MH over plastic cross supports???

[Rhodes19]

Hi All,

I will be putting 2 250 mh over my 180 for now and want to have an even spread of light into the tank. The problem is there are 2 plastic cross supports that the lights will be hanging directly over. Has anyone ever done this and if so, what where your results/experiences. The biggest thing that comes to mind is the possibility of melting or deteriorating the plastic cross pieces. Ideally I should have a light over each 2' opening but I'm not there yet. I currently have a mix of some sps, some lps and some softies. I plan on going sps/lps tank with some clams and maybe a nem at some point. Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Here is the tank when I brought it home.
http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/Warrpiper2000/180%20build/1801.jpg

Here are the MH I'll be using. They are lumen brite fixtures on coralvue HID ballasts.
http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/Warrpiper2000/MH250.jpg

http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/Warrpiper2000/MH2501.jpg

Thanks.

Chris

[thatguy559]

i have a 210 with the same cross braces and the same reflectors you have put three on my tank though one for each opening. they crossed over to each section. runing for about a year with no issues reflectors (bottom) were 8" above the tank hth

[RokleM]

Given the fact you're trying to cover a 2.5-3' area PLUS that lumenbrights need to be hung very high on a normal 2' coverage area anyway... they're going to need to be hung quite a distance from the tank. I would absolutely keep an eye on the brace. A common thing I've seen done with this type of setup is removing the two braces and putting a much larger one in the middle.

Your other option is to just hang two of the three over the sections they'll be in, and just add the 3rd later. Keep higher light corals out of that area for the time being. I'd recommend the two ends and leave the middle off.

[Rhodes19]

i have a 210 with the same cross braces and the same reflectors you have put three on my tank though one for each opening. they crossed over to each section. runing for about a year with no issues reflectors (bottom) were 8" above the tank hth

Hi thatguy559,

Thanks. Good to hear. My ultimate goal is to have three of these MH set ups, one for each 2x2' opening. For now its only a temporary fix.

[Rhodes19]

Given the fact you're trying to cover a 2.5-3' area PLUS that lumenbrights need to be hung very high on a normal 2' coverage area anyway... they're going to need to be hung quite a distance from the tank. I would absolutely keep an eye on the brace. A common thing I've seen done with this type of setup is removing the two braces and putting a much larger one in the middle.

Your other option is to just hang two of the three over the sections they'll be in, and just add the 3rd later. Keep higher light corals out of that area for the time being. I'd recommend the two ends and leave the middle off.

Hi RokleM,

Thanks. Placing the MH over the ends and leaving the middle open until I can get a 3rd MH would probably be the best. I have some diy T5 lights I can put over the middle in the mean while. I thought about removing the 2 braces and replacing it with one but that scares the crap out of me!!! LOL. Thanks. :)