My light arrived today, no idea had to attach it, got it on recommendations from here - it's a 9v waterhome light?
Okay it's now Aug 11 so you might have solved your light problem already.....even though you still seem to be having cycling problems, but hopefully this post will help you or anyone eles who has purchased a Waterhome light.
I brought 2 of these Waterhome lights off ebay for less than £12 an amazing price given that not only do you get the light but you also get the ballast as well......getting a seperate ballast unit and light would cost you at least £30.
When my light unit failed on ny old tank after 14 year good service I was told by my Fish shop that the only solution would be to by a replacement lid that had to be specially ordered and cost about £55.
There was no way I wanted to order a whole new lid, so I set about seeing if I could buy a ballast replacement off the internet, however the ballast sets were still quite expensive......eventually though I came across the
Waterhome light, I wasn't sure if it was going to fit my hood or how well it would illuminate my tank but I figured I might as well try it for such a low price.
I needn't have worried the light was perfect in lighting up my aquarium, so I brought another one as a spare......
So how do you fix the light on your hood....I hear you ask abih?
Well firstly you have to understand that the screw fittings for the little bracket that is supplied is specifically made to fit Hagen's own range of "Elite" aquariums, so not surprisingly the screws won't be the right size for other lids.
There are however a number of options available to fix the light into your hood.
1) use the bracket screws and screw though your plastic lid and secure with nuts on the outside - this however wouldn't look too good and would require you piercing holes in your lid.
or:
2) pierce holes into your lid and secure your light using cable ties......again this wouldn't look that good.
Or
3)
The Method I used: Use some super stength glue to glue the bracket onto the lid (Super Glue or Gorilla Glue).....I used Gorilla Glue because it is 100% water proof and super strong.
Remove the lid completely from tank. postion the bracket so that the light fitting will be fairly central on the lid.....
the use something to roughen up the 2 surfaces to be glued together (use anything sharp that score the surfaces...edge wire brush,sharp knife or Siccors etc,.
Once rouhed up ensure that both surfaces are clean, then apply a small amount of water to both surfaces ( a light misting is all that is needed)
Apply the Gorilla or Super glue.....press the bracket and hood together and use any heavy object(I used weights but you can just use big heavy books books to clamp the 2 surfaces together for the best bond......leave this heavy object(s) as a clamp for at least 2 hours after 2 hours remove the heavy object.....then leave the glue to "fully cure" for at least 24 hours.
After 24 hours you should have a very stongly glued bracket onto the lid....try pulling the bracket off....If you can't budge it then your job is done.......If you do budge it then you did something wrong.....start again!
Once the bracket has been sucesfully glue then you can fit the light in place and put the lid back onto the tank.
Note once the glue has fully cured it will be hard to remove the bracket so make sure the bracket is in the correct position before gluing!
Good luck!
