MH water clearance

[ckusnierek]

I want to up grade from 4X96w PC to MH. I have a canopy that is about 5-6" from the water. This tank is in my living room and asthetics are improtant. I do not want to remove the canopy or "jack" it up. I figure a MH retro would put the reflectos about 1" from the water and the bulbs 2-3" from the water. Is this too close? It's a 75g I'm looking at (2) 175 or 250w retros. probally gonna go with the 250. Would reflectors w/ glass sheilds work? Not too worried about heat I keep my AC at 68deg. And the canopy is open in the back were I can put fans.

[afbengochea]

I think it would be too close. What Ive seen done that looks nice, is to cut a section off the top of the canopy and place a sleek fixture on top so the light goes through the hole that was cut out.

[tdwyatt]

I keep mine (250 watt XM 10kK SE's) at 10cm from the surface, but make sure that the bulbs are oriented such that when the power goes off, that the bulbs will not be sprayed either directly or indirectly by any return manifolds that you may have to move water near the surface (remember that the water level will drop during power outages, and even though the bulbs will go out as well without power and take some time to come back on as they cool, that a short outage may result in spray on bulbs that are still hot (POP!)... ). If you have returns for water or pumps that are shallow in the water for the tank, you'll need to make allowances for spray on the bulbs yet still have siphon breaks in your return plumbing.

HTH

[Geoff]

make sure your bulbs are higher than what a clam can squirt. i lost 2 bulbs due to my clam squiting the bulbs.

G~

[tdwyatt]

Originally Posted by Geoff

make sure your bulbs are higher than what a clam can squirt. i lost 2 bulbs due to my clam squiting the bulbs.

G~

...and believe, a large clam can squirt quite a large amount of water... ...I moved my big sqummie to a corner in 50cm of water for this very reason.

[MIO]

I have places mine about 11" above the water. Does your tank itself have a cover on it. I would recommend cover the top of tank with either acrilic or a glass piece.

[salt-rookie]

Mine are 10" from the actual water surface....I chose this height relevant to the "throw" of light being even from mogul to mogul.

[Mike01z]

mines a good 6 or 7 inches, is it possible for you to hang the lites through some holes in the canopy? could you live with the loo of chains or something else hanging down over the tank?

[ckusnierek]

The ceiling in my living room (above my tank) is almost 20feet high so pendants are out of the question and there is a landing with railing right behind the tank so no brackets either. retros are my only option. I guess I could look for another canopy with more clearance.

[tdwyatt]

Originally Posted by ckusnierek

The ceiling in my living room (above my tank) is almost 20feet high so pendants are out of the question and there is a landing with railing right behind the tank so no brackets either. retros are my only option. I guess I could look for another canopy with more clearance.

Build a stand out of 2" PVC pipe and suspend your lights from the stand. L-shaped legs can be used with rounded angle fittings on the ends, and the pipe can be used to hide your wiring to a remote ballast(s).

[Jahreefer]

If I were you, just build a new canopy. If you are not a DIY'er your in the wrong hobby...LOL...but really, it is not hard to build a nice canopy faily cheep, designed just like you want, you can get everything you would need from Lowes or HD...good luck and cheers.