150 watt halides in my wood canopy.....

praisethel

praisethel

Member
Hey there. I just put together a retro fit halide system from hellolights. I got 2 of the tiny 150 watt units with the glass cover. I have a question about it. Is it safe to just screw right into my wooden canopy? It seems insanely hot on the top of the reflector. I was thinking of trying to find some sort of heat sheild tape at home depot to put between the top of the light assembly and mating surface on the canopy. I tested the lights by putting them above my kitchen table the same height as they will be off the water and ran my little fan across the table under the light. It did not get too hot at all...I was surprised.
Anybody have advice for me?
Thanks.
 
gtiguy

gtiguy

Member
I just did the same thing, although not retro-fit, I bought an aquamedic HQI pendant 250w with a 20k AB bulb and screwed the pendant right into the canopy...I had a friend run a cross brace across the canopy in the middle and mounted it alittle off center into that...I did run into a problem with the center brace on the tank and the MH being to close, so i raised the canopy with some wood supports and now its perfect...
 
praisethel

praisethel

Member
Raising it up a bit is a good idea. Thanks for mentioning it to me. I would not have thought of that. I think I will make a little stand off to go between the lights and the canopy. How is your water temperature doing?
Thanks.
 
praisethel

praisethel

Member
I just installed the metal halide lights I bought. They are running right now with my 2 65 watt power compacts. Wow. The tank shimmers now. Should have done this a long time ago. I also just saw a peppermint shrimp I thought was gone. What a great day. It took forever to install the lights......
 
praisethel

praisethel

Member
I will work on some pictures. I almost called in sick today to stay home and stare at the tank! Looking at pictures on this site has really been motivating and inspirational to me......
 
gtiguy

gtiguy

Member
My temp is ok, not as cool as my old setup (T5's and PC's) but the most its been since the MH went in is about 81...not to bad but i do suggest a fan or fans in the canopy if your handy...i plan on doing some fans in the canopy on either side eventually, it will help cool down the bulbs ...I couldnt believe the difference the light makes either, i agree should have done it awhile ago, but now wait until you see how fast everthing grows, its amazing....
 
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