Considering switching to MH

kien · #1 02-04-2010, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lorenz0

thanks for the input guys. my biggest concern is heat in the summer as a chiller is a bit out of the budget. could running fans across the surface reduce heat from the lamps enought that i won't have to be worried about cooking my tank?

A fan will definitely help. I used to use a cheap $10 floor fan from Canadian tire and that kept my temp from going above 81. It was noisy as hell though. Ended up getting a sleek 4 fan unit that is pretty quiet. It plugs intou controller so it actually isn't on all the time. Controllers for the win here! When temp drops below 78 heater kicks in fan is off. When temp hits 81 fan kicks in. When temp is in a comfortable range neither fan nor heaters are on, so the temp in my tank never drops below 78 and never rises above 81 ever. I have 3 250watt halides :-)

sphelps · #2 02-04-2010, 06:38 PM

I'd look into a combination of 1 & 2. Save up and get yourself a nice MH&T5 combo fixture and you'll get the best of both worlds. The good fixtures are made from aluminum and don't use fans which is nice because they control heat nicely and do not make any noise. You can also hang the fixture a little higher than T5 alone fixtures which will also help with heat. As a last resort you can always add a fan to blow air over the water and under the fixture which in my experience works really well on those hot days. My tank is easily kept below 80 in the summer with too small computer fans.

I'd stay clear from LEDs, although the technology is pretty cool you won't be happy with them. The intensity is too low and the color spectrum is too narrow, you will not get great coral color from such a light fixture. Well at least I've never seen a tank lit by LED show decent color in corals.

JDigital · #3 02-04-2010, 07:49 PM

Laurier, I don't think you would have any heat issues to worry about if you had a fan on your cabinet next to the tank blowing underneath the lights. If anything we could probably use a fan up there in the summer anyways.

kien · #4 02-04-2010, 07:50 PM

just be prepared for the evap! It will be huge :-)

JDigital · #5 02-04-2010, 08:01 PM

He's running a Tunze ATO, evap should be easily controlled...

kien · #6 02-04-2010, 08:08 PM

This will also cause humidity in the house to sky rocket. Be prepared for that too.

banditpowdercoat · #7 02-04-2010, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kien

This will also cause humidity in the house to sky rocket. Be prepared for that too.

Oh sure NOW ya tell me LOL

banditpowdercoat · #8 02-04-2010, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDigital

Laurier, I don't think you would have any heat issues to worry about if you had a fan on your cabinet next to the tank blowing underneath the lights. If anything we could probably use a fan up there in the summer anyways.

That's what I do and all is good. About 1-1.5g/d evap I'd guess. I had 2 tanks running off 1 ATO reservoir so can't be 100%

wayner · #9 02-04-2010, 09:06 PM

Quote:

I'd look into a combination of 1 & 2. Save up and get yourself a nice MH&T5 combo fixture and you'll get the best of both worlds. The good fixtures are made from aluminum and don't use fans which is nice because they control heat nicely and do not make any noise. You can also hang the fixture a little higher than T5 alone fixtures which will also help with heat. As a last resort you can always add a fan to blow air over the water and under the fixture which in my experience works really well on those hot days. My tank is easily kept below 80 in the summer with too small computer fans.

I agree!