MH lamp heat.

wah-zoh

wah-zoh

New member
my 250w halides are melting the plastic i have on top of my tank. its the only separation between the water and the lights.(i have a canopy top so my lights are close to the water). i was wondering what would be the best option other than running it that close to open water.

if i changed to glass panels i would need 2 -- 35" x 17" panels made for it and i'm guessing that would be pricey.

or should i put fans in my canopy top. i dont know if that would cool it enough though?
any other suggestions are appreciated :thumbsup:
 
oh man...MH's without a fan? I have two fans on my old 55g canopy you can HAVE. Thanks to JFL (Jeff) I've got a couple of beauties on my 120g.
 
Does your MH have a shield? If yes, no reason why you should need a second cover. If you do have a cover, it should be glass- a glass shop will probably cut them pretty cheap. I wouldn't go less than 3/16 for stability, or more than 1/4" thick due to light blockage.

You should have at least one fan for sure. You can router a hole in your canopy and mount a fan in there.

Do you have a pic of your canopy? It would be helpful.

-A
 
i will take a pic when i get home from work. i keep the tank in my basement and its a constant 65 deg down there. i can do the fans, but i would like to avoid haveing them in in visable area. could i put them on the back of the canopy and just blow cool air in?

i talk to one glass shop here in hamburg, they told me would have to be ordered. that takes at least 2 weeks. when i bought this tank it came with glass tops. i threw them out when i replaced them with marklon plastic tops because they were in rough shape, now i am kicking my self for that one. such a common tank size i think i may look around pet stores today as well.
 
i know about the "visible" thing...here's what i am doing with the 120g in the livingroom...i cut the hole in the side of the tank, but I found speaker covers, acrylic, at Radio shack, and covering them with that...also have some flexible molding to put around the edges...to give it a finished look. I have seen fans in the back, and I think they work fine...may want to make one an intake and the other an outtake.
 
glass shop i just got off the phone with suggested laminate glass ( basically a car windshield ) said no need for tempered glass, and then if one breaks it wont fall into the tank. anyone ever use laminated glass with MH lamps?
 
i am getting tempered glass that is laminated. that way if it cracks it wont explode into the tank. only think i have to watch for is if the film bubles. i got 2 fans to mount on the back of the canopy to blow cold air in from each side towards the center. if this dont keep it cool enough then i will build them into the sides and have one blow in while other pulls out. but i do think with the cool basement air that option 1 will work. seems like with every upgrade something or several things need to be upgraded as well to make your original idea work. :furious:
 
jfl14609 said:
get tempered its what every company uses for this purpose.
Click to expand...

+1 jeff

Laminated glass will warp and distort. Basically it is glass with a thin sheet of plastic. Just like a car windshield. Heat will melt that plastic causing it to "fisheye" and distort and light that is coming through. That would definitely lower your PAR. That would kinda negate any work or $$$ that you put into nice reflectors also. If you use laminate glass i would make sure that the bulbs are a good distance away from them. Those who have ever buffed a car windshield a little too long in one spot can tell u this from bad experience.
 
If the canopy is closed I would push and pull, otherwise you are just building up pressure
(you may get by with only one fan, I like pulling air). I like my panaflo by panasonic; its a couple years old, so there may be something better. In hopes of a quieter canopy, I plan to give larger lower speed higher volume fans a try in my next setup.
 
mr.maroonsalty said:
If the canopy is closed I would push and pull, otherwise you are just building up pressure
(you may get by with only one fan, I like pulling air).
Click to expand...
good tips that are important!

The best hood designs eliminate need for glass tops. Get halides up away from water so they don't get splashed and vent the hood with a fan.
 
right now i have 2 fans blowing into the back of the canopy top. the whole back is open so the air goes in and out pretty good. my halides sit about 3 1/2 inches above the water. i just get worried something would kick up water and thought the glass made me feel a bit more safe. and this may help some of the evaporation as well with the heat not hitting the water directly. i ran them for about 3 hours today and it was warm in the canopy top but not to bad. i am slowly getting corals used to the more intense light. eventually want the full photo period to be t5's on @ 3pm halides on @ 5pm -------- then halides off @ 10pm and t5's off @ 12am. i also have 2 led strips that stay on during off hours.
 
aww_420 said:
+1 jeff

Laminated glass will warp and distort. Basically it is glass with a thin sheet of plastic. Just like a car windshield. Heat will melt that plastic causing it to "fisheye" and distort and light that is coming through.
Click to expand...


i had nickle city make them he used 2 tempered glass panels with the plastic in between them so if it did break it would stay fused together. the tempered glass should prevent any flexing of the glass from the heat.
 
The tempered glass is good. I wouldnt be worried about any flexing but it can distort very easily.Laminated tempered glass is usually made by layering glass and PVB plastic. In order to bond and sandwich the pvb in the glass they only have to heat it to about 150 degrees F. after bonding the plastic will "fisheye" if exposed to higher heats which 250w halides give off a lot more than 150 degrees of heat. Not too mention the laminate glass will act as a green house and insulate the tank keeping heat in. I heard stories about it when i use to do remodeling and refinishing, It used in some new windows to prevent heat from entering in the summer and escaping in the winter. I saw an article a while ago when i was looking to polish the glass on my tank ill try and find it for ya.
 
ok i see what you mean now. well hopefully this dont happen and if it does , i will be back to the drawing board. i eventually want to make my canopy top taller. then i can run them with no glass like Gary mentioned. but untill then i will try to make sure its getting enough air moving around to keep temps down.
 
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