Problems with biocube lights (Steve’s LED)

Shefilbel7 · Sep 16, 2018

Has anyone had this same problem? It looks like some of the lights are burning through the cover

hdsoftail1065 · Sep 16, 2018

Went to the tank just to double check. Ours have been up and going for about 6 months and look fine.

oreo54 · Sep 17, 2018

How old are they? Looks like UV degrading the plastic..

Water Dog · Sep 17, 2018

That’s a common problem with LEDs (specifically the violets) and the polycarbonate plastic of those Biocube splash shields. If you’re handy, you can make a UV resistant acrylic splash shield. Here is my DIY splash shield I made for my Oceanic Biocube 29.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2557971

Shefilbel7 · Sep 17, 2018

oreo5457 said:
How old are they? Looks like UV degrading the plastic..

I’ve had them in for about 7 months

saltyfilmfolks · Sep 17, 2018

It’s not usual. You should call them.

Water Dog · Sep 17, 2018

I have seen this with other Biocube owners over on RC using RapidLED retrofit kits as well, so it’s not just a Steve’s LEDs thing IMO. All of them had the same burn spot on their polycarbonate splash guards... the common denominator being the violet LED diodes. What color is the LED diode responsible for the burned spot on your splash guard?

Shefilbel7 · Sep 18, 2018

saltyfilmfolks said:
It’s not usual. You should call them.

I’ve sent and email with some pictures to their service email yesterday afternoon. Waiting on a response. Hopefully soon

Shefilbel7 · Sep 18, 2018

Water Dog said:
I have seen this with other Biocube owners over on RC using RapidLED retrofit kits as well, so it’s not just a Steve’s LEDs thing IMO. All of them had the same burn spot on their polycarbonate splash guards... the common denominator being the violet LED diodes. What color is the LED diode responsible for the burned spot on your splash guard?

It’s the violet under both of the burn spots

Shefilbel7 · Sep 18, 2018

Water Dog said:
That’s a common problem with LEDs (specifically the violets) and the polycarbonate plastic of those Biocube splash shields. If you’re handy, you can make a UV resistant acrylic splash shield. Here is my DIY splash shield I made for my Oceanic Biocube 29.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2557971

Thanks! I’ll look into doing this

Shefilbel7 · Sep 21, 2018

Update: heard back from the company. They say that it’s either that the lights are not screwed in all the way to the top of the hood (checked this and there’s plenty of space between the splash cover and the lights), or that it’s because salt creep got on the outside of the splash cover.

I’m trying to find a replacement cover because the lights put a hole through the lid s I had to seal the hole and turn the lights off until I can find a new cover

Shefilbel7 · Sep 21, 2018

Shefilbel7 said:
Update: heard back from the company. They say that it’s either that the lights are not screwed in all the way to the top of the hood (checked this and there’s plenty of space between the splash cover and the lights), or that it’s because salt creep got on the outside of the splash cover.

I’m trying to find a replacement cover because the lights put a hole through the lid s I had to seal the hole and turn the lights off until I can find a new cover