power compacts ~?~

[DeepSix]

how do~

i was curious on depth range effectiveness of power compact lighting, i've seen some light hoods that interest me, and they have various setups and combinations, ranging fro 32w to 96w. i have read that 3-5w/gl is a safe range, but i am curious of their effectiveness at 16" of depth. also what is the maximum height i can keep pc light above the tank?
thx in advance...
d6

[balakoth]

I Personally wouldnt put the PCs any higher than 6 inches above your water level. I currently have 2 96 Watters and 2 55s. 6 inches above the water. The Torch was at the bottom of the tnak and the hammer is pretty much where the Torch use to be.. both love their old and new spots and are growing rapidly. I moved the torch further up towards the surface of the water and BOOM explosion of extention and growth.

Id try and keep the lights as low as possible. Soon I will be extending the hood to 12 inches to accomdate MHs and will only keep the 96 watters with 03 Actinics. I have a feeling that anything towards the bottom of my tank isnt going to be florecent as much as I want it to be so im concidering mounting them on the size at a angle with some reflectors, alot lower than the top of my canopy.

I can tell the difference when I stick the bulbs on a glass top apposed to hanging 6 inches from the water. If you dont have MHs I dont see any reason to bring your PCs up very high. They do get a little hot, but with one fan it shouldnt be a problem I think.


BTW my Tank is 18 inches deep with 3 inches of Sand. So 15 inches to the bottom. All of my corals came from a LFS that uses Strictly VHOs on their softies and MHs on their LPS. Funny that the corals in their tank seem to die off after a period of time and when I take a coral home from their Dual 400 Watters to my PC lighting they just love the poop out of my tank.


Ok im done rambling.. tired