Light in aquarium while working in the tank

kmiceray

Kind of weird question here but I know I am going to have this problem in the future. My light sits on top of my aquarium over glass. I do have a part that opens in the front. But if I have to remove all the glass to trim plants or do anything in the tank then I also have to remove the light. So, now I have no way of really seeing what I am doing in the tank. What do y'all guys do to light up the aquarium? I saw some desk lamps that have clips on them at walmart. I was thinking of getting two of those and clip them on the side of the tank to light it up. As is right now I know I wont be able to see anything.

lorax84

None of my current lights sit on my tank hood, but when I had my 10gallon set up I used to turn the light so it was resting on the front and back edge of the tank and slide it from one side to the other as I worked.

kmiceray

That is a good idea. I will give that a try and see if the light seems stable. Thanks for the help

Romad

I just plug in floor lamps and put them near the tank.

Byron

If the fixture sits on the tank frame, like mine do, you can remove the cover glass completely and it will be fine, just don't splash the hot tube. I usually push my fixture to the back so I have more room.

The method already mentioned will also work, angled across the frame.

The glass should be cleaned every week during the water change. Otherwise it will cloud with mineral deposits and even just condensation that dries every day under the light and will reduce the light.

kmiceray

Thanks for all the tips everyone!

1077

Yes,, I like the idea's mentioned.
Would not use clamp on lights.unless VERY careful not to splash water.
I once spent the better part of an afternoon washing approx 80 lbs of sand and hooked up a clamp on shop light over the tank while working to set up the new tank.
As water approached to near the surface,,water splashed up and hit the bulb which then shattered leaving all of the broken glass shards in the tank I had just spent so much time and effort setting up.
Had to drain the tank, and comb through the sand trying to get all of the glass out of the tank.
I now drain the tanks down about fifty percent while leaving the hood light over the tank while working in them, and remove the light before re- filling.

kmiceray

Oh no.....I bet that pissed ya off haha. Sorry about that and thanks for the warning. I think turning they light the opposite direction on the tank is the way to go. Also removing it while filling the tank up to avoid an explosion