mad_dog
New Member
I am about to embark on a new light hood project and would appreciate any input or suggestions you all may have. New hood and lights for a well established 55 gal. show tank 36" long 18" deep 24" tall. Currently running 4 ea. 96w VHO 50/50-actinics on an icecap ballast.
New hood 36"x18.5 inside dim. with 12 gauge 416 stainless reflector, reinstallation of VHO's 2 front & 2 rear; addition of two 175w MH one on either end wired w/ remote ballasts, independent times, self contained cooling fans on each wired direct to primary side of each ballast ( no chance of light being on without fans running)
Want to mount all ballast, timers, what not exterior in a weather-proof cabinet (commercial grade electrical) with its own cooling and run power into the house using 4 pin Jones connections for both MH's and two DB-9 connectors for VHO's at the hood for maintenance purposes.
Two problems of which I currently wrestle with: I don't want to suspend the hood above the tank and provide all that artifical sunshine to the entire room, thus the necessity of building up the hood the required 8 to 10 inches above water line. The other being that I am told I would need an acrylic lense to protect the MH bulbs, this seems counter productive to me. Am I wrong ??
New hood 36"x18.5 inside dim. with 12 gauge 416 stainless reflector, reinstallation of VHO's 2 front & 2 rear; addition of two 175w MH one on either end wired w/ remote ballasts, independent times, self contained cooling fans on each wired direct to primary side of each ballast ( no chance of light being on without fans running)
Want to mount all ballast, timers, what not exterior in a weather-proof cabinet (commercial grade electrical) with its own cooling and run power into the house using 4 pin Jones connections for both MH's and two DB-9 connectors for VHO's at the hood for maintenance purposes.
Two problems of which I currently wrestle with: I don't want to suspend the hood above the tank and provide all that artifical sunshine to the entire room, thus the necessity of building up the hood the required 8 to 10 inches above water line. The other being that I am told I would need an acrylic lense to protect the MH bulbs, this seems counter productive to me. Am I wrong ??