[B&K]

I discovered the strangest thing while performing routine maintenance on my aquarium today. I have two light fixtures, one of which is situated on top of the rim of the tank just a couple of inches above the water with no cover between. In order to do water changes, etc, I have to remove that fixture. I usually use that opportunity to dry any moisture that may have accumulated on the light due to condensation or splashing. Well, today I found what looked and smelled a lot like urine drying (burning) on the bulb! I have no other pets, so there is no chance that a cat walked by and sprayed the last time I did maintenance. Is it possible that a fish could have been "relieving" himself at the very moment that he broke the surface of the water for some reason and peed on my bulb???

 

[shellies215]

First, how do you know what burning urine smells like ? To answer your question, no a fish didn't pee on your bulb, the water from a fish tank has some amount of dissolved organic matter in it, and if allowed to collect on hoods, light fixtures, outside of power filters etc... it can get stale, and begin to grow mold or fungus and smell pretty funky. You should try to prevent moisture from accumulating around your lighting, by use of a glass top, or other means. Not only is it an electrical hazard, but moisture will eventually cut down the life-span of lighting products

 

[rgr4475]

:lol: I don't think so. Purhaps there was just an extra large spash and you smelled the water burning off the bulb. You should really get some type of glass tops. Any type of moisture on anything electrical isn't good for the obvious reason of it shorting out and worst case, creating a fire.

 

[lucrent]

LOL!! You made me laugh today, thanks!!

I agree with the other posts, the other thought is, how clean is your water, does the tank water itself smell a little? Definitely want a cover on the lights, or the tank, if they are that close, otherwise you may want to lift them up a few inches. If you have air stones, you might want to remove those.

 

[B&K]

I didn't think that it was likely, but you never know until you ask! Thanks for all of the advice about getting a cover.

"First, how do you know what burning urine smells like ?" Everybody has their hobbies. But seriously, The smell was reminiscent of cat spray and an oily, brownish-yellow substance wiped off of the bulb.

My tank water is clean and it smells fine, so no correlation there. I perform roughly 40% water changes twice a week and have a moderate to low population. I did have problems with cloudy water after I scraped some well established algae recently but that has cleared. Water has always tested good for me, even during the cloudy spell.

Glad to hear that my "weird" discovery provided some entertainment for some people. Who knows what it was???

 

[fmueller]

You should try to prevent moisture from accumulating around your lighting, by use of a glass top, or other means. Not only is it an electrical hazard, but moisture will eventually cut down the life-span of lighting products

Let me second that, since it seems to have gotten lost between the banter over the suspected cat urine. Have you light fixtures directly exposed to spray water or condensation does not sound like a good idea.