splash shield

[angel not fish]

I am thinking about taking my splash shield off to get more light into the tank, but I am concerned about corrosion. Has anyone had any bad experiences by not using your splash shield?

[hypertech]

What kind of light and how close is it? I don't use a shield on my T5s. As long as they aren't getting salt spray and you wipe it down every once in a while the reflectors hold up pretty well.

 

However, if this is a DE metal halide bulb, you need to leave the glass on as that is the UV filter and it is required.

[angel not fish]

I do have a pc and it has a leg.

[treesprite]

I have had various fixtures without any shields. You should check them carefully once in a while for any traces of salt on electrical components.

[angel not fish]

It does not work, the ballast just burn after the blue tang splash water on it.

[treesprite]

I have used pc with no shield and t-5 with no shield... no problems. Must be the way the fixture you have is made (mine are both Current USA)

[FearTheTerps]

I dont have a splash guard on my t-5 tek light and I regret not having one installed. I had lots of spray on the bulbs and the refelctor even with having it hanging 8-10 inches above the water. Now my reflectors are very dull and spotty looking from corrosion. Im not that worried about my fixture since its a 6 bulb over a 55 gallon( overkill just a bit) but if I ever put this fixture on another tank I think i will have to replace the reflectors.

 

The tek light came with the splash sheild as an option and I was too cheap to spend that extra 50 bucks, now its gonna cost me double that if I ever replace the reflectors.

 

If you already have the shield I would just use it and clean it often, it might be a pain in the butt, but its alot easier to wipe down the shield then it is cleaning all that salt spray off the bulbs and the inside of the fixture.

[Guest thefishman65]

IMHO the spray will go somewhere, dry and block the light. A clean splash guard does not block that much light and is easier to clean than almost anything else.

[steveoutlaw]

I would keep it on. My guess is that if there is a splash shield then they probably aren't waterproof endcaps and rust will set in quickly if you remove it. Just clean it once per week. I keep mine on my ATI T5 fixture and I just wipe it down as a part of my regular tank maintenance.

[treesprite]

A point is that if your fixture came with a splash guard and you don't use it, you will void any warranty that you have.