Canopy- Ballast in or out?

[Jordan55]

Hey everyone. I very rarely venture over to this forum, but I figure you know what you're doing;)

I am making a canopy and it is almost done. It will house my 2, 55 watt PC bulbs for my sea horse tank.

I was wondering if I should mount the ballast inside or outside the canopy?

I know most company fixtures(if not all) put them all inside, but they usually have a piece of plastic or metal blocking them directly from the bulbs. In my canopy, it would difficult to do so.

So I looked at the pros and cons of each way.

Outside:
Good- Less heat. Will not over heat.
Bad- May attract evap causing rust and maybe a ballast failure?

Inside:
Good- No rust due to glass shett blocking bulbs (and in this case ballast) from direct water.
Bad- May over heat?

If I put it inside, and have a fan hooked up... is it less likely to over heat?

If I put it outside, should I sooner than later build some sort of plastic guard so evap does not go directly to the ballast.

Thanks!

[Catharsis70]

if you can remote locate the ballast it will keep the canopy that much cooler.

[NCreefwannabe]

well I dont see a pc ballast getting but so hot anyways. Most people that move their ballasts are because of MH. PC's just arent that hot considering other choices of lights.

[Jordan55]

Catharsis- I don't really think that is an option for me right now. Thanks for the input though.

NCreef- That is what I was thinking in the beginning, but wasn't sure. Like I stated, they have a guard blocking the ballast from the bulbs light, but also no fan. So I would basically be replacing the gaurd with a fan, and I think the fan would help a lot.

[newty]

IMO, it is best to put any electronics outside of the canopy. I hooked up my IceCap660 and Workhorse 7 ballast on the outside of the canopy. While they do contribute with heat transfer, it is not much at all, and is basically neglible if you have a metal heat sink. It is safer to put the ballasts outside of the canopy, away from the constant humidity. This results, as you said, less rusting and as a lower risk of an electrical fire.

Shawn

[dtaranath]

newty is right on. try not to put your electronics on the inside of the canopy where there is a higher humidity level. It could ruin them eventually.

here's mine:


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/101986canopy__4_.jpg

[goreefer]

I would not put them inside the canopy. I have three seperate ballasts for my PC's and they do get warm, if not hot. I have not measured the temp of the ballasts, but they are quite warm after running for several hours.
Why would you want the extra heat radiating on your tank anyway?
My vote is to mount them outside the canopy. Mine are hanging on the back of my stand simular to dtaranath's.

[dtaranath]

actually, that's my canopy.

[goreefer]

The floor tile confused me!
I think the both of us agree, get the electronics away from the humidity!
There's nothing like a little voltage leakage and water, oh what a way to make your day!

[comatose]

Outside the hood is much better.here is the back of my DIY 6 ft hood.
http://www.coszam.net/pics/hood044.jpg

[Jordan55]

So the moisture on the outside will not leak up into the ballasts?

[newty]

I say no. No more than it 'leaking' into surrounding areas such as light fixtures, TV, etc. If you control humidity levels in the room, you are basically are doing everything you can. That means not having a humidex of 100% all the time! That is unrealistic unless you do not have some sort of ventilation in that room/house/sauna. Inside the canopy is where the humidity is thought to be the highest.


Shawn

[comatose]

the difference between the humidity inside your tank and outside is huge,
more so when your lights and fans turn off then the humidity gets even higher inside your canopy at night.

by putting the ballast outside your tank as oppose to inside would make your ballast last years longer.

[goreefer]

Weekly to clean my bulbs all that I do is open the canopy in the morning before the lights come on and wipe them with a DRY towel. The lights are covered with condensation form the watter below. The towel is wet by the time that I'm done.
Now, do you really want your ballast to be soaked every night?

[comatose]

That is one of the reasons i have the fans turn on in the morning one hour before any lights turn on, this drys up any condensation from inside the hood.

[Jordan55]

Thanks for all the replies! I thin kwe are hooking it all up tonight or tomorrow.

Thanks again, and I may just post a picture or two for you guys and gals to see the finished product.