MH over a 55 with a center brace...

[canyon15]

I want to put a single 250W over my tank but to center it would mean I would have a bad shadow in the tank. Any solutions? I am not keen on cutting the center brace. What I was thinking was to place the MH on one side and have my pc's cover over the other side. It is a squat tank so only 36" long and I really don't want to look into buying a second. All input, as usual, is always appreciated!

 

[Tomd]

I wouldn't do it I do not think you would be happy in the end. A 55 is not that deep. I would look into 2 150's.

Dont cut that center brace it is there for a reason. People have done it but I would not be able to sleep at night..JMO

 

[loyalrogue]

Dont cut that center brace it is there for a reason. People have done it but I would not be able to sleep at night.

Just wanted to quote that.
A lot of people will give you advice on cutting out braces from tanks and stands, but personally it's not something I would do... it's just asking for trouble.

 

[tecwzrd]

Tom's right, cutting is not recommended and the heat from the MH will weaken the brace so you don't want to put the light over it either. MH covers roughly 2 feet and even with a 3 ft tank two 150 MH would be a better option.

Is your tank 36X19X19?

 

[canyon15]

My tank has those dimensions.What I may do is put the light over the center and use my PC's to fill in the rest That way I have an area of high light and if I need a lower light area I have one. The only reason is that I will upgrade later and I want a 250 so I can use it on the upgrade. Thanks for all the great advice and keep it coming as I am not 100% on this.

 

[melosu58]

Well one thing you need to be 100% about is that center brace. If you cut it or make it weak with heat from the MH then your tank has a chance of busting out the panes of glass from all the inside pressure of the water. It`s there for a reason. Hope all goes well

 

[tecwzrd]

I'd go with your original plan of lighting one side of the tank with the MH and the rest with PC and avoid placing the MH directly of the brace.

 

[DragonForce]

This is highly IMO but if you do the single MH go with a 400w so it can cover the whole tank

 

[melosu58]

The only problem is if you use the single light then the braces will cause shadows in your tank. These shadow areas will not be recieving enough light.