Silvertip Silvertip
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  • Posted on: 19/10/2013 14:48
LED lighting and humidity. #1
Hi everyone. I've ordered a Betta LED lighting beam to go over my rio 300 tank and have toyed with the idea of making a hood that covers the entire top of the tank, including the LED light beam, do you think the light beam would be affected by the humidity and cause it to malfunction?
Thanks, Steve
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finnipper finnipper
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  • Posted on: 19/10/2013 18:08
Re: LED lighting and humidity. #2
Any electrical goods not specifically intended for use in a wet/damp/humid situation are likely to fail if they aren't properly protected. Not only that, but it could prove quite dangerous too.

Having said that, I imagine there are lots of people who have done this or similar things and got away with it, but speaking personally (and as a qualified electrician) I wouldn't do it myself.

I have a an Exo Terra Terrarium with the official canopy for my frogs and due to the design there is a humidity problem and the lights were forever failing until I adapted the canopy to keep it perfectly dry. The lights (?17 each) were lasting 2 - 3 months and now last 2.5 years and counting.
Silvertip Silvertip
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  • Posted on: 19/10/2013 18:39
Re: LED lighting and humidity. #3
Thank you Nipper. Perhaps if i had a thin plastic cover over the whole top, the light from the LED bar would still pass through for plant growth etc?
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Violet Violet
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  • Posted on: 19/10/2013 22:26
Re: LED lighting and humidity. #4
My night time blue LEDS are completely encased in a waterproof plastic tube so can be submerged even. The on-line shop I got them from, that I used to recommend, has closed now but I'll have a google and see if I can find another stockist. They are called 'razer lights' if I remember correctly.

The strips of LEDS in a thin strip of plastic (lot's on ebay) do tend to suffer from condensation issues, my first 2 sets, siliconed into the lid, failed after about 12 months. The razer lights, by comparison, are doing well several years in.
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CurmudgeonlyOldMan CurmudgeonlyOldMan
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  • Posted on: 19/10/2013 22:31
Re: LED lighting and humidity. #5
I am using TMC Tile and Strip LEDS and they are also encased in plastic housings, but the manufacturer still recommends not putting them in hoods and to keep air circulation as optimum as possible. The factor with these lights is also one of heat and they require good venting.
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Violet Violet
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  • Posted on: 19/10/2013 23:01
Re: LED lighting and humidity. #6
Not quite the same as mine, but similar

All Pond Solutions Blue Submersible LEDs:
http://www.allpondsolutions.co.uk/aqu ... ight-colour-changing.html
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