Does the height of the light matter?

[taftech]

I have my light installed in my cabinet about 14" above the water level. Am I losing any noticeable amount of the light by it dispersing before it hits the water? The inside of the cabinet is black - maybe I should paint it white?. I might be able to lower the light to sit on top of the aquarium with the legs that came with the light, but I haven't tried it (and I don't want it lower unless it would be more beneficial). And since I have it installed in the top, it'd be a pain to move it just to see.
Anyone have any experience, opinions, or science?
Thanks!

 

[stanlalee]

the lower the better (for light penetration). the only reason to raise them are for coverage, maintenence (dont want to bang your head on the lights working in the tank), and to avoid excessive splashing/salting of the equipment. and yes painting the inside of the canopy white would be better. white painted ******** canopy is also known as the poor mans reflector when using bare bones retro set ups.

 

[anonome]

Before we can answer this question, we need to now how deep is the tank, and what the light is as far as wattage. 14" may be fine if it is a 24" deep tank and lights are 250w and only housing LPS, and leathers etc.
What are you keeping in the tank, and what type of lighting. How deep is the tank?

 

[taftech]

Sorry, I should have given more details... I wasn't thinking.. It's a 442 watt light. 1x 250W DE HQI Bulb 15K, 2x 96W CF Bulb Actinic Blue. I often just use one of the actinics though, because I think it looks better. It is a 30 gallon tank, 17" or so tall.
Currently the tank has 2 clowns, 3 blue yellow tail damsels, + CUC. I do plan to make it into a reef & fish thank.
Thanks

 

[anonome]

250w in a 30g and 14" off of the water should be fine. Be sure to have good ventilation on the lights so that it doesn't get too hot. But, I am sure that you could house any type of coral in that tank. Some of the sps corals would probably have to be up higher, with good flow, but all of the others would be fine anywhere.
You should look into getting a clam, that lighting would be great with a crocea!!
Good luck with your tank, sounds like a good start.

 

[taftech]

Thanks for the info.
The light has fans ontop, and some venting area in the back.
Instead of painting, I put up some alum foil inside of the cabinet between the tank and the light. I think it made a big difference. Definately brighter, and fewer shadows.
A clam would be cool.