How high do you keep you lights above the tank?

[Bebo77]

How high and what type of lights? T5 & MH i mean. I have 4 250 watt pfo mini pendants and 2 T5 aquastar lights and i keep them 7" from the top of the water... should i raise them? I know it will give me better light dispersal but how is is too high?

 

[ScotchMaster]

I have 1 250 watt aqua medic ocean light and its about 7 inches over the water

 

[murphreef]

i keep the bottom glass shield on my PFO 250 hqi mini pendants 8" off the water id say anywhere from 8-12 would be ok

 

[Charles99]

the lower the hotter.

 

[Bebo77]

yeah thats what i am going through the higher the less heat transfer... my tank hits 82 sometimes, when it does my lights turn off, but i am wondering how high i can put my lights before they are just too high...

ill raise them 1" and see how that works..

 

[bromion]

Have you considered more fans? I'm sure you have a good number on there already, but the more the merrier. That said, my 400W MH is over a foot above the water surface usually!

 

[Bebo77]

i just bought some fans today ill see how they do, i was just wondering as i also want nice even light coverage, i am not getting that at the current height....

 

[818]

I think u should set ur lights a bit further back Gabe, there are alot of dark spaces?

PC Fans helped me out. I have yet to go over 77F in this time.

 

[Bebo77]

yeah i am redoing the lights next month ( new t5's ) so that i dont have that problem...

i raised the lights so ill see how well the tank looks manana

 

[laverda]

My 250 XM 10K is about 4.75" from the water. My T5s are 1/4" above the acrylic so less then 1/2" from the water. my chiller kisks on at 83 degrees.

 

[Bebo77]

how often does your chiller turn on?

 

[Drewcipher]

I am most likely going to buy the aquatinics 72 inch T5 fixture for my new tank. Tom at aquatinics said he has one laying on the top of the aquarium (acrylic) and has virtually no heat transfer to the water.

 

[Bebo77]

well tank sat at 77 today... i like the cold rain


except for having 12 kids running all over the house

 

[Drewcipher]

:eek2: :eek1: 12?

 

[818]

Lucky little 12 kids...

 

[tamphuong]

The loss of power of light thru air like nothing. Major loss happen when it goes thru water. So adjust the height that not heat up water too offenly. But not too far away.

 

[laverda]

My canopy is totaly enclosed so them temp in side will easily get to 120. Today the chiller probably will not come on at all. On hotter days it will come one once late in the day. The room my tank is in gets late afternoon sun and really warms the room up. During the summer it will come on 2 or 3 times a day and run for a while. The chiller is not very efficeint as it is in side my stand, where it does not get the best air flow. I plan on moving it ouside in the hear future.

 

[Bebo77]

well it worked, along with the cold weather, the tank was today 77 all day, it usually sits 80 plus.. i need to plug my heater in tonight...

 

[jameschho]

Is 77 a bit on the cool side? I run mine between 80-82 w/ 250w MH 14k about 6" above the water. Am I crazy?

 

[Bebo77]

from what i understand 77-79 is ideal 83 is a Max.