do i need a cooling fan with Hallide?

[snabss]

hi guys,
i have an aqualight pro lighitng fixture with 150 W hallide and 2 65 watt compacts. the fan is too loud. i am planning on taking out the fan. would it have an impact? would the bulb get too hot?
can i replace with with a heat sink or something else?
thanks for the help.

[Z-Man07]

Before you take out the fan, (which I recommend against) try to just disconnect the power to the fan and monitor your water temp. The MH can bring your water temp waaaay up.

Is your fan loud, as in something is wrong with it? Someone here may have a recommendation for a better fan if that is the case.

[snabss]

thanks for the reply.
i took out the fan and cleaned it. i ran it outside the hood and it didnt make much sound. it seems that once enclosed inside the hood it gets loud.
for now i have put it back in. i just switched off the halide. i am just running the compacts right now. my tank has just finished cycling and i have 12 snails in it right now.

i have another question. maybe someone can comment or point me in the right direction. i want to build a canopy for the tank (the tank is in the living and the lights in the hood blind anyone sitting on the couch). would i be able to put this light hood (aqualight pro) inside the canopy? i dont want to spend another 300 bucks on the retrofit kit.
can i hang it inside the canopy or is there some other way to install/mount it inside a hood.
thanks guys.

[Z-Man07]

Look in the DIY forum too. There is a ton of plans, photos, ideas of MH inside a hood. Yes you can do it.

Someone else chime in here please, I am not sure if you need to be running your MH lights while you are cycling and until you get anything substantial in there. The PC's for a short few hours a day will help you get through the cycling phase without a ridiculus algae bloom.

[snabss]

Z-Man you are correct, i am not running the MH right now. but i am thinking in advance for when i would be :)
i have seen the DIY forums and have seen designs for the canopy, but i havent found any information if it is ok to hang the complete light hood inside the canopy (they all refer to the retrofit kit :( )

i am concerned about the heat. MH inside a hood and then the hood inside a canopy, i wonder if the whole fixture would get too hot?

[Tiki G.]

I run a 250 halide. Two fans in my canopy brought the temp down at least 5 degrees.

[jag1979]

I have 3x 250's and 3x 80 t5's. I just put a fan on yesterday. Right now I only run the mh's for 3 hours each (overlapping) and the t5's for 7 hours b/c I don't have any corals yet. B/f the fan the temp would reach the mid 73's now w/ only a 4.75" fan in the canopy the temp never exceeded 71.5. I have it connected to my controller to turn on at 71.5 and it turns on for 5 minutes then off about every 15 minutes or so.

[Steverino]

I have seen a canopy with holes in each end (about 3-4" diameter) that have a black plastic screening over them so theya ren't really noticeable. The person put one of those computer fans one each side, one blowing in, and one blowing out. The backs of almost all canopies are open, too, so you could route the air flow in one side of the back and out the other side of the back.

[Tiki G.]

I have one in and one out from the ends and you can really feel the heat coming out the exit side. I have 4" diameter fans from radio shack. My canopy is enclosed.

[Steverino]

Tiki; How much did those fan units cost? How does the wiring hook up, do they simply plug into a wall socket?

[snabss]

thanks for all the replies guy. but i dont understand this thing.

are the fans required to keep the temp down, of the water? or the MH hood itself? (i dont have a canopy right now, only a hood so there is lots of ventilation for the water, its an open tank). as i mentioned in the first post, the issue is that the fan in the hood is really loud inside the hood casing.
if the water temp is not rising, then is it ok to take that fan out or would be MH itslef become too hot.
sorry about all these questions, i am new to this.

[Steverino]

Cans would cool down the light itself.

A canopy could muffle the noise?

[jag1979]

personally I would take the fan out if you didn't need it to cool down the water...less is more.

I think that it might give you better PAR if you have a fan (according to Grim, at least w/ the t5's so probably w/ the mh's too); but if I could stay in a comfortable water temperature I would not have any fans.

[snabss]

thanks jag and steverino,
thats what i thought. the fan is pushing air out of the hood and i dont see how it could effect the temp of the water. the water would heat up by the amount of light reaching it. the air blown by the fan doesnt come in contact with the water.
i will take out the fan. is there any data on the acceptbale temperature range for the light itself? i can check and see if the light goes beyond the temp limit.
thanks again guys.

[FLricordia]

Place a termometer above the bulb with it on for 1 hour. Use plyers to retrieve the termometer, or what is left of it, and decide for yourself if it is SAFE to run a MH without cooling it for 5-12 hours a day.
If you decide not to use a cooling fan on the unit, order more bulbs, wiring, etc for near future replacements.