Fewneral01 Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I was just wondering if anyone had any advice on how high above the water to mount 2 400w Radium 20K metal halides. I am considering making a new hood and wanted to get the height right for mounting them above a standard 125 acrylic tank. Thanks in advance Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchell Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 How high you mount them really depends on your situation. You will get more light spread and less intensity the higher you mount them. I've seen people hang halides a couple feet over there tanks and some just a couple inches, it really depends on what you want. I would trade/sell the two 400watts and get three 250 watt halides. You are not going to fully cover a six foot tank with two halides and a 400 watt halide over a 21" tank is overkill. Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smann Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 If you look at most hoods over 24"d tanks they are about 12-14" high, that seems to work for all MH lights. I had 3-175w and 2-400w over my 180 which was 72"x24"x24"h Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquaman30k Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Like Mitchell said every situation is different and it's ultimately up to you as to how you want the tank to look and what you will be growing. That being said I would not run most MH over 12" off the water surface. Too much par is lost any higher so you end up with a well lit tank that won't grow coral very well. Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stylaster Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 On my tank which is 36" deep i have my 250w radiums at 12" off the surface. This allows me to keep chalices in the lower part of the tank with SPS in the upper part Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriz2fer Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 It all depends on the reflector. Some work better higher up and some work better lower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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