Cross Brace Melting

[dawaterboy]

I just went from a 36" 2x96w pc fixture, to a 36" 4x39w T5, 250w SE MH with HID ballast fixture. My tank has a cross brace and of course it's right under the halide. I let the halide run for four hours yesterday and I did not see any sign of melting. I plan on an eight hour photo period with the T5's on the whole time and the halide on for four hours in the middle. Has anyone else done this w/o melting the brace and is it even worth running a light like this being that so much of the light is hitting the brace.

[spw4949]

I also have a 46 gallon bowfront & actually stayed away from halide fixtures with the Halide in the middle because of the brace. I'm sure your noticing that because of the brace it creates a shadow in your tank...I just got a 2x250W halide fixture (a little overkill IMO but I got a great deal...) they do make a 2x150W halide, (coralife)..The centerbrace IMO is a huge PIA, I guess as long as you don't mind a big shadow in the middle of your tank then you can use the fixture you have it will just eliminate some spots you can place corals & IMO looks kinda bad with a big shadow in your tank....HTH

[Saltyllama]

Most that I see cut that brace and replace it with acrylic or, even better, a glass one.

Good luck

[power boat jim]

If it did not melt in 4 hours it wont melt in 8. If you want to cool off the tank and brace just put a small clip on fan to blow across the top of the tank.

[dawaterboy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15698760#post15698760 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by spw4949
I also have a 46 gallon bowfront & actually stayed away from halide fixtures with the Halide in the middle because of the brace. I'm sure your noticing that because of the brace it creates a shadow in your tank...I just got a 2x250W halide fixture (a little overkill IMO but I got a great deal...) they do make a 2x150W halide, (coralife)..The centerbrace IMO is a huge PIA, I guess as long as you don't mind a big shadow in the middle of your tank then you can use the fixture you have it will just eliminate some spots you can place corals & IMO looks kinda bad with a big shadow in your tank....HTH

I'm with you on the shadow 100%. I am already looking to sell the dang thing. Might go with the 6x39w extreme pro next, or I might get ready to sleep on the couch for a month and pull the 120 out of storage and get a light for that :rollface:

[EnglishRebel]

I've read of acrylic braces crazing and cracking under the heat of a direct MH.

[ERICinFL]

The 150 I got from my friend has a cracked center brace from his MH. It cracked where the brace meets the back of the trim ring. Since it's all one piece, he ordered a new one and I'm just waiting on it to arrive. When he had it up and running, he called Perfecto to find out if it would hurt the tank and they weren't to concerned. There was only a 3-4mm gap where it cracked, but he was afraid things would get worse over time. Now that it's empty, you can't even tell it's separated, but it obviously let the tank bow a little.