hmmmm....... man i really want them but i dont want to have to mess with too much stuff. i think the t5s might be the smarter idea for now at least.
help with 30 gal reef tank. please
- Thread starter scalesandfins
- Start date
T5s put off a good amount of heat in their own right. The T5 unit I have on my 75 gets hot enough to hurt you if you grab it in the wrong spot. I can imagine what it would be like if it didnt have fans built into it. A unit with external ballast like the fishneedit fixture would help with this.scalesandfins;4449697; said:
If you did metal halides, you could leave it open top and use fans on the surface to cool it down considerably. The forced convection and evap would work very well, just make sure you have a good autotop off and bin for ato water to sit in. Its a bit more work, but would help considerably. I dont like to deal with evap on my 30 gallon Solana because of the way the filtration is setup, its a huge PITA, and I dont feel like setting an ATO up right now.
My experience with sumps is limited, but if you are running a sump, that should help with cooling as wel, as it gives the water an area to escape to lower temperatures (if your not running a high powered light over your fuge).
And you can always pick up a chiller on the cheap later on, and have it sitting around for insurance, in case something like the a/c going out does happen.
MH generate less heat if you take size into consideration...T5 I have heard generate MORE heat it is just spread out more.
again way too much trouble for a 40 gal.Heathd;4449761; said:T5s put off a good amount of heat in their own right. The T5 unit I have on my 75 gets hot enough to hurt you if you grab it in the wrong spot. I can imagine what it would be like if it didnt have fans built into it. A unit with external ballast like the fishneedit fixture would help with this. the fixture i am looking to get does not have fans
If you did metal halides, you could leave it open top and use fans on the surface to cool it down considerably. The forced convection and evap would work very well, just make sure you have a good autotop off and bin for ato water to sit in. Its a bit more work, but would help considerably. I dont like to deal with evap on my 30 gallon Solana because of the way the filtration is setup, its a huge PITA, and I dont feel like setting an ATO up right now. i agree too much hassle for a simple 40 gal. also i will be having plain glass lids. no hood or anythin. just the glass to keep fish in. if i didnt need it i wouldnt even have that
My experience with sumps is limited, but if you are running a sump, that should help with cooling as wel, as it gives the water an area to escape to lower temperatures (if your not running a high powered light over your fuge). i will most likely have decent lights for my fuge.
And you can always pick up a chiller on the cheap later on, and have it sitting around for insurance, in case something like the a/c going out does happen.
thanks for all your help tho.
"MH generate less heat if you take size into consideration...T5 I have heard generate MORE heat it is just spread out more."-fleshy
so goin by size do you think 2 150 watts are too much for a 40 breeder?
also will this tank heat up faster or stay cooler bc of the larger surface area? also will the amount of live rock dictate how cool the water stays? if i hav alot of rock shading alot of water it should help, right?
No, the amount of LR will not help with keeping the water cooler. With water movement in the tank, the heat from the MH will be evenly distributed to all regions of the tank.scalesandfins;4452141; said:
dang just a thought 
so if i hang the MH over my tank about a foot or so and have a glass lid would that reduce most of the heat? i could just direct the light striaght into the tank. and hopefully not light up the whole room too much
so if i hang the MH over my tank about a foot or so and have a glass lid would that reduce most of the heat? i could just direct the light striaght into the tank. and hopefully not light up the whole room too much
Well PAR is reduced the higher the fixture is off the water. Your tank is like 13 inches deep right? And a 150watt MH bulb provides reasonable penetration up to 18 inches in water, so 6~8 inches above the surface of the aquarium would be the max I would be willing to go.
Keeping the glass tops on will only hot box it, but taking them off will cause water loss due to evap. So its a rock and hard spot type of decision.
It would be real helpful if you had someone with a PAR meter, that would let you know how high you could really go. Light loss in air is obviously less in water, but I dont know to what degree.
And what type of filtration did you say you were going with?
Keeping the glass tops on will only hot box it, but taking them off will cause water loss due to evap. So its a rock and hard spot type of decision.
It would be real helpful if you had someone with a PAR meter, that would let you know how high you could really go. Light loss in air is obviously less in water, but I dont know to what degree.
And what type of filtration did you say you were going with?
im not worried about the light gettin all the way to the sand bed tho. most of the corals will be soft corals so im not worried about too much light. if i have somethin that needs alot of light i will just put them on top 
i will be running a sump. maybe with a algea scrubber. def have a fuge
i will be running a sump. maybe with a algea scrubber. def have a fuge
