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Hello all!
Big thanks to all that responded in my other post, and who will repond to this!
Well...while in a rush to clean my fish tank, I couldn't find poor little Mr.Otto #3 and Mr.Frog #2! So I needed ligh to find them! And just my luck, I accidently droped the whole light strip in the water!!! Does anyone now how to fix this? I now have 2 lights broken(one from pac-man frog tank. Can anyone please help!

Thank you all!

Did the bulb shatter? If so, be sure to pick up all the pieces and get rid of them safely.

If not, the best thing for you to do is dry the whole thing out with a rag/cloth/paper towel or two. Make sure you get all of the water off the fixture. Let it sit unplugged overnight, and then turn it on in the morning and see how things go. I'm not an electrician, but I think the fixture should be salvageable, especially if it was turned off when it hit the water.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

I once dropped my flourescent light fixture in the tank while it was on. It didn't shatter, so I quickly unplugged it, took it apart, dried it out, and let it sit overnite... in the morning I reassembled it and it was just fine...

HTH

I agree with the above. Dry it as much as you can by hand then set it in such a way that any extra water that may be in it can run out onto a rag or something. If you have a small fan put it in front to help dry it alittle better as air can hit them tiny hidden areas. I would say to let it dry for at least 24 hours to be sure it is completely dry. I myself have droped things in water and simply letting it dry usally will work. Make sure when you turn it on that it is not on the tank because if there are sparks you don't want it in the tank. Good luck

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Live life to it's fullest
Who knows what tomorrow holds

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Thank you all

My bulb did not shatter.The light was on. I tried to turn it on, it made a noise taht it was trying but didn't. i will try tommororw morning,Thanks!

I know I've done that once or twice (or maybe a dozen times) just let her dry out and she'll work just fine.

-Josh

*don't try this at home*

At work i've dropped plenty of lights into open tanks, on. I just fished 'em out, hung 'em back up and no one was the wiser

Never got shocked from it, either as the fixtures we used were sealed 100%. The lights most aquariums have aren't sealed, so the best is to leave it alone, unplug and then fish out, as stated above.

My co worker and i were both trying to get a fish out of one of the salt tanks and we both got zapped by some stray voltage. Turns out some idiot defeated the ground plug on our stuff so it had nowhere to go but up her arm, and down mine.

bzzzt,
Tim

I've dropped plenty of lights in the water. They work fine again provided nothing breaks and you don't try to turn them on while wet. Turn it off, leave it off, let it dry, and then turn it on. I have instinctively grabbed some as they went underwater instead of turning it off but it is best to just let it go, turn it off, and then get it out of the tank. Those things hurt if you get shocked. I had a badly wired that shocked me several times before I got it fixed.

Hi,
I think we all agree that it is a bad idea mixing
electricity, people, and water. You (we) all might
give some serious thought to installing a Ground Fault
Interupter (GFI) in place of the duplex outlet that many
of us use. At the least trace of current, it will shut
off and eliminate the threat of a shock.

You (or an electrician) can easily remove the cover plate,
and the outlet and replace it with a GFI that fits right
into the hole the outlet is in.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

To get into the parts that are not the easyest to reach use a "Hair Dryer" it works perfectly for drying in hard to get to spots.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
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Thanks all, but i stillca n't get it to work.

I'm confused, did you drop the actual starter bit (the big heavy bit) or just the bulb itself with the caps?

Thanks for all the replys.
I dropped the entire thing, by which I mean the the bulb,those little metals the bulbs attach to, the black plastic, everything.It's still not working.

Probably because you tried to turn it on while wet. I've dropped the entire light underwater before and provided you turn it off immediately and then dry it before turning it on it always works. It will not work while wet and attempting to make it do so will damage at least the ballast. Then your only option is a new light strip because the ballast is the most expensive part of the light.

You could at least try a new starter, they're like 2 for 99 cents. You'll probably need an FS-22 or similar.

If by now it is not working looks like it never will. Did you check all the connections/wires to make sure one has not come loose. Try a different starter as well

If it still does not work buy another one and put that one in a warn airy location and check it in about three months time.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Hi,
In your original post, you said you were looking for
fish and moving the light around while doing so. It sounds
like the light was turned on when it went swimming.

The sudden drop and perhaps striking the rim of the tank
could have ruined the bulb. Fluorescent tubes are quite
thin and easily cracked. If the bulb is cracked the gasses
contained inside will escape and the atmosphere will enter
the tube. It will not turn on in that case.
A fluorescent tube contains what is called a filament
that heats up as the starter works and excites the
gas molecules to begin the glowing process.
The filaments are very fragile, they could be cracked
in half, and the light will not light.

Generally speaking immersion in water will cause cracking
of the bulb, or the sudden contact with the tank rim or
sides will cause the breaking of the filaments but the
actual water damage will be corrosive and "rust" the
electrical connections over time. Setting it out in the
sun and allowing it to dry naturally is usually the best
option when something is immersed in water. Then, when
dry, take it apart and clean all the connections, rewire
it, and plug it in.

If all this is beyond your abilities, then purchase a new
one and chalk it up to experience.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--