mounting a metal halide

[bighitrider45]

so i bought a metal halide the other day (thanks dang!) but im not sure how to mount it. my tank is inside so i cant have cables from the ceiling so what are my options. I built a wood frame to hold it but now im afraid of a fire hazard, will the wood catch on fire? its directly attatch by the reflector to the wood.

 

[DonW]

so i bought a metal halide the other day (thanks dang!) but im not sure how to mount it. my tank is inside so i cant have cables from the ceiling so what are my options. I built a wood frame to hold it but now im afraid of a fire hazard, will the wood catch on fire? its directly attatch by the reflector to the wood.

It will be fine screwed to the wood. Alot of people like to use a spacer or a few washers to make themselves feel better.

Don

 

[mmkeeper]

You could try something like this. Message 84 http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5191&page=6

 

[bighitrider45]

also for the halide should i keep water away from it?

 

[DonW]

also for the halide should i keep water away from it?

Definatly dont let water drip on the bulb, it may break or explode when hot.

Don

 

[bighitrider45]

what about evaporation?

 

[DonW]

what about evaporation?

It will get salt spray and dried evap on the bulb but just clean it off every so often AFTER the bulb cools. Just dont get real drops of hot water on the bulb, like from a splash.

Don

 

[bighitrider45]

okay and does anyone else have any comments o suggestions for mounting without using ceiling cables? i really want a hood so the light doesnt wake me up in the morning lol but im afraid of wood catching fire

 

[ronj]

i mounted mine to a 1x4 that runs from one side of my tank to another.. i mounted it directly to the wood..it is fine..Don is right about not getting it wet when it is hot..my halides are mounted about 8 or 9 inches above the water and mine still got splashed...one of my bulbs cracked...they get spray on them all the time and have to be cleaned at least 2 times a week after they have cooled down,like Don mentioned

 

[ronj]

okay and does anyone else have any comments o suggestions for mounting without using ceiling cables? i really want a hood so the light doesnt wake me up in the morning lol but im afraid of wood catching fire

on my 125g, i built an open top canopy..i mounted the reflector to a 1x4 that ran from one side of the canopy to the other..i also cut the front panel off about 3" from each end and added hinges.that way i had access to the halides and i could reach the bottom of the tank without having to reach all the way over it.. here are a few pics.. you can see how i mounted the reflectors and how the canopy looks with the front panel opened.. the light coming out of the top wasn't that bad and the open top helped with heat issues

 

[bighitrider45]

okay thanks for the replys everyone, i willpost replys sometime soon

 

[bighitrider45]

picture...hopefully

picture of set up, i will have wood to form a box around the light and also i will cut holes in it for ventilation, any other suggestions?

 

[Holygral]

I have a 75 with 2x250 MH hanging from the ceiling with adjustible cables. The fixture is about 5" of the water surface, my bulbs are covered with a glass shield. Lose about 1.5-2 gallons of water a day. Open top tank

 

[Krish]

Just posted these pics yesterday of my old setup I had on my 75gal, but here they are aging to show you how I vented my canopy and how I mounted the lights. If you look closely you can see I have 5 fans working in the canopy...3 sucking air out of the top of the canopy and 2 blowing in cool air across the water's surface. You will want to make sure that your fan doesn't blow directly on your bulb as it will change the color/spectrum of your bulb as well as they say it may kill the life of the bulb. Also, if you look how I have my reflectors mounted perpendicular to the tank rather than parallel like you have yours is because they say perpendicular with this type of reflector is the best way to get full coverage of the tank. If you look at the way the reflector is arched will show you the direction in which the light will spread. So for in eg, in your setup, the light will spread to the front of the tank and to the back, but doesn't do much as much for the space to sides. Mounted perpendicular like I have mine allows the light to be spread acrosss the whle tank. Not sure how much of a difference it will make on your setup because going on the size of your canopy, it doesn't look like you have a lot of tank to cover so changing it may not be worth the extra effort so I'd probably just leave it, but if you notice some dark spots or areas in your tank particularily to the left of the bulb where the back of the bulb is facing, then you could maybe try mounting the reflector the other way. Good luck!

 

[bighitrider45]

wow krish thats a nice setup, i have a few more questions, where/how do i get the cooling fans

 

[lizardarm]

They're computer/electronics fans. Most people seem to prefer the DC fans because they're quieter. Power supplies for them can be bought at radioshack. Search 'metal halide cooling fans' on Ebay or 'aquarium cooling fans', there's a ton out there.

 

[Krish]

Thanks! You can buy fans from a number of specialty pet store, but mine were actually 12v fans used for cooling car amplifiers which you can buy at somewhere like radio shack and also, you can even check some computer stores as well. All you'd need in a power converter to switch the 110v to 12v which you can get under $20 at radio shack as well

 

[dnjan]

picture of set up, i will have wood to form a box around the light and also i will cut holes in it for ventilation, any other suggestions?

It appears that you are distorting the reflector (bending it so that it is narrower) from its intended shape. Reflector shape is significant, and bending a reflector can easily result in double-digit loss of lighting intensity.

If you can't modify your frame so that the reflector is in the correct shape, you may want to come up with a different way of mounting it.

 

[ronj]

i was thinking the exact same thing... you will be losing alot of reflected light with it bent, and it is mounted sideways as well..., that type of reflector should be turned perpendicular to the tank

 

[dnjan]

Actually, the perpendicular or parallel for that reflector depends more upon the tank dimensions. I notice no difference on my 24"x48" tank in terms of the lighting on the front and the lighting on the ends (with two of them, of course). I believe that the original data suggesting perpendcular mounting for those reflectors was for testing done in air only, not measurements of light getting into the water.