My lights fell in the water... I am screwed
 

Oh my God.... my PC fixture just fell in the tank.... I just dried everything off with a blow drier, bla bla bla bla.... they don't work.. they are in the trash.

Here's my problem... and my concerns... I am leaving Friday to go camping... I have put a NO bulb (1) over the tank.... I have 5 BTA's, 2 frogspawn, a hammer, and zoanthids.

How long can they survive on this lighting?? I can't afford lights right now.... hah, I can't afford it at all.... I am pretty freaked out guys... what the heck am I going to do?!?!?

Dont throw that fixture out, soak all components in freshwater ASAP. Then dry it out, and leave for extended period of time just to make sure. And try again. It could just be salt on components or pc board that is stopping it from working. Then again a component could have blown, but it is worth trying. I've dropped cameras, and other stuff while fishing and brought them back from the dead this way. Even if a componant blew, sometimes they are very odvious and cheap at an electronics store. I'm sure you could find someone with soldering skills.

As for your livestock, just tell them its going to be cloudy for a week, just like what happens in their wild setting esp in hurricane season. But in the meantime start looking for another light source just incase the above doesn't work.

it's too late, they're in the garbage... and when I was trying to dry the ballast I was trying to gently lift it up and the board snapped.. I am an idiot... I am screwed. Im freakin out because I am going away on Friday... and I can't afford a $225 PC fixture.

Someone might have to just take all my stuff for free.. I don't know what else to do

Check your PM, i sent you a great offer :mrgreen:

Hey OC, I saw your post on RC as well. Looks like Beermaster might be to the rescue, but otherwise what about J&L?

Can you afford a $50 Workhorse 5 and a pair of 55/65W PC bulbs?

If the bulbs didnt explode they should still work. i would get a workhorse ballast and wire it up its quite easy.

Hey guys,

Sorry I didn't post back last night... I was able to get a brand new PC fixture again.. the Aqualight with moonlight... Dennis stayed open for me to come by and get them... so I am ok now!

I had to go get an EKG last night .. because I tried pulling the lights out of the tank while still turned on.... spent the entire night in emerg.. fun stuff.

Danny came by last night and got my shrimp and brain coral, and I got a new frogspawn.. Bob came by this morning and dropped off a few zoo frags, I am going to take shots later

You went to the emergency room? I think you are a little paranoid. Ive been knocked out from electric shocks and have never gone to the hospital. If you can get up and walk your fine.

That explains it... :razz:

lol I personally don't care what your beliefs are in the matter. I would rather be safe than sorry, the doctor didn't seem to think it was unneccesary for me to be there. I also phoned the health link line.. i had NO plans on going to emerg, just to a walk-in clinic for a quick EKG.. they sent me to emerg.

man oh man... whatever you say or think.. does not matter to me. i did what i did, and im glad im ok. from what the doctor said, i could have easily done some serious damage to myself. so if next time you get a bad shock (not 1 , I got 2) you can do what you want, and like the nurse said.. there are no symptoms most of the time with things like this , if it were something wrong with my heart... hahahaha ANYWAYS thanks for the sympathy . not as if im looking for any anyhow.

Hey scott calm down

Get a GFCI. If you don't feel comfortable installing a GFCI then you can buy a plug-in one on-line.

OCDP,

I spent an evening in emerg a few weeks back when I got some goo from some frags I was working with on my lips. The stuff made its way into my system and I was dizzy, numb, headachy - in short, I kinda poisoned myself. By the time the dr. saw me, after two hours of waiting, my symptoms had subsided. He checked me for stroke and heart problems and sent me home.

Glad you are alright. I'd freak if I got shocked the way you did :eek:

When in doubt, man, go to emerg :exclaim:

Rona also sells a gfi plug adaptor

If I shocked myself and went to our emerg., I'd be dead from the wait.

Walter

Isn't that the TRUTH!!!!!!!! HAAAAAHAAAA!!!!!!!

That statement is just plain wrong; specifically the last sentence. Despite not having any noticable symptoms you can die hours later from heart trouble caused by the current disrupting the electric impulses in your heart. Apparently it can be a fairly minor shock too.

I once cut through 640v line that fed a gas station in Surrey. It blew the trasformer out on the street, traffic lights were down and the force of it threw me back about six feet into a wall. I was really lucky the way the stars were aligned and only had flash burns (fairly bad ones) so the ambulance came, took me to emergency and to make a long story short: I had to argue with the Doctor to let me go. They had me hooked up to heart monitoring devices and explained that it's important to be very careful for the first 24hrs when hit with electrical current. The plastic surgeon came in and confirmed what I'd been trying to say about the burns (flash not exit) and I finally got out.

Having said that most electricians get shocked fairly frequently and probably don't go to the hospital and are no worse for wear but there's no harm in being safe.

GFCI is an absolute MUST in this hobby!!!!

If people only went to the ER when it was a real emergency (as opposed to a cold) the waits wouldn't be as bad. That is why I favour user fees for the emergency room, it would make people think before going there.

As far as electrocution injury, an ER visit is necessary, but a GFCI could have prevented it in the first place.

There is no rhyme nor reason to the way our health care system works, in many ways they are trying to provide the best care they can. Walk in Clinics are open late, when I was trying to find a family Dr here I was told I'd have to go on waiting lists and once I got in as a patient it would be 5-7 days for an appointment. I now have a Dr who is very good but I live in New West and his office is right down town Vancouver.

Anyway, glad you got the new lights, glad you went to Emerg and I'm glad you didn't have any apparent damage. GFCI... no need to say it again.

Doug

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Holy crap! I feel awful now. I didn't realize that I could have been that serious. Sorry Scott. I'm glad you are ok man!

You should have held on to that fixture though, I think you could have salvaged it somehow.

Sorry for my earlier comments i didnt mean them disrepectfully. And 640 volts in a little different then 120v.

Our emergency room is a mess. I went in with appendisitis i was on the floor in the emergency room in such pain i couldnt walk. I waited on that floor for 3 hours. That was my first trip to the hospital and it wasnt a good one. I had tubes coming out of every extremity and the pain killers mad me loopy.

No apology needed (to me anyway :smile: ) . It is a little different. I don't know how many times I've cut through live 120 and 240.

Ummm. Troy, I think you need to be more careful :eek: :biggrin:

Anthony

Yeah Sean waiting in Emerg is something. I had to stand for almost two hours with a dislocated hip.

Doug