Want to upgrade to MH's

[shag26272]

i have a 16 gallon bowfront and i am thinking about building a hood and putting a MH in there could i use a 250 watter if it was 12 inches off of the water or so can anyone recommend a bulb or a retro kit?

[yoshiod9]

yeah you could do that...just make sure you have a fan for air circulation and that you have something to make sure the light cannot be splashed with water(glass, lexan, etc).

orrrr...you could retro a 150 or 250 into a regent pendant housing and put that in your canopy/hood. a little cheaper and you learn how to make things work! =)

[idua]

shag26272, I have the same tank with a 150W MH light over it. You may have problems with heat if you put in a canopy, even with fans. I would suggest taking a look at a pendant setup instead. It really becomes a problem to control the temperature during the summer.

[EnderG60]

what kinda temp differances are you seeing with that 150 on and off in summer?

thats what im getting for my 18g soon and its giong in a canopy

[idua]

Given I keep my house pretty cool during the summer the water temp can reach 85F-86F degrees. Since I do not have a chiller I usually dump some ice cubes or one of those cooler packs when the temp gets near 83F but I am getting tired of this so I may get one of those Ice Probes next year. When the lights are off temp drops enough that the heater kicks in to keep the temp from going below 80F.

[shag26272]

what type of setup and bulb are you using got any pics?

[shag26272]

this is what im looking at so far with the hamilton 14k
http://oceanencounter.com/Merchant2/...ory_Code=EVMHR

[Darrell Ward]

Shag, also check out the AquaMedic Oceanlight 250w de pendant at oceanencounter.com . A very high quality light with a great AB bulb. Hard to beat.

[idua]

OK, here are 2 picks of my tank right after I set it up. I got the AquaMedic pendant with a 150W 20K XDE bulb.