175 on a 29 gallon

[abbalahdun]

im gonna be putting a 175 mh on a 29 gallon, how bad will the heat issue be??? i was told to hang it about 2ft? above???

 

[Biscutz]

It shouldn't be so bad, just add a fan or two and you should be ok. I would put it a little lower, 24inches is kind of high for a 175W fixture. My 175W bulbs are 5 inches from the surface of the water on my 90g.

 

[cateyes]

you should be fine. i have a 150w hanging about 15" above the water in my 29 with no heat issues. but i also have a fan set to come on when the water reaches a certain temp...

HTH

 

[chip721]

IMO, I think 175w will be fine over a 29g. I have a 150w Coralife tank mount on one of my 29's. It lights the center quite well, but leaves noticeable shadows on both ends. Monitor the temp swings from the time the light comes on until a few hours after it goes off and adjust accordingly. Worse case you'll probably have to add a fan. Preferrably you'll be able to simply adjust the light height over the water.

 

[Entropy]

I would bring it down to 12 inches at the most (lower if you can vent the canopy really well). IMO it will work perfect. Nice lighting for the size tank. I think I would go with a 14k hamilton if this will be the sole light source.

 

[abbalahdun]

ill have 2 t-5 actinics on there also.will there be any way to shade the light coming off the front of the pendant???

 

[Entropy]

You could built a faux (sp?) skirt around the tank. Kind of like a canopy with no top. That would do it IMO.

 

[cateyes]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6585565#post6585565 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Entropy
You could built a faux (sp?) skirt around the tank. Kind of like a canopy with no top.

yeah, that's exactly what i did. my MH is suspended above from a shelf on the wall and down into the skirt , making it very easy to raise and lower it ..... no light spillage and lots of ventalation...

 

[HaroldT]

It should be fine at 12" above the water.

 

[abbalahdun]

what bulb should I be getting?? I was thinking of a xm 10k

 

[Entropy]

If you are going stand alone I would go with a hamilton 14k. The XM is really nice, but very white with zero blue, so if you like a bluish white look you have to supplement it with actinic. The 14k runs fine by itself IMO. Or a 20k bulb if you want it really blue.