Need help - How much is TOO much on MH's

[bj]

Hey "Wastedincome" did you decide what you were doing yet ? I feel like I should go and start selling reef lighting somewhere, I could certainly talk the talk.

 

[adrian]

Well I finished my lighting upgrade, as promised here is a picture of the canopy with the add on and the dual 400s and VHO. Took about 12 hours to complete the transfer but it was worth it Sorry about he crummy pic

 

[bj]

Question, I see you have the actinic mounted below the hallides. Will the heat they produce have any kind of effect on the actinics ? I just did the same kind of set up with (3) 150 HQI's pendants mounted above the PC's. Within a few days both of my PC's "popped" at the end where they are connected. Now they were older bulbs, so I'm wondering if the heat off the hallides was too much for them, or were they just ready to die ???? Any ideas ? Let me know how you actinics fare over the next months please
Bill

 

[adrian]

Yeah it was a real pain trying to get the VHOs in my hood, im not too concerned with heat, I was more concerned with the VHO blocking light from the MH but that dosnt seem to be a problem, the VHOs are on an electronic ballast so they run cooler than my old ones on a tar ballast, and in the past Ive had VHOs mounted within inches of MH with no problem, there are also 3 4" fans in the hood to prevent heat buildup, and may add 1-2 more in the future, now the heat from the MH may make the VHOs run a little warmer, therefore shorting their lifespan a bit, but with fans and proper circulation in the hood it shouldnt pose much of a threat, ive never heard of a VHO blowing up. IME PCs are very prone to "blowing up", especially the 96 watt bulbs, and IMO its directly related to heat, the heat of the PC itself that is, I have seen them pop when they were the only lights used, as well when in combination with VHO and MH. The best thing to help prevent this is to have small fans blowing across the bulbs to prevent heat building up and the bulbs overheating and "blowing up" HTH

 

[bj]

Thanks Adrian. I have my fans on only some of the time because of the noise, but I'll start leaving them run longer. I also mounted my PC's off to the side more like yo did. But when I got my replacement bulbs today and plugged them in they are a lot higher shade of purple than the old ones were, so that leads me to believe they were older bulbs and ready to die anyway,

 

[starfishjackedme]

Hey guys,
Do pictures of MH dangling over a reef and VHO's in plain view (like in that pic) make you SPRUNG? For me it's like seeing a Ferrari or something. My eyes get big and and the blood starts going, hubba hubba!!! <img src="graemlins//eek.gif" border="0" alt="[eek]" /> <img src="graemlins//eek.gif" border="0" alt="[eek]" />