VHO light cover material?

[hydra]

What is the best material to use as a protective lens for VHO bulbs. I have an old wooden hood in which I installed VHO 48" tubes with an Icecap ballast long ago. I currently use the All-Glass glass canopy on the top of the tank and would like to remove the glass top but I need to build lens cover over the bulbs as they are only a inch or so over the glass top and too close to the water to be unprotected. I have the current reflector sitting tight to the top of the glass canopy and a fan that exhausts hot air out of the reflector which keeps the bulbs very cool so I am not worried about the lens cover getting things too hot as they are practically sealed in now.
I went to Home Depot and they have Lexan which seems like it would be good choice but its label says that one side should be the contact side to the UV source such as the sun. I would think that blocking UV would be good for the tank but I wonder if it is blocking more than it should. Any thoughts?
-Jerry C.

 

[scsinet]

One thing they make is a plastic tube that slips over the bulbs to protect them, but what you really need to worry about is the connections at the ends.
IMO, if you use waterproof endcaps though, the water should not pose any problem for the bulbs.

 

[hydra]

Yeah I do use waterproof endcaps. The protective tube method seems like it would make the bulbs get too hot and keep all that heat in though.
-Jerry C.

 

[zman1]

Originally Posted by SCSInet
One thing they make is a plastic tube that slips over the bulbs to protect them, but what you really need to worry about is the connections at the ends.
IMO, if you use waterproof endcaps though, the water should not pose any problem for the bulbs.

If you are looking for a second option - I agree with SCSInet 100%

 

[hydra]

Originally Posted by SCSInet
One thing they make is a plastic tube that slips over the bulbs to protect them, but what you really need to worry about is the connections at the ends.
IMO, if you use waterproof endcaps though, the water should not pose any problem for the bulbs.

Ok, so I am good to put the VHO bulbs only a few inches away from the water w/o extra protection as long as I have waterproof endcaps, which I do. I was just worried that water might inadvertently get splashed on the bulbs and they would shatter due to being hot. Thanks for the input.
-Jerry C.