2 light questions for PC users

[squawkbert]

1) Do you keep glass between your light & tank?

2) How far above your tank do you keep your light?

I'm asking because my 96W AH-Supply retro stuffed into a perfecto strip light housing generated enough heat to break the back portion of my 46g Bowfront top when mounted about 1/2-3/4" above it. I think the main problem was the excessive heat absorbed by the black centerbrace.

The light is up on wood blocks now.

 

[rich311k]

1) no

2) about 5 inches.

They do throw off a lot of heat. My fixtures have built in vent fans.

 

[godzilla]

I have 2 tanks with PC lights on them and have used it both ways. Started off with glass tops but have since removed them with no ill effects.

I use a 96W coralife on my 29gal and a 130w coralife on my 55, both with the coralife clear legs. If I had to guess they sit about 2-3 inches above the top, 4-5 inches above the water line.

those perfecto light strip housings sit directly on a glass top, dont they? I use the all-glass hinged tops and have had no trouble with them getting too hot. Before I used the coralife fixture I had an all glass 120W strip light sitting on the glass top and also didnt have any problem.

what top does your tank have?

 

[Purrbox]

I use glass canopies on my aquariums and have the light fixtures on legs about 2" above the glass canopies.

 

[blazeyreef]

no glass cover and mine is mounted right on the aquarium! no problems so far....has been this way for about 2 months, my mum wont let me attach the legs because she thinks it looks "unattractive" I say other wise but I have no say in it

 

[squawkbert]

Thanks for the input. Yes, the strip housing is designed to sit right on the rim of the tank, which puts it ~1/8" above the glass. I put some of those little stick-on cabinet door bumpers on the aquarium rim to lift the fixture some more and I also set the timer to go 45'/hrx8hrs. For now, I'm planning on keeping the glass (some of my fish have made some pretty serious runs at the top of the tank) and keeping the light ~4" above it. I guess the other thing I need to do is replace the Al foil w/ mylar (don't want Al2O3 getting into water, mylar is a better reflector than Al anyway).

 

[malkore]

1. yes, because i have jumpers, and to combat even faster evaporation

2. fixture sits directly on top the tank lip, so bulbs are like 2" from water's surface.


i clean my glass tops often, with Lime Away and then Windex.

 

[Aquathumb]

No glass over the tank because glass filters UV. Same reason why you can't get a sun tan through the car windows!

Second, lamps as close as you can safely get them to the water. Mine are about 2" or so. On the 125 it is six 40W T12 assorted lamps in a custom hood with coralife clips and caps and specular reflectors

 

[JustOneMore20]

1) No glass cover over my 29g. Yes for my 55g because of jumpers.
2) Both have legs attached (Coralife fixtures) and sit about 2.5 inches above the glass.

 

[Glenc]

Open top on my 20 gallon, coralife 65 wt with legs + double T-8 sitting on tank frame, 3 inches off the water.

 

[SparKy697]

No glass over the tank because glass filters UV. Same reason why you can't get a sun tan through the car windows!

I always wondered about this. Does uv penetrate water?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

1. Only on tanks that have jumpers. All other tanks have no glass tops.
2. I use the legs that came with my fixtures. About 3 inches above the glass.

Sounds like you may need better ventilation, or add a DIY fan or fans in the top of the fixture.