Eclipse Sys 6 hood, 2 x 13W ballasts inside or outside

[cbo]

I am installing a 2 x 13W lighting system in my Eclipse System Six hood for my first nano reef.  I have room to mount the two ballasts (from AHsupply) inside the hood (much prefered by the wife), but wonder if that is wise.  All the reading I can find mention putting the ballasts on the outside of the hood.  Does anyone have information or opinions on how much heat is generated by this setup.  I plan on putting 4 1' vent caps on the top and sides of the hood near the lights.  

 

I was able to mount the lamp sockets to the original white plastic liner of the Eclipse hood, so I will preserve the on/off switch integrated into the hood.  I really appreciate all the information and experiance available on this web site, Thanks to Chris Marks for running it and all who participate.

 

cbo

[Christopher Marks]

Hi cbo!

 

Mounting the ballasts in the hood is not a very good plan.  They are going to generate more heat than those vents will allow to be released.  The next best option would be to mount them outside the hood, on the back.  If you have a little experience in wiring things, it would be best to have the ballasts on the desk or floor beside the aquarium, mounted in a small metal box --- but that takes some work.

[cbo]

Thanks for the reply Chris.  I called Kim at AHsupply and he confirmed your post.  He said the heat generated by just the bulbs is pretty high and that throughing the ballast in there too would not be a good idea, even with a fan.  He also recommended remoting the ballasts to a box, it can be up to 8 feet away.  I think I will take that route and maybe integrate a timer into the box to time the lighting system.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

cbo

[tlyee63]

yeah was gonna tell you the same thing but forgot my pass word anyway.I had gone that route and things ended up dead fast even with my 2 high output cpu fans.mount them on back and paint them black

[NanoReefer53]

Here's a 6gallon Eclipse with the same lighting set-up. Hope these pics help

 

[pandabehr]

I have a system six with the same lighting from ahsupply. I have had no problems with extra heat. I put two vent caps in the top one over each bulb and i also drilled small holes in the side of the hood. My tanksmaintains a temp of 77 degrees when the lights are on, when I shut them down the temp drops 3 or 4 degrees, but thats where a good heater kicks in. I can maintain a 77 degree temp with no problem. Make sre you put the tube cover over the lights because thay are not waterproof. the whole retrofit took me less than an hour. The I have seen the system six with a custom sea life 29 watt smart fixture and it fits well also.

[poeticas]

Where do you get those tube covers? And can you get them in larger sizes?

[tlyee63]

peoticas

I got my tube covers from Ace hardware they are t12 bulb protectors I dont think they come any bigger but there flexible and I got mine to fit over my 55 pc bulb