Eggcrate question

[saltwaterkid]

My Scott's Fairy Wrasse should arrive in 12 hours and I've been told and seen messages saying they highly recommend covering the tank. Everybody also says use eggcrate. After finally finding out what eggcrate is I am left with a couple questions. Will clear eggcrate affect the lighting that goes into the tank? Will eggcrate get so hot that it will melt underneath 6 VHO bulbs? Any quick info would help.

 

[rlv695]

im soeey i dont know if it will melt or not...alot depends on how close the lighting id to the tank...if you do try...go with small piece first and ck it every 5 min to see how hot it is and feel it its getting soft,,

 

[beth]

Keep in mind that egg crate is made for light fixtures to begin with, so they should be resilient to light heating [though we're talking NO in that case, not VHO]. I would suggest that you exame how hot it gets at the level of the eggcrate. Without knowing this, or knowing if you are using e-ballasts or fans, its hard to advise you.
And, yes, anything between light source and tank is going to diffuse some light, however, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Again, eggcrate is made for lighting, especially florescents. Also, I have seen reflective eggcrate which you might consider, though you'll want to know exactly what the reflective material is made of...I'm assuming alumunum.

 

[saltwaterkid]

I bought some eggcrate today and it doesn't seem to be heating up that much. I have Icecap ballasts with 3 fans in the hood.

 

[beth]

Saltwater, do you need to cool your water using the ICap e-ballasts, or is cooling the bulbs sufficient?

 

[saltwaterkid]

My water stays at 80 degrees during the daytime and about 78 degrees at night with the lights off. So i would have to say the Icecap ballasts cooling the bulbs is sufficient.