Tank center brace

[swninja]

So i bought my tank and while filling it i noticed that the center brace across the top seemed extremely flimsy. I kind of wondered if a MH would melt it. Then i was reading some older posts and someone had the same tank, with the same lighting set-up, and surprise. It had melted. So what could i do to prevent this? Put a beefed up piece of plastic on there? Wrap it in foil? Any ideas i'm just throwing out random ideas that popped into my head.

 

[RockStacker]

You could place a piece of treated and painted 2x2 or 4x4 wood above the plastic.
The wood will absorb most of the direct heat and shield the plastic.

The piece of wood will also block out light so you have to think about the proper width.

 

[swninja]

Not sure I want a piece of wood a couple inches below a MH. That and then the glass canopy wouldnt fit. I probably have less than a half inch of room to work with.

 

[little_fish]

You really shouldnt be using a glass top, it holds in heat, prevents good gas exhange and cuts down on the lights to your corals.

But also a MH light should be 8-10 inches above the tank, at that high the plastic should be ok. It when people keep them too low that they melt. If the brace is already melted and damaged, you can usually call the tank manufature and they might send you a replacement

 

[RockStacker]

Not sure I want a piece of wood a couple inches below a MH. That and then the glass canopy wouldnt fit. I probably have less than a half inch of room to work with.

Oh yeah I forgot to ask you: How far from the water's surface were you planning to put the MH fixture?
From your description it does seem like it is way too close to the water.

 

[BL1]

But also a MH light should be 8-10 inches above the tank, at that high the plastic should be ok. It when people keep them too low that they melt. If the brace is already melted and damaged, you can usually call the tank manufature and they might send you a replacement

If you're using a standard fixture it won't be 8-10 inches above. My light was only about 3 inches or so above the tank using the legs that came with it.

 

[little_fish]

Gosh that seems awefully close, dont they usually recommend raising them up?

 

[BL1]

Not that I've read, but I didnt have any heat issues with it either.


How many MH bulbs does the fixture actually have?

 

[swninja]

Its a single 250 watt mh with 4 t5's. But i was going to use the standard legs that it comes with. Didnt really want to drill into the ceiling of the apartment. So you have to have something between the water and the lights. I dont trust those flimsy legs, if it decides to drop i dont want it in the water

 

[swninja]

Guess i may just end up hanging it