cover for tank/ clearence for VHO's

jeo

jeo

Member
I am planning on ordering a 48" retrofit 4 light VHO online and building a wooden frame/hood. I figured I would not make it enclosed to allow the hear to escape. How far above the water should the lights be? I plan to get 3 110 watt 10,000k lights and one 110 03 bulb.
Another thing I am unsure of is whether or not I need to cover my tank. Is this dependent on what fish I have? I realize that with no cover evaporation will increase, but I also realize it will reduce the amount of light getting into the tank.
Any feedback is appreciated :cool:
 
royce

royce

Member
We just added 440W VHO over our 55 and the lights are ~8" up from the water level so the temp has not been affected (the back of the canopy is also open). What we did NOT account for is the amount of heat hitting the top of the canopy - it got very hot and we were worried that the varnish might combust or some other such disaster. We attached a small clip-on fan ($7 from Walmart) and that took care of the problem, however we do have to replace close to a gallon of water a day due to evaporation.
 
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