Metal Halide Over 150 Acrylic

[kainrahl]

I am looking at getting a 400 watt m/h to put over my 150 acrylic cube. It is about 32 inches deep so i see that a 400 watt is the only way to go for sps. Will it melt the top if I keep it 5 inches off I was looking at getting one that is built in with pc lights with the legs that keep it 5 inches off the lid. It is acrylic over the top not removable just has 2 rectangle openings to put/take stuff in or out. WIll this melt the lid or am I gonna have to try to hang the frickin thing off the roof? and then How far? I would not be looking forward to this lol. But will do if i have to.

 

[dogstar]

Well, I would not put a 400 watt that close to the top of an acrylic, even if its over the open area and not the brace section of the panel. Lid ??

 

[jurichar]

i have a acrylic 72 bowfront, and i have two 150 hqi's mounted about 1"-2" off the top of the water. No problems yet!!

 

[kainrahl]

How far off the top should I have them mounted?

 

[jurichar]

as high as possible (6"minimum). But mine is much lower than that. Keep in mind that you need a massive cooling fan setup in a push pull fashion to keep the heat down!

 

[kainrahl]

It comes with a four inch cooling fan to pull the heat from the unit and push it out on the side? Is that going to work? The legs it comes with has it stand 5.5 inches off the top of the stand.

 

[db]

Jurichar,
You are really pushing it in my opinion. Any small splash on your UV glass and your whole tank is going to get fried. I've seen more than a few people have their UV glass shattered when the cold water hits the smoking hot glass. It doesn't take long for an unsheilded DE MH to put out enough radiation to kill your whole tank. Just a warning!

 

[jurichar]

thanks for your concern DB. Actually i keep my tank water pretty warm (81 ish) i know that doesn't mean much to a bulb that is thousands of degrees, but my glass gets splashed all day i have to scrape salt off the uv shield daily, and its been 4 months with no problems to date. I heed your concern though, i also considered that as a problem....keep my fingers crossed, because basically the design of my stand limits me to what i am currently doing....its not optimal...but it is functional. and are those lights ever bright. my colt coral has tripled in 3 months since the introduction to the top of the tank.