DIY 5gal 150w MH canopy + Question

[ModernReefKeeper]

Well hello there! Fisrt time poster here. finally got something worth showing

Ok ive got a lot of thinking in to this setup. I basically set it up with 2 decks.
just like below:

Lid/cover
---------------------
Top deck: 150 MH plus high fan movement, in from the back, and then to the front, exiting out a vent.
---------------------
UV glass, approx 10% uv passes through (questions about this element below)
---------------------
Bottom deck: Fan movement, keeps a temprature barrier, to cool heat from MH before it reaches water.
(This fan speed is controlled with a reostat on the front of the tank)
---------------------
Water


Temprature readings:
I have an temprature measurement for:
Top Deck: Exit MH air averages 80deg, max seen is 85deg
Bottom Deck: Exit air averages 78deg
Water temp: 76 Deg

If water temprature exceeds 78, an auxiliray bottom deck fan, 100cfm + comes on, which is thermostatically controlled.
(it has come on once in testing, but I had to turn off the bottom deck constant fan, and it took 2 hours for the water temp to get up to 78)

My question:
Most MH fixtures come with a UV shielded tempered glass.
I went to get a piece made for this special project,
I needed it right away, and the glass shop recommended a UV glass which is 2 layers, with a UV Gel between the glass.
(used in sliding glass doors, to keep things from bleaching in the sun)
yielding a stated 10% UV allowed through. I figured I could try it, and always back down to the single UV treated tempered piece.

So.... Is this double decker UV slashing glass too much shielding.

How much UV radiation from the MH is desirable for the corals?
- Is it this UV radiation, that causes the corals to color up under MH lighting?
- Would you guys recommend me allowing more UV radiation through?

Pics of the construction:
The ballast

The bulb fixture is from a halogen shop light, stripped out from the housing, and slightly streched, to accomidate the 150 MH bulb.

This shows the bottom deck, (LED's are on the bottom deck)

showing the 110v fans : wierdstuff; 3.00ea (only one is being used/ connected to power, as 2 did not improve temprature drop)
The tiny fan at far right is the 2 stage 12V Bottom deck fan. One quiet one, stacked on one that sounds like a C5 taking off.
(designed for a single high, rack mount Server case: wierdstuff; 3.00)

The wiring is now all shrink tubed, these were pre assembly pictures.

Temprature sensor on the left, and that crinkely foil looking stuff...lol
Thats a piece of shielding use to wrap Performance Turbos, to shield heating (rated @ well over 1k degrees I believe), as I was not sure how hot the light would get against the wood top

In this pic, there was a 2.5" wide strip of Aluminum, laying on the glass, blocking the direct light, as I was aclimating the corals to the tank (just removed this Monday evening)

Yeah its a 5 gal...lol

Comments are welcome, and requested, as well as any constructive suggestions.

 

[Roc]

hey will welcome to the BAR side

 

[ModernReefKeeper]

First off, ...thanks Roc

to any bar member: If i pay the club dues now, will i be re charged in January?




let me re post the question, the original reason I created the thread in this area. since it may have been burried amongst all of my bloviating above.

My question:
Most MH fixtures come with a UV shielded tempered glass.
I went to get a piece made for this special project,
I needed it right away, and the glass shop recommended a UV glass which is 2 layers, with a UV Gel between the glass.
(used in sliding glass doors, to keep things from bleaching in the sun)
yielding a stated 10% UV allowed through. I figured I could try it, and always back down to the single UV treated tempered piece.

So.... Is this double decker UV slashing glass too much shielding.

How much UV radiation from the MH is desirable for the corals?
- Is it this UV radiation, that causes the corals to color up under MH lighting?
- Would you guys recommend me allowing more UV radiation through?

 

[sfsuphysics]

If i pay the club dues now, will i be re charged in January?

Yes, the club changed the dues policy to keep them more streamlined. Dues are due at in January, you can join at any time, however dues are only good for that calendar year.

Every double ended fixture I've used has been standard glass, none of the double layered sandwich, eco-friendly, heat resistant... yeah it's glass.

UV will sterilize your corals (that's a bad thing)... sure some UV probably isn't bad, I think the consensus is that those who have accidentally let too much UV into their tank (glass cracks or something) has lead to less than desirably consequences.

 

[Gomer]

How much UV radiation from the MH is desirable for the corals?
- Is it this UV radiation, that causes the corals to color up under MH lighting?
- Would you guys recommend me allowing more UV radiation through?

UV is a blanket term for anything < 400nm (400nm= blue, 700nm= red..the limits to the visible spectrum).
The UV you are most likely shielding with a plane of glass for DE bulbs is likely the 250-350nm region. You can't see it but this is what kills things. < 300nm is major skin cancer regions too In nature, <300nm is cut off by ozone (btw, normal Pyrex glass cuts off pretty well at 300nm). Corals do get exposed to small amounts of 300-400nm UV, but I wouldn't recommend trying to add more than what we already do. The color you get from Fluorescence is from many different wavelengths from~400-600nm. However, most of the "cool" colors are from direct reflection or fluorescence of 400-460nm light. 420nm is the "popular" spike for bringing out colors. 450-460 is what the "blue" bulbs throw out.

The "UV gel glass is probably way overkill and probably blocks the 300-380nm region. I highly doubt you have any such thing in the outershell of a SE bulb. It is probably something like Pyrex or similar low thermal expansion glass.

If you want more "pop" in such a small hood, you can only change MH bulbs or get really creative with high power LEDs.

 

[ModernReefKeeper]

GREAT INFO THANKS!!!

So I was worrying about the corals not coloring up.
I got the double pane glass as a heat shield also.

I have it running cool, but then started to worry about maby i was blocking too much.
now I can relax a bit, and enjoy

 

[beaupierce]

HEy Will...

Good to see you checked us out!!!!

Pico is looking awesome. So, did you end up winning? I still think the LED's with the controls on the side look sweet..
Post a couple of them. People would love to see that!!!

Cheers

Beau

 

[ModernReefKeeper]

[quote author=beaupierce link=topic=5361.msg67010#msg67010 date=1228344282]
HEy Will...

Good to see you checked us out!!!!

Pico is looking awesome. So, did you end up winning? I still think the LED's with the controls on the side look sweet..
Post a couple of them. People would love to see that!!!

Cheers

Beau
[/quote]
THANKS!!

Im going to post a tank build thread, just need to get some "current pics" to get me motivated.
funny, your the only one who commented on the tanks livestock