a ligting question/search please help.

[Bin Weed]

Im looking for a hood (one of those ones that sits above the aquarium i guess) for my 22x10x18 Flat Back Hex. Anyone have an idea where i can get one? or what the best brand to get is? or if i should just retrofit the hood i have now evan though its not rated to handle the heat? I think i want a 96 watt or 3 36's if anyone has any info at all i would really appreciate it if you told me. Thanks for reading i appreaciate it

Ben Read

 

 

 

I didnt know if this was supposed to go into the lighting forum or the begginers forum

[MrConclusion]

First, I would NOT buy the standard black plastic hood, because it won't have the room for the lights you need - you'll just end up scrapping it.

 

Second, You can find a "glass canopy" at a good aquarium supply store, or have them order it from you - all major distributors will stock this.

 

Third, You could make a cardboard template and take it to any glass shop and have them cut a couple pieces of 3/16" glass to make a cover of your design.

 

Fourth (AND BEST) unless you plan on keeping fish that are notorious jumpers, don;t get a hood! Suspend the lights over the tank and leave the top open. This makes the tank easier to keep cool, easier to maintain, and brighter - because even clean glass blocks some light.

 

I only put glass canopies over tanks with jumping fish. The rest are open top. If you look at "photos of member reefs" you will see that many people here have open top tanks. At your local live fish store, you will also see many open tanks.

[Bin Weed]

The best deal I have seen on a 96-watt PC light is the Coralife

"aqualight" at about $100 shipped. This is very nice, and the price is

unbeatable. It's made to sit on a 20" wide tank, so you may need to

improvise a bit to prop the legs up, or better yet hang the light from some

decorative chain (Home Depot)

 

I just bought one from hellolights.com, which is a very reputable

source. This is for a 10 gallon zooanthid grow-out tank, and it's the least

amount of light I'd want. The more I learn about this, the more light

I want on my tanks. The better I light each tank, the healthier and

more interesting it becomes.

 

This will let you keep almost anything in the tank, and you can finish

your lighting with a bit over $100 and a little bit of work.

 

http://www.hellolights.com/201xcoaqpcho.html

(The only thing it lacks is the ability to independantly turn on the

actinic lights, so you can't get the psychadelic "dusk-dawn" effects.

But I don't think that the inhabitants really care.)

 

 

If you want to go with a more Do-It-Yourself approach, I would

confidently recommend ahsupply.com's 2x55-watt kit. This will be easier to fit

(and cheaper to replace bulbs) than 3x36-watt. Plus, the 55-watt kit

is the perfect size at 22 inches long.

 

The kit includes ballast, a very efficient reflector, and all hardware.

Just add the bulbs you want, and build a simple wooden box to suspend

over the tank. You could even screw the reflector to a board and hang

it - not extremely pretty, but just as effective.

 

 

If you want metal halide lighting, I would stay away from the

bell-shaped pendants. Even though they're cheap, the reflector is very

inefficient. Plus, the vertical bulb spreads the light too much; ruining the

"shimmer" effect that MH are famous for. Shimmer makes tanks look more

lively, but it only works if the fixture is designed to run the bulb

horizontally.

 

This may seem like a lot of money, but at $300 - $350 they're worth

every penny. Take a serious look at PFO's "Mini HQI Pendant." These use

the industry-leading German double-ended bulbs which are considered to

be superior to all others, and are definitely more efficient and

compact. The reflector design is also very efficient, and the construction

is lightweight & durable. The ballast is so well made that these were

my only MH which started & ran normally while I was on generator power

after the hurricane. Cheaper ballasts didn't like the inperfect power

that the generator was putting out.

 

Go to www.marinedepot.com

click "lighting"

click "PFO Lighting HQI Mini Pendants"

 

Look at the top 2 options, which are 150 or 250 watt versions of the

same light. I would get the 250 since it's only a little more money, and

you'll be able to keep anything - polyps will multiply rapidly, stony

corals will open wide and grow rapidly, xenia will multiply & pulse like

mad, acropora will maintain nice color (and the beautiful little clam

you may someday fall in love with will be happy.)

 

SUMMARY -

If you can afford the MH, go for it - you'll never regret it IMO. Ask

marinedepot to make sure that the included bulb is an Aqualine Buschke

"10,000." They're better than Ushio 10,000K, because AB "10,000"

actually burns at 13,000K - so you don't need actinic suppliment and

creatures irridescent colors show better. When you consider the investment in

live rock, sand, corals, and invertebrates, an extra $150 spent on

light is a good move.

 

If money is a major factor, go for the PC lights. Get started now and

gain experiene with the hobby rather than waiting for the "dream

system." You can always upgrade later, or start another tank. Once your

corals are growing, you can take out frags to fill a new tank very

cheaply, or trade for new corals/store credit at your local shop.

 

One of my Frogspawn was purchased with 5 heads. I have since broken

him into four pieces, each of which has 5-8 heads! That's in only a

year, and most of him is under 2x28 watt PC light in a 10 gallon tank.

These Frogspawn are worth $50 - $80 retail, so I'll be able to trade for

some goodies someday, and still have way more frogspawn than I started

with. Cool, huh?

 

Mr. Conclusion pm'ed me this