springerhd
New member
I've had this light for about 2 months now and would like to get some people opinions on it and share things that have made it better. I have to say so far I'm not impressed and if I didn't like the open look so much I'd really wish I'd gone with the sunpod. For starters, the clamp to attach the light to the back of the tank seems too weak for the weight of the lamp and I'm contantly afraid of it snapping. The arms don't seem very sturdy at all either. My main problem has been the head of the lamp sagging due to its weight and insufficient clamping force at its adjustment knob. Since there are no interlocking teeth at that joint, the lamp depends on the knob there being able to keep the head in position by acting as a clamp. The first problem I ran into was the knob melting due to heat from the head. I did get a new 'heat resistant' knob from JBJ which is really the same knob with a cheap lock washer to keep the plastic knob from directly touching the lamp. Unfortunately, this washer reduces the clamping force from the knob since it greatly reduces the diameter of the area on contact with the lamp head. Also, due to the plastic threads in the arms, it is impossible to tighten this knob enough to hold the head in place without breaking the threads or stripping them. They should have used a metal nut built into the arm here.
I am currently trying out a split-ring lock washer to see if that helps with the head sagging. Has anyone else found a solution for this problem?
As for a nightlight, which this light sadly lacks, I have used the coralife LED, designed to be sunction cupped onto the side of the tank. I have it attached to the middle arm of the viper with black zipties and it is really not very noticeable at all.
Please post if you've had any success or problems with this lamp! I really like the look of the open top and want to make it work, I'm sure there are others in the same position!
I am currently trying out a split-ring lock washer to see if that helps with the head sagging. Has anyone else found a solution for this problem?
As for a nightlight, which this light sadly lacks, I have used the coralife LED, designed to be sunction cupped onto the side of the tank. I have it attached to the middle arm of the viper with black zipties and it is really not very noticeable at all.
Please post if you've had any success or problems with this lamp! I really like the look of the open top and want to make it work, I'm sure there are others in the same position!