1,000th post... My 30g goby reef!

[Aquabucket]

Congrats! Tank is looking great. Nice and clean!

The only thing I would do differently is run the PCs with-out the shield. They will run cooler and last longer that way. Over time the shield can restrict a fair amount of light as well.

 

[DouglasTiede]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10068799#post10068799 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Aquabucket
Congrats! Tank is looking great. Nice and clean!

The only thing I would do differently is run the PCs with-out the shield. They will run cooler and last longer that way. Over time the shield can restrict a fair amount of light as well.

What about salt spray, won't it accumulate on the bulbs and actually shorten the life of them?

As far as restricting light, keep them clean and no problems,
I've seen Bri's tank and it is emaculate!

 

[Aquabucket]

Salt spray will not shorten their life. You will need to wipe them off once and awhile. The problem with plastic shields is overtime they will develop fine scratches from cleaning and can get cloudy from the exposure to light. Right out of the box they restrict about 5% of the light but over time this increases. Well cooled fluorescent bulbs which don't have a shield will last much longer and retain higher PAR values.

Simply put ~ in most cases shields are not necessary with PC fixtures and you will get better performance with-out them.