# Accidentally Dropped In Water



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

I have dropped my light in my tank a few times, and my kids have as well on top of that. Just dry it out and it should be fine, as long as it didn't blow the bulb. My bulbs never blew and have always worked after drying.


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## kevmo911 (Sep 24, 2010)

If it's completely dried out, and there's no water left to short anything, give it a shot. If nothing was blown, it will work fine. If it's broke, something needs to be replaced. Either way, as long as it's dry, it's not gonna 'splode.


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## NeonFlux (Apr 10, 2008)

+1 with Tony and Kev.

You could try placing lots of dry towels around the fixture for a few days, so the moisture inside could escape, and be absorbed by the towels.


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## jedimasterben (Aug 21, 2011)

I accidentally dropped one of my CFL/aluminum reflector into my tank when changing things around. It didn't even turn off lol, but I turned it off and let it dry and it's working as good as ever.


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## NeonFlux (Apr 10, 2008)

By the way, your avatar is pretty gore... and messed up. Hah... I mean, I get it.. Ash Ketchum from the TV series 'Pokemon' pretty much released his dark inner self, and killed poor little pokemon Pikachu in your picture, and now their close friendship is over and blah blah.. Ah, I used to watch Pokemon growing up, the good old days... now it's just not the same nor good anymore over the years lol. Maybe that's why you don't like Pokemon anymore? And of course, I don't watch it any longer now that I'm pretty much a young adult that goes to college and etc.. I don't watch anime anymore like I used to as well.

Anyway! Good luck! I hope the fixture is alright.


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## Jaguar (Oct 13, 2011)

If it didn't blow up while it was wet it should be fine once you let it dry out. You can use a hair dryer or just put it somewhere warm for 3 or 4 days and you should be good.


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## mach_six (Sep 12, 2005)

I would open up the fixture and dry the ballast. It could be rusty if you don't. If it's those All Glass fixtures they're prone to rusting.


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## Pikachu (Oct 1, 2010)

Ah ok, thanks. Looks like my tank wont get any light for the next few days; so it can air dry. But I will open it to dry as much as I can.

It's one of those Finnex fixtures, but I decided to put an 18w cfl bulb since 26w is too much for low tech.

Haha, I still love pokemon, just not the newer generations.


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## dundadundun (Apr 8, 2010)

i might dry it up as best i could and throw it in the dryer on low by hanging the cord by the door. let run for an hour or two and plug it in. should be fine.


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

I came home to my coralife t5 fixture half submerged in my shrimp tank, and not only was every shrimp just fine, the lights were still on under water. I have no idea how long it was like that (damned cats), but the fixture was hot when I took it out. I shook it dry and put it back in place, and it was fine. These fixtures are friggin bullet proof


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## Naekuh (Oct 19, 2011)

the problem with water and electronics is when the water has a mineral content which makes it conductive. 

seeing how u didnt kill all your fish, id say nothing got messed up badly to the point where something was shorted. 

Otherwise u would of seen giant sparks fly up, you would of also pop'd your breaker, and you would of killed everything in your tank. 


First thing to do is make sure your balast especially are dryed out.
If they are waterproof, then you dont need to worry about much, but if they arent, then you need to take them out into the sun and make sure all the moisture and water vapor is released. 

You also want to inspect for hard water spots which could cross channels and short it though mineral content. 

After everything has been dryed off, it should be okey....



dundadundun said:


> i might dry it up as best i could and throw it in the dryer on low by hanging the cord by the door. let run for an hour or two and plug it in. should be fine.


NO!

this is the biggest no no with electronics..
hair dryer causes massive amounts of static... and static kills PCB's..

Just put it out in the sun.. and bake it naturally... or put it in an oven no hotter then 100C and bake it that way. 

*DO NOT USE A HAIR DRYER ON ELECTRONICS!*


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## cruzersoul (Sep 18, 2011)

If you want to make sure that there is no water in the fixture, go out a buy a bag of rice and place the fixture in the bag with the rice. Rice is great at removing unwanted liquids from electronics. On the other hand if you want to use a hair dryer to dry the fixture that is fine, just make sure that the fixture is grounded while your are drying it. 

-Drew


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## dundadundun (Apr 8, 2010)

Naekuh said:


> NO!
> 
> this is the biggest no no with electronics..
> hair dryer causes massive amounts of static... and static kills PCB's..
> ...


first... i would never stand there with a hair dryer blowing on electronics long enough to dry them. i'm not that patient.

second... i've been drying electronics using forced, low RH air for over a decade and haven't ruined a single thing. roud: including everything several families own every week for years.

third... my sons and my daughters netbooks (among many other things) have dangled in my (clothes) dryer with no ill effects on several occasions. the downside of giving a 2 yr old a computer of their own...

fourth... if you have enough sediment built up in your air for static electricity to connect and make an ion chain and short out a unit that takes good wattage at high voltages, you need to filter the air you're using for drying... and should definitely better filter the air in your home for your own health.


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## HolyAngel (Oct 18, 2010)

dude i've dropped my fixtures in my tank soo many times over the last couple years.. just picked em up and set em right on top again, they were still lit and no issues.


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

Let it hang for 24 hrs with a fan blowing on it, flip it and do another 24 hrs and it should be ok.


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