Reflector height

[trido]

I am just curious how high other reefers keep fixtures above their tanks in relation to K rating, wattage, tank depth and gallons and type of corals.
For example:


120G tank @ 24" deep
mixed reef, mostly SPS
two 250 watt lumen arcs 10K DE reeflux (was running 14K phoenix)
supplemented with 330W VHO actinics
My bulbs are approx. 16" above the tank. the glass covers are at 10 inches.

anyone else?

 

[edwing206]

55G tank @ 18 or so inches deep.
mixed reef but starting to get more into sps.
2 250 watt regular old reflectors XM 15k's
Bulbs are about 8" above the water.

 

[sgwill122]

Good poll, I would like to see more responses.

I am running a 180 24 deep with 3 250 MH 10K reefflux SE on PFO parallel refector with 220 T5 actinics. My MH bulbs are 6 inches off the water(not by choice but because of hood height). I swapped from spider reflectors about six months ago and seems like everything blue loves it but lost several corals that started turning light and later stn'd. Having a tough time keeping any softies alive and my frogspawn has bleached out even though on the bottom of the tank. Hopefully seeing others lighting setup will clue me into my problem.

 

[Scooterman]

I'm going to set mine up using a cable type so I can adjust the height but typically closer to the water surface the better.

 

[krisfal]

130G tank @ 24" deep
SPS
two 250 watt 15K SE (can't remember brand), 1 250 watt 10K (XM)-elcheapo reflectors (Retro fit kit from e-bay)
My bulbs are approx. 12" above the tank.

I wanted it to be brighter and thought about putting the bulbs closer but my canopy already makes it tight to get into the tank. I ended up putting white contact paper inside the canopy to reflect more light until I can get better reflectors, this helped noticably.

 

[kevinpo]

Typically 9" from the bulb to the water surface gives you the most room to manuver and still get enough light to the corals.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[apollothesun]

do you guys use glass for your mogul setups? if not, how far are they close to the water...?

 

[DonW]

do you guys use glass for your mogul setups? if not, how far are they close to the water...?

Mine are 6" at their lowest point and 30" at their highest. At 6" they get a little salt spray.

Don

 

[roscoe]

15'' from surface water on 40b 12k reeflux 250w DE.

 

[ronj]

i had mine about 5" above the water.. they are 2-250w Hamilton 14k's....i just raised them way up because they were getting covered with salt spray and some of my corals looked like they were getting too much light... they are about 8-10" above the water now

 

[Katchupoy]

Here is mine.

40 Breeder with 16" of water from BB. All sps and zoanthids tank.
2x250 watt SE 12k Reeflux (no actinic supplement), adjustable to 8", 10" or 12" from water surface. ( i have it on 10" right now) On a DIY light stand resting on tank.
No glass cover.
Using (dual mogul) PFO spider in parallel config. Modified and stretched to 16" from original 14". This makes the reflection go down to tank and not to my face (waste). Also makes it brighter and more efficient (i think).

 

[kevinpo]

do you guys use glass for your mogul setups?

I do not have glass on any of the 14 - 400W mogul bulbs I use. I do have glass on my 400W DE bulb fixture.

Regards,
Kevin