MH's distance off water surface

[sfla_pb]

I am building a new canapy for my reef tank. It now has four pc 96w lights and I use a 1/3 hp chiller for a 140 gal. tank. I would like to know how high up I should have the bottom of the new MH light's from the water surface. I was thinking of getting Custom sealife's 2 bulb 175watt spots to go with my pc's. My tank is 22" Wx22"Hx65L. These measurments are for the area that holds water, the actual tank is larger.

 

[AnotherGoldenTeapot]

I run my 250W HQI bulbs about 3" from the surface of the water.

You really want to get them as close as possible otherwise you're just wasting the light you're paying quite a bit to generate.

And on another matter

Not trying to offend anyone here - genuine question about American culture.

The patriotism of US people strikes me as really strange. It's common to here "this is the best place in the World". Yet, to many of us looking at the US from the outside this dosen't seem to be true.

Do all Americans really believe this and if they do why? Is this something that's taught to children from a very young age and so blindly believed?

Of course, my question is motivated by the flag.

 

[pitbull]

I visit the state quite regually, And the first time i went some american friends took me to a sanjose sharks game (ice hockey!). I almost fell over when the whole place stood up for the national athem!! Personally i love the place and felt the patriotism was really great! All People do in the UK is complain!

But I've only ever go to california to i might be biased!

They won too!!

Chris Kirby

 

[Anonymous]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote

I run my 250W HQI bulbs about 3" from the surface of the water.

Aren't you concerned about water splashing on the bulbs and possibly exploding? Who long have you had this setup?

Louey

 

[Bookworm]

Yes, most Americans do genuinely believe this is the greatest country on earth. While that opinion may not be entirely objective, I don't see how it could be said to be untrue. It's merely an opinion. It should be understood that America is made up of an extremely diverse assortment of people. Our sense of national identity is what binds us all into one relatively cohesive society. When Americans talk about their country, they are really talking about their culture which is based on a common set of values established by our forefathers, and refined by successive generations. So when an American says, "this is the greatest country on earth", he means "my culture is superior to all others". This, in fact, is a belief common to all people everywhere. Most people are not bold enough to come right out and admit they think that, but it's just human nature.

 

[Anonymous]

This discussion probably belongs in the sump - but to expand on Bookworm's comments, yes we think our country is great, and we have cause to.

That doesn't mean we are blind to the fact that there are problems here, or that all of us support every action taken by our government. Far from it.

FWIW AGT, a lot of us think New Zealand is pretty cool, too. Definitely on my list of top 5 places I would like to visit.

 

[sfla_pb]

Yes AGT I love where I live. I am not saying it is the only or the best place, just supporting a life I am happy with. It's not meant as a put down to someone else but as a thank you to my country.
Now back to my question. I want to know how high off the water for heat reasons. The lights will be inclosed in the top with fans and the tank has a chiller. My PC's heat the water up a lot now. I had fans blowing across the water before I got the chiller and evaporation was to much.

 

[pm_devin]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by AnotherGoldenTeapot:
<strong>Many of us looking at the US from the outside this dosen't seem to be true.</strong><hr></blockquote>

What'd ya got a mouse in ya pocket.

 

[Chucker]

Youse guys wanna talk lights, good. Youse guys wanna talk nationalism, takes it to Da Sump. Capice?

 

[Roach]

I have a custom Sealife Pendent that I built some legs for so it could go directly on my glass cover. The bulb itself is protected by a glass plate and the glass cover. I'd say it's about 3" off the top of the water, which gives it a nice spread and good intensity right over the middle for sps's(which I haven't bought yet).

 

[sfla_pb]

Thanks for the input Annelido del Mar. I didn't think about the MH's giving anything a sunburn. I was not planning on having adjustable light hights but I might have to or the brightness maybe to much at first. I run 4 96watt PC's now and I wonder how much stronger it would be to add MH's all at once. Anyone else have input on to much light to quick? Should I make the MH's adjustable? I was thinking of 12" hight off water before I posted, but it was just a guess. I can't seem to find much about hight just depth of water.
No more

please

 

[phillips]

The fixtures for 250 watt HQI-DE (double-ended) bulbs have a glass cover to protect the bulb since they do not have the glass envelope of the mogul base bulbs.

I have my 2-250 watt HQI-DE's about 12 inches above the water. I've been moving them downward from about 16 inches very slowly over the last 8-10 weeks. They are very bright. So much so that all my Tridacnas jumped down off the rocks and headed for the corners of the tank. They're acting more like cockroaches than giant clams. Great lights though, love the color, and clams, corals & macros are growing so fast I use a shovel to add my calcium supplements.

Visualize Whirled Peas

 

[cmc1]

How much larger are these 250 watt HQI-DE (double-ended) bulbs compared to a mogul type bulb?

 

[JerseyReef]

I have my 2x250W and 2x175W MH sitting ~3" off the surface of the water. Why? I have a low canopy to start and my reflector is just flashing. I make up for lost PPFD/PAR by using the inverse square law to my advantage. My surface water PPFD/PAR levels are that of the tropics. I do have some water splash, but this hasn't been a problem for the 3 years I've running the lights this way.