Derek Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 (edited) I recently got a metal halide fixture for my tank. I have the fixture so that the bottom of it is six inches above the surface of the water. Is this too low? How high should the fixture be above the surface of the water? It is a 250 watt fixture. There are two HQI bulbs in it and four T5s. It is easy to adjust the height as it is suspended by cables. Edited April 30, 2012 by Derek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+o0zarkawater Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I've got my dual 250wHQI sitting aout 7-8" off the water surface on my 55. Seems fine, nothing really reacted badly when I switched over from T5's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bimmerzs Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I recently got a metal halide fixture for my tank. I have the fixture so that the bottom of it is six inches above the surface of the water. Is this too low? How high should the fixture be above the surface of the water? It is a 250 watt fixture. There are two HQI bulbs in it and four T5s. It is easy to adjust the height as it is suspended by cables. The DE's are enclosed but they still run hot as heck. The radiant heat could still raise temp's a bit with it at 6", a bit more air "cushion" help with could with that. May be a good idea to also integrate a couple of fan's between the lights and the waters surface. Having them aimed at the waters surface will really help with evaporative cooling, most have them wired to turn on/off with the lights. hth Cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted April 30, 2012 Author Share Posted April 30, 2012 Good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Mendez WTR Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Why does subsea practically submerge his lights lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 The Azoo double fan should be plenty for cooling between the fixture and the tank. It would definitely be worth the cost. You can run it on the same cycle as the MH lighting and you should be good. As far as height, I keep mine about 10 - 12 inches above for practical and aesthetic reasons. Try working in the tank with only 4 or 6 inches of gap to the light... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaggedfire Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Subsea's lights that are that close aren't MH. But yes, I got a kick out of the embedded lighting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 If the glass shield on your fixture gets wet, it is too close.. The 1000W MH over my 135G lagoon tank is 16" above the water. The 16W PC in my refugiums are in the water. Take your pick. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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