glass between lights and water?

[mrkeeg]

Hi... I tried searching the old posts, and came up with a few that touched on this, but...

I have recently put a pane of glass cover on my tank, between the flourescent tubes and the water surface. It is great at preventing the huge evaporation I had, and the primary thought behind it was that it may help keep CO2 concentrations higher near the water surface, and thus in the water.

My question is, does this significantly negatively affect the quantity/quality of light getting to my plants?

Thanks,
Keegan

[carpguy]

You don't want water evaporating up into electronics. You don't want fish splashing or leaping up into the bulbs. I think the pane of glass in between is pretty much standard running gear. I wouldn't run lights without one.

And no, I don't think it has much of an effect on the amount of light… no worse than the first little bit of water.

[Cearbhaill]

Agreed- you invest too much money in that lighting to let water get to it!

[djlen]

The light loss with glass between the lights and water is minimal provided you keep the glass clean.
Water spots accumulating on the glass will, over time, negatively affect the amount of light passing through.
Many people use vinegar on stubborn water marks to keep glass clean.

Len

[mrkeeg]

Great, thanks guys.
It is nice to not have to top up the water every day, and wipe all the bulbs down with vinegar to remove the scale!

Keegan

PS: I'm new here... looks like a great place!

[kveeti]

Originally posted by mrkeeg
PS: I'm new here... looks like a great place!

It is a great place. Welcome aboard!