how high should pc lights be off water with no cover and other canopy qest.

[bbreaux1]

after going threw alot of reading i think i decided to go with 4 55watt pc from ahsupply on my 55 long tank i was thinking about 2 now add two later but might as well get it over in one shot so heres a few questions i hope some one can help me with. first would be how high do i need to have the lights off of the water in order to not have to use a cover and not worry about watter or salt getting to the lights. will a fan be neccesary to help keep heat down or will just having the back of the canopy mostly open be good enough? and also would it be better to mount the ballast on the inside the stand that on the canopy back?

 

[mr . salty]

Believe me,salt will accumulate on the bulbs no matter how high you put them,it's more important to keep large ammounts of water from being splashed on them.For this I would say 3-4 inches should be fine....The ballast would be better mounted below the tank than on the canopy.The less weight you have up there the less stress there is on the tank...And fans may not be needed,but you wont know untill it's up and running...Summer is when the heat factor comes into play...

 

[fishfreek]

I run my pc/NO lighting about 3" above the water with no problems.

 

[bbreaux1]

thanks ill prolly put one fan atleast my tnak is already hitting 80 on the warmer days i think one i get a canopy instead of the hood i have itll be better