Hello all,
I have an empty 58 Oceanic ready to setup as a reef, sans the lights. For those who don't know, I believe the dimensions are 36"x18"x20". I already have 2 CustomSeaLife 36" 96W PC hoods, and once I have the 58 set up, I won't need them anymore. I was planning on using them along with a 175W or 250W MH. A few questions first: should I get a 175W or 250W MH? There isn't much of a price difference, so I figure the 250 should be fine. I want to run a 10,000 K MH with 2 50/50 PC bulbs. Will this give em enough versatility to keep pretty much anything? I have thought about keeping the 2 PC hoods as they are and adding the MH with some type of reflector, but I wasn't sure if the light would blend evenly enough having 3 seperate light sources(reflectors). So I thought about tearing the PCs apart and integrating them in a custom hood with the MH and one reflector. If I do this, how far from the MH bulb should the PC bulbs be(how close can they safely be?)? Has anyone pulled apart a CustomSeaLife reflector? I believe I know how to construct the custom hood to dissapate the heat well enough. If I build this custom hood, what kind of UV shield should I use? Is there UV resistant glass? Prices of glass vs. acrylic? This will all be suspended over the tank. Has anyone used the pulley systems to raise and lower their hoods? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
I have an empty 58 Oceanic ready to setup as a reef, sans the lights. For those who don't know, I believe the dimensions are 36"x18"x20". I already have 2 CustomSeaLife 36" 96W PC hoods, and once I have the 58 set up, I won't need them anymore. I was planning on using them along with a 175W or 250W MH. A few questions first: should I get a 175W or 250W MH? There isn't much of a price difference, so I figure the 250 should be fine. I want to run a 10,000 K MH with 2 50/50 PC bulbs. Will this give em enough versatility to keep pretty much anything? I have thought about keeping the 2 PC hoods as they are and adding the MH with some type of reflector, but I wasn't sure if the light would blend evenly enough having 3 seperate light sources(reflectors). So I thought about tearing the PCs apart and integrating them in a custom hood with the MH and one reflector. If I do this, how far from the MH bulb should the PC bulbs be(how close can they safely be?)? Has anyone pulled apart a CustomSeaLife reflector? I believe I know how to construct the custom hood to dissapate the heat well enough. If I build this custom hood, what kind of UV shield should I use? Is there UV resistant glass? Prices of glass vs. acrylic? This will all be suspended over the tank. Has anyone used the pulley systems to raise and lower their hoods? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
