your thoughts please

[theone]

While cleaning my 50g tank I cracked it. I wanted to jump out the window. But no worries I called Skimptons and poof, I had a new one in 3 days.

The problem is my old 50g had thicker glass and beefed up molding so no need for a cross brace. The new 50 has a cross brace.

I have a 250 MH retrofit I was going to use and all was going well until the crack. With the new tank and cross brace I'm worried about casting a shadow or possibly damaging the brace from all the heat and light.

I thought of maybe placing a heat-shield over the brace or a reflector over it. But I dont know what might happen from that.

Of course there is the option of getting a 2X150 fixture but do to $$ thats really not gunna happen.

Any advice would be great.

 

[jimwat]

My 65 has a cross brace, and I have a single 250 MH. It does cast a shadow, but I have not noticed any heat damage (it does get really hot). I have also thought about going with a dual MH setup or swapping out my MH and VHOs for T5s.

 

[theone]

how far from the brace/water is it?

 

[jimwat]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9288301#post9288301 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by theone
how far from the brace/water is it?

Only 7 or 8 inches. This thread had me thinking about it, so I examined the brace last night to see if there was any type of damage. I have had this setup for 3 years now, and the brace looks fine (not brittle, no warping etc.). I also noticed that I can move the brace up and down slightly (does not appear to have a lot of tension on it), which leads me to believe that this brace is more of a precaution than a necessity for this size tank.

BTW - I also have been thinking of using a mod I found here on RC (I don't have the link), where some people have replaced the brace with clear plexiglass. I am just not sure if the shadow really bothers me that much.