I need lighting ideas...STAT!!

[cartman5579]

First off i need a new lighting scheme and quick.

I was going to buy the 10 bulb ATI Powermodule, then i was going to buy a 400 Watt 20k Radium Pendant, but both are hanging fixtures and my wife wont let me!!!

So, with that being said i need something powerful that is going to fix under a 6 inch canopy. If that is not possible i guess i can custom order a taller canopy. Please give suggestions.

This is a 60 cube.

[just dave]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11106583#post11106583 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cartman5579
but both are hanging fixtures and my wife wont let me!!!



Because you can't attach it to your ceiling?

If that is the case plenty of people have made rigs that attach to the back of their stands and allow hanging fixtures to in turn be attached to them.

[Willi]

I had a similar situation. Light need and wife approval factor. Coral selection will dictate light needed. I have a mixed tank of LPS and SPS. SPS are mostly sertiopora, Pocolopora, Hydnaphora. I went with a nova extreme T5 (8X54w). Even though they said not to put in canopy I built a custom canopy with screen mesh windows on the sides to allow the fans on the side of the fixture to draw cool air in and exhust hot air out of the other side. Also I included 2 high cfm fans on top of the canopy drawing heat out of the canopy. The air turn over rate in the canopy is aprox. 40-50x a hour. I positioned these fans directly above the heat slots in the fixture. If you use high quality ball bearing fans (Middle Atlantic) they do not produce to much noise, about 36db. T5's run about 95 degrees which I think is normal. I have been running like this for almost 6 months with no problems.

[cartman5579]

i'll keep looking, sounds good!

How tall would a canopy need to be to attach a pendant?

[spleify]

I guess I don't understand why you need this "stat"??? Why are you in such a hurry? I guess the best piece of advice I can give you is please have patience, because nothing comes"stat" in this hobby.
just my $.02
Spleify

[cartman5579]

Well, i'm not an idiot, i just don't like knowing that i have things in my tank that need more light.

And i say stat cause i've been WAITING a while now to get the money to buy the lights i want only to have my wife shoot me down!

I could go around to all the posted threads and try and make it sound like i'm smarter than everyone else too, but whats the point really. Did what you say help my situation at all? Did it have to be said? I guess you needed to make a post, and feel important.

Only thing people need to reply about are helping a fellow reefer. Thanks

[HBtank]

Pull out the screwdriver and get a retrofit kit :)

[spleify]

I thought I gave you plenty of help and gave you the advice of being patient.
I am sorry if you took my advice the wrong way. If you have a tank that is set up and you don't have sufficient lighting, then you NEVER should have put "things" in you're tank that need more lighting.
If you have been "WAITING" to get the light then you should have been researching this issue for some time now.
I never claimed to know everything, in fact I never claimed to know anything, except patience WILL get you far in this hobby.
So in conclusion, I hope you find the answers you are looking for "stat" so you can get the appropriate lighting for the "things" you have already put in you're tank. That way you don't have to "WAIT" any more.
Good day

[cartman5579]

Good day to you to sir!!

If i buy the retrofit kit, does it have to have glass to absorb the uv, and how high does it need to be from the water to not get splash?

[HBtank]

No glass needed for T5's or single ended MH bulbs.

Mine (t5's) are about 6 inches from the water, but it really depends on your surface flow to make sure they do not get splashed much. FIsh splashing is impossible to avoid.

With T5's this is much less of a concern IMO. Someone may have more to add in regards to MH getting splashed, as their heat may make this more of a problem..

[spleify]

HBtank, if he gets a DE MH it should come with a glass cover, right? Will that be enough protection for him, or will he need more?

[cartman5579]

I want to get the 400 Watt 20000k Radium pendant on reefgeek. I guess i can get the retrofit if i don't need glass cover and it's single ended bulb. but the canopy for my tank is only 6 inches high, and i think that would put the bulb about 4 inches from the water when all said and done, and i believe that would be too close right?

[HBtank]

When very close to the water I believe it is recommended to have MH bulbs sheilded.

Thinking about it more I seem to remember this being advised due to MH possibly exploading when water hits it, as the glass bulb is very HOT.

A pendant may be the best choice if it is going to be 4"...

Yeh, I believe there are really no DE MH retrofits, as they would need UV sheilding. So they only come in pre-made fixtures that include the shield.. I think.

This is all from a T5 guy, so I might be wrong.... I did stay at a holiday INN last night! :)

[pledosophy]

Any Mh will not work that close to the water. You need more room for the light to spread and so it will not heat the water. HQI would make a good compromise but you are going to have heat issues.

My suggestion is to tell your wife your going to hang a fixture from the ceiling, or get a new canopy. Tell her if you can't hang it from the ceiling your going to need to spend a grand on a new canopy AND a chiller.

Since you already have the animals in your tank you need to do this quickly, or find a new home for the animals.

Personally I do keep many kinds of corals including SPS, and even clams under T5 lighting which is only 4" from the waters surface. Perhaps that would be a good compromise for you.

I have the Nova T5 fixture which is good but does not have individual reflectors. I drilled a hole in my canopy to accomadate the fan.

JME

HTH