using MH without glass

[sirrealism]

Someone told me I need to have glass between the bulb and water. Not for the protection of the bulb but to block harmful UV rays from my corals. Has anyone else heard this. Many years ago I ran MH without any glass and never had any issues. Any thoughts on this would be great.

 

[bwhit1406]

Think you need glass if you are using double ended bulbs

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[sirrealism]

ok. Ya this one I am going to use is a mogul. But I do have a setup with double ends.

 

[jccaclimber]

One of our locals here had the glass off one of his halide bulbs. From what I understand the UV reflection off of the water when he was working in the tank was enough to send him to the hospital with burned retinas. It also burned the coral.

I don't know if there is a difference between single and double ended bulbs as I don't use them.

 

[karimwassef]

Mogul already has a glass shield - can operate without another layer of glass but you risk splashing water cracking the bulb.

Double ended HQI is unshielded - so must have a protective glass shield. Without it, the exposure will destroy living tissue. Coral or human.

 

[plyle02]

One of our locals here had the glass off one of his halide bulbs. From what I understand the UV reflection off of the water when he was working in the tank was enough to send him to the hospital with burned retinas. It also burned the coral.

I don't know if there is a difference between single and double ended bulbs as I don't use them.

I removed the glass off of a mh de fixture with t5's, I was playing with bulb combos on t5's and did not want to hassle with turning the light off. I went blind for 24 hours, and this was not long looking into the lights. I freaked out, then sat back and realized that I sunburned my eyes, I immediately ran up to CVS and bought natural tears for my eyes. This helped tremendously. I was blind blind for first 4-6 hours, then my eyes were foggy until the next day. I simply closed my eyes, went to sleep, and the next day awoke to my eyesight returning. This was scary as SH*T!!! Bottom line, do not even think about using a mh without glass

 

[sirrealism]

Thanks for the info. I will run glass

 

[Specfishin]

All that aside. Not to mention I have seen metal halide bulbs explode and fail in street light fixtures more often than not. I know we're talking reef tank environment, but I dont think you want the nasties from a failed bulb end up all in your tank. And the least of the concern would be glass. Just figured I'd throw that out there as a safety thing for you and the inhabitants of your tank.