center brace vs mh

[jason weber]

i have a 30h and was thinking of putting a couple of mhs on it but i have a plastic center brace across the middle. i know that the mhs will probably melt that center brace my question is can i remove it or should i forget about the mhs, and go vho?

 

[broncofish]

GrumpyOldMan has a center brace on his 46g bowfront, his hood has fans so it never effects the brace. As far as the shadow it throws, thats another story!

 

[jason weber]

i am not worried to much about the shadow. thanks

 

[pyro383]

I have a 45 tall with center brace. its 36 long. I moved the mh from the center and put it on the left side. So my light loving corals are on the left and center, while the shrooms and others that need less are on the right. It looks totally awesome as sun penetrates the left as a direct hit, the middle as a lit area and the right more blue with rays passing thru it. I have 1 4" fan that does 90cfm and I wrapped the center brace with metal reflective tape, same as used in hvac insulation wrapping, available at home depot. The air inside the canopy get to 95 and the bulb itself goes up to 150, not enough to melt the plastic. I run the mh 7.5 hours a day and its 5" off the center brace

 

[lonestar]

I have a 190 gallon tank that had a 2' X 2' canter brace (7/16" glass). I am installing 5 metal halides on top so I had to remove the glass. I made 2 pieces of flatbar that was 1/8" thick and 1" wide stainless steal. I had this flatbar bent into 90 degree angles to fit snug on the outside of the tank. I then placed this flatbar across the tank to divide the tank open surfaces into 1/3s Id say. These braces need to fit really tight. Since the steal grabs from the outside of the tank rather than glued from the inside, I would think it is just as strong as the glass and will let a ton more light through. It was really easy to make, specially if you have access to a press. So far, It seems to be doing its job.
Good Luck
Jeremy