Upgrading Lights....center brace on glass Oceanic question

[dtiedke]

I am upgrading my lights on my 6 footer from 2X250 to 3X250 MH.

I bought the Spider Light Reflectors and installed them perpendicular to the front as instructed, but I found that the 2 reflectors do not quite cover the full 6 feet of my tank well enough. I bought 3 new reflectors for my new hood, and planned to add a center light over the brace. I will be orientating these parallel to the front this time but I am concerned about the center brace…

Is there any chance of damaging my center brace with the MH right above it? This is a Glass Oceanic, and the brace is about a foot wide. The lights are about 10 inches from the water, and the new bulb will be about 9 inches above the brace. I do NOT plan on running fans in the hood all the time, so how hot can that brace get without damage?

Any suggestions?




Dave

 

[moreey]

I am not sure, but I used to have the glass tops on my tank and ran 2 x 250s over them with not fans about 12 inches off the glass with absolutely no worry about the glass. Although when I first set up the tank I ran 1 x500 about 3 inches off the top and that broke the glass tops in less than 15 minutes. I dont' think you'll have any problems but I'd contact oceanic for a definate answer.

 

[PeeJ]

hey dtie....is it a natures view? thats what mine is and i have the glass center brace, but t has a little plastic piece on top so you can set the glass covers on....just pop that plastic piece of...it does nothing for structre except to keep the lids centered

 

[Jamesurq]

just place a row of white ceramic tile on the brace. That should take care of any potential heat issues.

 

[Dargason]

Of course the answer is, "It depends." Here was my experience.

I had a 400W bulb about 10" from the brace on my 200g oceanic for a couple years with no problems, but I had no canopy. Then I built a canopy over my tank that added 640W VHO and while I had some fans in the canopy, they apparently weren't enough.

After a couple of months, the brace came unglued from the back of the tank. I drained the tank and repaired the brace, but a week after I started running the lights again, the brace cracked. Fortunately, the crack goes front to back, so the structural support is still ok.

I emailed oceanic and asked them about lights over the center brace. Their reply was "We do not recommend running MH lamps over the brace."

Mike

 

[Chucker]

You may wish to check some of the Advanced Aquarist articles Sanjay Joshi has written. He borrowed a set of Spiderlights from me, and if memory serves, they actually had better spread run lengthwise.

 

[dtiedke]

just place a row of white ceramic tile on the brace. That should take care of any potential heat issues.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Kinda makes that center light useless 'eh?


Dave

 

[dtiedke]

hey dtie....is it a natures view? thats what mine is and i have the glass center brace, but t has a little plastic piece on top so you can set the glass covers on....just pop that plastic piece of...it does nothing for structre except to keep the lids centered

Yes....It is and I have that plastic thingy. I will pop it off but I am getting more nervous from the replies here about putting in that center bulb.

I wonder if a muffing fan blowing on it would keep the brace cool enough.....


Sigh....I really don't want to "try it out" without hearing some more replies from others out there. This can't be that uncommon.....


Dave