How to Mod Top Fin Aquarium Lights

How to Mod Top Fin Aquarium Lights

The Top Fin 3 and 5 Gallon Shrimp and Plant Aquarium set are one of the best bang for your buck sets to get started with. However, a major flaw in the set is that the LED light uses a Capacitive Touch Sensor to control the state. This prevents me from using an automatic timer to control the light as I still need to trigger the capacitive touch sensor. This guide walks through how to mod the light assembly to bypass the capacitive touch transistor.

1. Open the Light Assembly

Using a guitar pick or spudger tool unclip the clear plastic from the black plastic housing. Work your way around the assembly being careful not to break the clips.

2. Remove the Glue from beneath the board

The board is glued down to the housing with four dabs of glue. Run a guitar pick under the board on the locations shown in the photo to break the adhesive. Flip the board up towards the power cable to see the circuit underneath.

3. Solder Jumper Wire

Solder a wire from across the transistor shown in the diagram. This bonds the emitter and ground pins of the transistor resulting in an always closed circuit. Note that this will prevent using capacitive touch sensor to control the light.

4. Enjoy

Tada! You have successfully modified your LED light to work without the touch sensor. Now your Google Nest automations will control how much light your aquarium gets.