do i need lens for MH????

[sunjai]

hi all,
just a quick question....
do i need lens "glass" for my DIV MH canopy????
if yes where can i buy them.....what's the name of those lens???
if yes.....can i just and a lens on the top of the tank????

thank you...

 

[coast2coast7390]

yes you need something protecting the bulb from the water...it can shatter if water touches the bulb after its been running a while

 

[sunjai]

is normal glass fine????

 

[coast2coast7390]

im not sure...you just need something that will protect the bulb from water and can resist high temps

 

[sunjai]

thanks for the reply.....
um....... but i'm not sure if glass can handle the heat....
anyone knows???

 

[shag26272]

only for the double ended bulbs HQI, its a UV filter single ended bulbs no glass just keep them high enough off the water not to get splashed

 

[sunjai]

thanks for ur reply 2...
but my canopy is only 5 inch off the water....what do i do....
if i use the old glass that came with the tank.....than the glass is only 3 inch away from the light....

 

[shag26272]

your tank is gonna be pretty hot, the bulb is made of glass why are you worried about it being close to glass

 

[sunjai]

true...u r right on that.....
so what is the ideal height from the water....
i'll try to make a last min. fix.....

 

[sunjai]

my biggest worry came from this page.....
http://members.fortunecity.com/paulerik/id44.htm

 

[sunjai]

still waiting........

 

[zma21]

How hot can a MH bulb actually get?

 

[sunjai]

i'm not sure.......
but from that link it says i'll get up to a 1000c

 

[hansonfam]

I was told to use tempered glass as that will not shatter as easy. I don't have the hqi though but the thought if my fish splashed at the surface and that hitting any hot bulb just scared me so i went to a local glass shop and got the tempered to cover the whole canopy and put some extra fans in it.

Lisa