Lighting Questions

twilson

New member
I am new to this so bare with me. I have a 150 w hamilton pendant and I am looking at adding a retro fit single ended bulb with reflector also 150w to go with. I have never had an open bulb above my tank. Can anyone give advice as to what I should be aware of. Salt crawl and water splashes are just the first things I have thought of. Is there more to consider?
 
As long as you keep the bulbs high enough above the tank to eliminate salt spray, you should be fine. That will also of course reduce the amount of heat transferred to the tank. About the only other thing I'd really worry about is burning yourself when working on your tank, so make sure there's plenty of clearance.
 
Single Ended bulbs are safe to leave "unglassed," because the glass that the bulb is made out of helps reduce UV. Double ended bulbs aren't safe, so glad to hear you're going with SE. As IslandCrow said, as long as the bulb is high enough above the water to be safe from salt spray or splashing, you should be just fine. One thing to keep in mind, if you have any clams, make sure they aren't directly under the bulbs. They're known to squirt water out of shallow tanks and you wouldn't want it squirting the bulb.
 
I wonder though, If you are add light would it be better to change to more power instead? More power , better colors
in some cases. Are you growing SPs?
 
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