Lighting w/ glass hood

[loganizzi]

I just started a 45gal FOWLR setup 1 month ago. Today I lost the original hood/lighting set up (basic plastic hood w/ single 24" florescent bulb), so I'm looking to replace this. Eventhough I am new to salt water I'm thinking that within a year I'll probably want to start adding corals and other invertebrates. Which makes me believe I should upgrade the lighting today. Here is my dilemma:

I'm looking at the Coralife Aqualight Deluxe Series 36" Dual strip light. If I use this light, I'll need to add some sort of cover/hood for the tank, since my previous light had the hood built in. I looked at the plain old glass cover (two panes with a rubber hinge and plastic cutout section along the back), but it seems to me that if I were to use this with the light I would not be able to open the glass. This is because I have some equipment hanging off the back which will require me to place the light fixture where it will straddle the glass hinge. The inside frame dimensions of my aquarium are roughly 35" by 11 1/2"

I can't imagine that I am the first to run into this sort of obstacle, so if someone could point me to a workaround that would be great.

Also, is there any danger to the fish or live rock if I dont replace the light for up to a week? (Do I need to rush to find a solution?)


Thanks for your advice,

-Chris

 

[michealprater]

Some of the coralline may start to die off of you live rock with no light. However no light will not affect you denitrifing bacteria in the rock, and it should not affect you fish either. When you plan to work in the tank or open the lid, why not take the light off? It should be light enough to move around.

PS www.hellolights.com has great prices on pc lighting fixtures.

BTW. what part of illinios are you from, if you would like to join my usergroup see the bottom of my signature at the bottom of this post.
Welcome to Aquarium Advice!

 

[loganizzi]

Thanks, for tank maintenance I would definitely remove the light. I was thinking more about simple tasks like feeding the fish.

I'll check out hellolights and see what they've got.

Ditto re: your user group (I'm in the Chicago suburbs (naperville))

 

[michealprater]

you could feed the fish in the gap in the back of the tank.

 

[loganj]

I don't use a glass top on my tank. It helps with gas exchange to leave the tank open. Also, if you go with either PC or VHO lighting, you may have a heat problem. The glass will trap heat from the bulbs and may cause the tank temp to reach unacceptable levels. A couple of other sources for lighting are www.championlighting.com and www.ahsupply.com . You might want to look into buying or building a canopy to house the lights. I would definitely suggest going with either VHO or PC lighting. If the budget will allow it, you might look into a metal halide system. It really depends on what kind of corals you will want to keep.
Logan J

 

[aimeovaldi]

I think hellolights may require that you purchase replacement bulbs fom them as the lights are proprietary. I have a coralife 192W with acrylic legs that work great. the legs lift the reflector off the hood several inches. The light can be moved to the very back of the aquarium when the hood was open. The price was great also only 194.00 complete with legs and shipping. I purchased off of ebay and it is a new unit, aqualight series. No excess heat buildup on the glass or in the aquarium. The setup is great IMO.

 

[loganj]

I think you may be thinking about Helios Lighting. Hellolights systems use standard PC bulbs. I think, and I'd have to check their site to verify this, that they offer systems using either German or Panasonic bulbs. The Coralife system for
$194.00 sounds like a pretty good deal compared to what I have seen advertised.
Logan J

 

[loganizzi]

aimeovaldi - after thinking about it yesterday, I purchased the coralife 192w with the extension legs. I figure that I'll make it work somehow and I better order it now so that I it arrives by next week. The whole thing came to ~$197 (light, legs, no tax, free shipping) from http://www.il-solutions.com

Everyone - thanks for your advice - I'll let you know how it works out and post a picture when I get it running.

 

[aimeovaldi]

LoganJ, you are correct sir. it is helio lights that are propriatary. loganizzy, I hope that you like the coralife 192W w/ legs. I think mine are great. I believe you made a wise decision. Happy Reefing.

 

[loganizzi]

Just wanted to let you know that my light arrived today. 192W Coralife from il-solutions.com Unfortunately the 10,000k bulb broke in transit. It was packed well, no obvious signs of external damage - just one of those things. Got on the phone with ils, and they are overnighting me a new bulb. So in the end great deal, great service ($198 total, including legs, taxes & shipping).

BTW - this thing is bright! Even with just the blue lit - it almost hurts the eyes to look at the tank.

 

[kribbz]

if you got a camera you should post some pics. we all love to see pics.

 

[loganizzi]

I'll do that once I get the new bulb installed.