Glass in canopy?

[rssjsb]

I'm building a canopy for a 90 gallon tank, which will house a 2x250 MH/T5 retrofit lighting kit. Hello Lights (where I bought the kit) has language on its site indicating that a glass shield must be used to protect the fixtures from water and humidity.

The halide fixtures already have glass shieds, but the T5 fixtures do not. They do have moisture-resistant end-caps. Do I need to put a glass shield in my canopy? The fixtures will be about 8-9 inches from the water. The tank is acrylic, so the end caps will not be situated over open water.

I would really rather not do this because of light loss, added weight, and the complications from fan placement that this will pose.

Thanks.

 

[DarG]

Most of the DIY canopies dont seem to use any shields over the T5's. Most people run open tops on their tanks as well. I think the statement is more of a CYA for Hello Lights than anything else. I ran VHO with not shields and open top tank for years. My canopy will not have any shields over the T5's when I am done with it. The waterproof end caps will take care of any salt spray and I think that the better reflectors hold up well to the salt spray. IOW, I don't think it's anything more than a legal liability statement by Hello Lights. I think the majority run the T5's without any shields.