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Zapins · 06-24-2009, 01:30 PM

You can certainly use the light on top of the glass canopy. The condensation is temporary. Once the light has been on for a while it will heat the glass up and evaporate the water on the other side (turning it clear).

Also, by adding a heater to the tank you will be reducing the condensation because condensation is caused by a difference of temperature. If the tank's temperature is warmer there is less of a difference in temperature between the hot glass (with light on top) and the warm water, so less condensation forms.

As for the calcium build up on glass, what you can do to remove this is simply grab a few kitchen paper towels and place them on top of the glass on a counter (as flush with the glass as possible), then pour some white vinegar onto the paper and let it sit for 20 minutes or more. Then rinse off the vinegar and your glass will be clear as the day it came. The vinegar is slightly acidic and will dissolve the basic calcium off the glass. The paper towels keep the vinegar evenly spread over the glass and help to stop it from evaporating while you wait for it to clean the glass.

I'd also like to mention that people have tested how much light gets through glass that has a lot of calcium buildup on it, and it barely affects how much light gets into the tank, so don't worry too much about light loss due to glass scum.

06-24-2009, 01:30 PM	#7 (permalink)
Zapins Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: CT, Connecticut Posts: 2,561 iTrader Ratings: 49 iTrader Positive Rating: 100% Plant Points: 97720	Re: T5 HO Light Postitioning You can certainly use the light on top of the glass canopy. The condensation is temporary. Once the light has been on for a while it will heat the glass up and evaporate the water on the other side (turning it clear). Also, by adding a heater to the tank you will be reducing the condensation because condensation is caused by a difference of temperature. If the tank's temperature is warmer there is less of a difference in temperature between the hot glass (with light on top) and the warm water, so less condensation forms. As for the calcium build up on glass, what you can do to remove this is simply grab a few kitchen paper towels and place them on top of the glass on a counter (as flush with the glass as possible), then pour some white vinegar onto the paper and let it sit for 20 minutes or more. Then rinse off the vinegar and your glass will be clear as the day it came. The vinegar is slightly acidic and will dissolve the basic calcium off the glass. The paper towels keep the vinegar evenly spread over the glass and help to stop it from evaporating while you wait for it to clean the glass. I'd also like to mention that people have tested how much light gets through glass that has a lot of calcium buildup on it, and it barely affects how much light gets into the tank, so don't worry too much about light loss due to glass scum.