It was perfect! So I picked it up to go finish it, and the lighting strip came up with it and, plop! Fell in my tank. It stayed lit for a few seconds, then I finally got over my horror at maybe electrocuting my brand-new fish and took it out. Some mild electrocution later, I put it in a bucket to dry and unplugged it. Now it's dry, stopped popping and electrocuting me, but it won't turn on! Aargh! Is there any way to save it, or do I just need to buy a new one/ build my own lighting fixture?

Help me please!!!

 

[Haddonisreef]

Try taking a hair dryer to it!

 

[Boogie]

yikes. I have no advice other than to be careful. Good luck. That bites..

 

[Metalsniper]

At this point it's probably a little late for my suggestion, but I would make sure it is completely dry before plugging it in again. A safe suggestion would probably be to just leave it sit for a couple of days in some rice if you have enough. The rice will draw moisture out. I like this better than the hair dryer because the heat can damage wiring and circuitry.

 

[Cake_Boss]

Sounds like a short. The rice thing sounds cool. When my LEDS fell in my tank I took them apart, dried them with a microfiber cloth, scrubbed with an old toothbrush, dried more, scrubbed more, vacuumed it, scrubbed, vacuum, made sure the solder wasn't corroding, put back together. Might have been a little OCD, but they worked fine afterwards.

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[KhensuRa]

Just make sure it is dry before you plug it in and like Jamie said clean it as best you can of any salt residue. Might work might not, and if does work it might only work for a little while. Good luck.

 

[AmberK]

I did already plug it in, but I'm hoping that doesn't mean it's totally dead. I need to figure out how to take it apart to dry it out because it's pretty sealed up. It's one of those Coralife ones where the only thing that's easy to get to is the bulbs. Hopefully I can pry it open or something and see if there is any salt residue inside. Wish me luck!
If this doesn't work though, how hard is it to work with Pre-wired waterproof end caps?

 

[chrislorentz]

Use Rubbing Alcohol to dry it out once you get it open.

 

[Wicked Color]

+1, even if it does work for a minute the salt will corrode anything, clean very well prior to pluging it back in.

 

[Cake_Boss]

I did already plug it in, but I'm hoping that doesn't mean it's totally dead. I need to figure out how to take it apart to dry it out because it's pretty sealed up. It's one of those Coralife ones where the only thing that's easy to get to is the bulbs. Hopefully I can pry it open or something and see if there is any salt residue inside. Wish me luck!
If this doesn't work though, how hard is it to work with Pre-wired waterproof end caps?

The coralife fixtures are held together with screws. Luckily for you, they are easy to dismantle and swap parts.

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[AmberK]

Thank you so much! I just found my project for the day