metal halides recomended height from surface water

[fzl1975]

Getting metal halides soon.Just wanna know whats the best height from surface water.Budjet around <$1300.what brand should i get and where.

[TanGo]

Getting metal halides soon.Just wanna know whats the best height from surface water.Budjet around <$1300.what brand should i get and where.

Try this thread..

AT's second hand light..

[Earthborne]

Hi fzl1975, regarding suspended MH height from water.... depends on many things:

the size of yr tank, the wattage of yr lamp, number of lamps used, chiller? (chiller hp?), pendant MH or Reflector type, with or w/o cooling fans, tank circulation rate and ambient rm temp.

IF u r just FOWRL, u dun need the MH at all in my opinion. MH doesn't really enhance the color of fishes, just do good for the water shimmer and corals.

BTW most web resource suggest at least 12" from bulb to water. (DE MH bulb must have casing + UV filter).

I had upgraded to MH not long ago for my reef tank and did tonnes of comparison before getting a set from US (hand carry over). I must say it is a very tough decision to make as they are many many options for MH in the market. However, limited choice in Singapore and most goes for DE HQI MH pendant type.

Hope that helps.

[Achilles Tang]

An average height of 8" off the water surface is the norm.

Again... it depends very much also on the light spread from the reflector. You can bring it lower if you get a very good wide spread from a parabolic reflector.

If you have a less efficient reflector, you may have to lift it highter so you get more light going in.