MHs too close?

[larouche10]

I am getting my sump situated with chambers and once that is done I can start getting my live sand and live rock and start filling!! One thing that concerns me though is my lighting set-up.....I was able to purchase a nice 90 gallon reef-ready tank with wood stand and wood canopy at Petco for half the price because it was mis-marked by an associate. (Only reason I bought from Petco) That being said, I wanted to make use of the wood canopy because the whole set-up together looks very nice. My problem is, I bought a lighting set-up that has MHs combined with Actinics and moon lights and in order to fit that set-up inside the wood canopy I had to do some modification. It fits, but it is tight and the surface of the water is 3 inches at best away from the bottom of the lighting unit. I have read posts about the risks of heating the water, salt deposits on the unit and also the risks of breaking the MHs altogether. I was going to run an extra fan (5 fans are already built into the unit from the manufactutrer ) behind the back of the canopy to prevent heating the water. Am I risking it too much? My plan was to try it, and kind of see how it goes, but not sure if it is a futile attempt to in the name of vanity...Remember 3 inches at best....

[tgray3]

Too close IMO. I assume they are they DE bulbs? If they are you will get a big spotlight effect that close and you run the risk of cracking the UV glass with any water splashes not to mention the heat. If they are SE bulbs you do run the risk of blowing up the bulb with any water splashes. I would sell the canopy and hang the fixture 8" to 10" off the water surface or build/have built a custom canopy.

[ecureefer]

+1 to everything said above i have had retro MH kits and fixtures and i personally like teh fixture hangin from the ceiling but it does lead to more evaporation than a canopy would

[Chris27]

Provided you're using the legs that came with the fixture, it's not going to be too close to the water. To keep the water and the fixture from overheating, you'll need to ensure that the cooling fans can draw in cold air from outside the canopy, vice the inside. Constantly recirculating the hot air inside will do you no good. Perhaps you could let us know what fixture you have, and we could help you come up with a good cooling configuration. FWIW, I run a 1000W current fixture inside my canopy and my water runs about 79 most of the time.

[bertoni]

How high are the bulbs from the water, and is there any sort of glass shield protecting them? DE bulbs should have a glass shield in place.

[gtaylor67]

Maybe a pic would let more people see your issues. Thanks

[blakemiller1981]

at the very least the salt creep would be an issuewith me. along with theadded temp from the light. but in some areas the extra heat is good but id keep a very close eye on it

[lordofthereef]

I too think 3'' is way too close, if nothing else, just for safety. If any water splashes up on the hot glass it is sure to explode and devastate the tank, or worse, your house. Would it be feasible to just build another canopy and stain/paint it however the current one is? Otherwise I would go another route and maybe hang it or something like that as suggested above.

[Pcrain]

+1 to close pic will help us find a solution i mod-d a canopy once to add 5'' worked out great and couldn't tell i added the height..

[larouche10]

Sorry I have not replyed sooner I have been away from the house to reply, but after much thought and your responses I have decided to do some more modification. Actually won't take too much to do it and the result will be 6" rather than 3". Like said earlier in the thread by most of you it might not be safe and I want to ensure it is right at the start. All it will take to ensure it is done right will be to remove the top door and place the light in it's place. The harder thing to do will be to un-do what I have already done to get it where it is in the first place. The front photo is the wood canopy itself, the backview picture (hard to see) is where I put the light into the canopy only 3" above water and the top photo is the top door which I am going to remove to put the light higher. The top door shows the holes I drilled for my fans on the current modification, all for naught now.....Thanks so much for the help from everyone.

[sedor]

Another option would be to hang both the light fixture and the canopy as one from the ceiling or from poles etc. The result would be what looks like a modern, floating canopy above the aquarium, and you will be able to benefit from an open top.