HQI UV Protection
- Thread starter viper_930
- Start date
ebsochin
Member
Just to clarify for those who have the HQI double ended bulbs, There needs to be some sort of UV protection either over the bulb itself or the lighting canopy. The rays from the bulbs will not only harm your inhabitants but they will also harm YOU as well.
Unlink normal socketed MH bulbs, these bulbs don't have the extra glass covering around them to shield out the UV rays. One more point to make, if you just shield the bulb instead of the lighting canopy, be very carefull as these bulbs produce a lot of heat and will shatter glass. I have had 2 sets of glass shatter on my lighting canopy due to heat. I finally figured out that I needed the tempered LOW-E glass instead of just LOW-E glass as well as get larger fans to help cool the canopy. HTH.
Unlink normal socketed MH bulbs, these bulbs don't have the extra glass covering around them to shield out the UV rays. One more point to make, if you just shield the bulb instead of the lighting canopy, be very carefull as these bulbs produce a lot of heat and will shatter glass. I have had 2 sets of glass shatter on my lighting canopy due to heat. I finally figured out that I needed the tempered LOW-E glass instead of just LOW-E glass as well as get larger fans to help cool the canopy. HTH.
ebsochin
Member
balistik1- Get a piece of LOW-E tempered glass cut for the length and width of your retro kit. I would get 2 pieces (splitting the length in half). Try and get 1/8" thick glass. Get a couple of strips of thin sheet metal or thick aluminum that you can use to hold the glass to the bottom of the reflector. These need to be a few inches longer than the width of your reflector so that you can fold them up and screw them into the reflector. Basically you are going to place the glass under the entire reflector area and bulbs and then secure it by using the strip braces. You will probably need 3 braces total, 1 on each end and 1 in the center of the fixture. I will try to take some pictures of mine later and post so you can get a better visual. HTH.
ebsochin
Member
What size tank is in on now? I believe the length of a 125 is 6', if this is correct then I would get 2 36" pieces with the width the same as your retro-fit and 1/8" thick. Make 3 braces like I said before and screw them into the side of the refelector. I tried my best to draw a diagram for you. I couldn't get any pictures of my fixture, but here goes nothing.
squidd
Active Member
Close, but I believe the original post says balistik1 will be adding a third MH light...
The other thing to concider is the cross braces on the tank (every 2')
So the same "basic" design but cut at 24" with brackets over the cross braces (no additional shadow effect) and one on each end for a total of 4...
Then unless you switch to 32" lights you'll have a hard time running them "end to end" as shown on a 6' tank...
When I ran my 125/6'...I ran 4' bulbs and "overlapped" them as shown here...
The center is a "little brighter" but concidering the majority of the light comes from the "middle" of the bulb, it pretty well balances out with the "ends" overlapping...
Edit: just noticed you have 2' PCs... Two options here...run three "bulbs" or get an additional "pair"...(second pic)
The other thing to concider is the cross braces on the tank (every 2')
So the same "basic" design but cut at 24" with brackets over the cross braces (no additional shadow effect) and one on each end for a total of 4...
Then unless you switch to 32" lights you'll have a hard time running them "end to end" as shown on a 6' tank...
When I ran my 125/6'...I ran 4' bulbs and "overlapped" them as shown here...
The center is a "little brighter" but concidering the majority of the light comes from the "middle" of the bulb, it pretty well balances out with the "ends" overlapping...
Edit: just noticed you have 2' PCs... Two options here...run three "bulbs" or get an additional "pair"...(second pic)
squidd
Active Member
balistik1...Just dug this up...
Might answer the UV problem at $9 a pop...
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=163777
Might answer the UV problem at $9 a pop...
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=163777
balistik1
Member
I think I may just figure out the brackets and work it from there. It makes cleaning the glass easy. THanks everyone for your help. Also since we are on this subject, I have another thread that I ask about upgrading from 150 MH to 250MH. Is it worth the cost?
I know some are going to say depends what you are going to put into your tank. Well that is the thing, I don't know. Will may range of what I could put into my tank increase greatly by upgrading to 250MH?
I know some are going to say depends what you are going to put into your tank. Well that is the thing, I don't know. Will may range of what I could put into my tank increase greatly by upgrading to 250MH?