MH hanging questions!

[ameares8]

My first question is how high should I hang my Metal Halides above my tank? I am gradually moving them closer as not to burn my corals, but where should I stop?

My second question is what is the best route to hang my suspended canopy? I have a sloped vaulted ceiling that I am hanging it from and I cannot seem to find a good spot to drill the eye bolts. Any suggestions?

My last question is would be ok to mount a 250W MH pendant inside of a plywood canopy? I am going to drill holes on the sides to mount my fans, so I do not think that the heat would be an issue, but I thought I would ask.

Thanks,
Anthony

 

[commonstranger]

Anthony your going to have to judge the distance off your temp. Id start out with them about 15" off the water and go from there. Also if you dont have a splash shield on the bulbs I would not get them too close either. Those bulbs get blazing hot a little water and boom youll have shattered glass all in your tank. As far as hanging it from your ceiling I would just have to see it in person to say. For refrence my bulbs are about 14" off the water surface. Hope that helps.

 

[ameares8]

Thanks Rhett. It is a pendant with a piece of glass that slides into the pendant to protect from the UV rays. I was hoping you would chime in as I am basically doing the same thing that you have setup for your lights. I am also adding that moon light to my canopy, but I am worried about the heat in there. I will see what happens and hope that nothing melts.

 

[NeveSSL]

You can always add fans to your canopy to help with the heat. I prefer Yate Loon 120mm fans for a great value that move a lot of air and are very quiet.

Brandon

 

[ameares8]

I have a few fans laying around that I am going to mount inside of the canopy. I just hope it is enough to keep the heat down inside of the canopy. What do you wire your fans into for a powersupply? I have a power supply that I use for moonlights and thougt about splicing them into that, but I would rather have them on a seperate plug so that I can run them only when the halides run. I have heard that you can use a standard phone charger as long as the voltage is right.

 

[zef004]

Look at this. I'm thinking useing this for my next tank build.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...AA&srccode=cii_10043468&cpncode=23-59222466-2

 

[allgoodsystems]

I have a few fans laying around that I am going to mount inside of the canopy. I just hope it is enough to keep the heat down inside of the canopy. What do you wire your fans into for a powersupply? I have a power supply that I use for moonlights and thougt about splicing them into that, but I would rather have them on a seperate plug so that I can run them only when the halides run. I have heard that you can use a standard phone charger as long as the voltage is right.

A computer power supply works great for me. That is as longs as they ar 12v I have a few extra if you need one.

 

[ameares8]

That is not a bad idea zef. $100 is not a horrible price, but I am sure you could make the same thing much cheaper.

Allgoodsystems, I will let you know on the power supply. Thanks.

 

[andywe]

There are many options. I lvoe the look of my large fixture suspended from the ceiling. Here are a bunch of options.

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_searchItem.aspx?SearchText=light hanging kit&parsed=1

I used the coralife aqualight for my aqualight and it looks great! I paid 17 bucks for it.