New 250w Retro MH's (update pics)

[revhtree]

Hey all I just purchased (3) 250w MH retro kits with 15k xm bulbs.

They will be here Wednesday and I am going to post the DYI for this project.

They will be placed into my current hood, and only be 4 - 6 inches off of the water. I know this may not be the best thing to do, but I am going to give it a try...(I do not want to build a new hood unless I have too)

For all you that have done this, what should I be prepared for?

 

[sabotaged]

where did you get the retros from?

 

[Brenden]

They are very easy to do. The hardest thing I could image you would run into is finding something firm in the hood to screw them into. Get some small tie wraps with the hole on them to screw them into your hood to hold all the wires in place.

 

[Hara]

just keep an eye on the temperature of the tank rev..Mine are 12 inches above the surface, with fans blowing and the heat output is intense. That close to the water, you may have issues. (hopefully not tho) I have wanted to lower my lights and am afraid to try it.

 

[Salttanker]

Just keep an eye on the center brace. In did the same thing a while back, and it started melting it a little.

Mike

 

[revhtree]

Thanks for the comments all...

sabotaged - I actually got them from hellolights...$452 shipped w/bulbs....

Brenden - I am installing a 1/4" peice of plywood painted white onto the hood top....

Hara- I hope I dont have issues......do you think that close will give me enough light spread over the 6 ft tank?

Salttanker - The braces on the 125 are just perfect to where there will not be an issue with that...at least I hope not.

 

[Hara]

each bulb should cover 2 ft, even at that close. I am pretty sure your whole tank would be covered by light.

 

[Brenden]

If your lights are going to be that close to the water it may be a good idea to use epoxy paint or something that water can not penetrate or else your plywood will bow up and come to pieces especially with the moisture and heat it will be exposed to. (aluminum flashing may work) Mine are 12" away from the water and they still get wet from current and bubbles splashing on the surface of the water.

 

[ellisz]

I could not imagine having them that close. You will have heat issues. I have mine about 12" off the water as well. It is all I can do to keep temps lower than 82 and I have the basement sump. You might need to keep your room temp cool.

Make sure you have fans or something else in there for air circulation. I have 2 fans blowing out and one in. The 2 out run all the time and the other runs with just the MH's.

You could always build something to lift your current canopy. That is sort of what I did. Or suspend the current canopy. I have seen some setups like this that are nice looking. Lets a lot of light in the room though.

If you figure it out, let us know

 

[MT79]

Besides watching for heat issues, I would highly suggest using the "screen" light acclimation method rather than just a shortened photo period. I learned first hand that going from fluorescents to MH will cause coral, etc. much stress even if used for only an hour or two at a time in the beginning. In the long run though nothing beats MH-nothing. Best of luck to you and welcome to the brighter side you'll love it 8) .

 

[revhtree]

Man I am getting nervous now.....

I am no carpentar, and the cherry hood I have is so beautifully made....I couldnt add on...

How much screen do I need? Should I buy a peice of thin acrylic to place under the bulbs to keep them from being splashed or will they just melt...argghhhh... :?

 

[Phyl]

You're going to need one more to cover that span. At 2' per light fixture you're a good 2' off, especially that close to the water. I have mine about where yours are in a standard Oceanic hood. The hood their in right now they have to be a little closer to the ends (rather than centered in 1/2 of the hood) because of the way the braces in the hood are and even though it is only off by a couple of inches the trained eye sees the dark area in the tank where the light is missing because of the "pinpoint" source of light. It might be less noticable if you'll still be using actinics in there though.

I don't have a problem with heat because of the distance though. I think my mag12 causes more heat issues than the lights. Enjoy!

 

[revhtree]

So Phyllis your lights are exactly how far off the water?

Do you have splash issues? Are you running 250w? What bulb?

Should I use something other than plywood?

?????????????????????????????????????? BLAH!!

 

[Phyl]

I don't use anything (no glass tops either) under my lights. I don't have jumpy fish so there's really no splash on my lights. It hasn't been a problem... yet!

 

[Phyl]

D'oh. Somehow I thought you had 2 of them. Yes 3 of them will be perfectly fine! I'm running 2x250 14k Coralvu lights & ballasts on a 4' tank. If it weren't for the fact that my center braces are in 1/3s over my tank it would be perfect. Ballasts are on the floor outside of the stand. I mounted my lights to plywood and then screwed "ends" onto that so that I could screw those ends to the center braces on my canopy. It's working great, but has only been in place for about 3 months.

 

[revhtree]

How far off the water are they exactly?

 

[ellisz]

How do you maintenace the tank with that little clearance? I know I feel like my arms get a sun tan when I am cleaning the glass. I have touched the bulb and it hurts!

As for adding on, seems like the color and trim might be tough to match but should be doable. I have a 1x6 rectangle top on my tank and my MH canopy sits on top of that. If the boards would have been straight, it would almost be perfect

 

[Phyl]

My canopy top lifts up. When I lift it up the bulbs go with it. I clean it from the outside with a mag-float cleaner so cleaning it from inside isn't usually a problem. My canopy is 6" tall. The bulbs are mounted directly to the canopy and that is placed directly on the tank top. If my bulbs are 4-6" from water I'd say that's all.

I've built a new hood for my tank. Just need to brace it, stain it and mount my lights... I just haven't finished it! It's been at this stage for about two months. Maybe longer!

 

[ellisz]

Hmmm, my mag float won't get the tough stuff. Maybe I need a stronger one?

 

[Hara]

maybe HQI bulbs produce more heat...I sure could not put mine 6 inches off the water.