Hqi ?

[mlundstrom]

I am trying to figure out if pendants will work in the open back canopy I currently have or if I will need to do some remodeling.

1. What are the dimensions of the HQI pendant?
LxWxH

2. If the pendant should be 9" above the water, is that from the bulb height or from the bottom or top of the pendant.

3. If at 9" the light spread will cover a 23.5" width then a 18" wide tank will need a min of 7" height. correct?

Thanks

[Ninong]

Originally posted by mlundstrom

1. What are the dimensions of the HQI pendant?
LxWxH

10.25"x6.5"x4" http://www.reefland.com/cgi-bin/miva...egory_Code=PFO

2. If the pendant should be 9" above the water, is that from the bulb height or from the bottom or top of the pendant.

Just to clarify that a bit: the recommendation is based on the distance from the bottom of the fixture to the surface of the water. Actually, the distance recommended by both Giesemann and AB-Aqualine for their HQI fixtures is the same: 30 cm (11.8"). I requested confirmation of that distance and they replied that it was necessary, in their opinion, to allow adequate light spread and to prevent heating the aquarium water. Actual testing by people on this board who use the AB-Aqualine HQI fixture indicates that a minimum distance of 9" from the bottom of the fixture to the surface of the water allows for good light spread and causes no problems with heat. Lowering the fixture to about 6" above the surface caused the water temp to rise about 2 degrees Fahrenheit and resulted in reduced light spread. Another member of the board actually has the PFO HQI mini-hoods installed about 5" above the surface on his tank and he reports that the light spread is disappointing.

You might also want to consider alternatives to the PFO mini-hoods, such as a ready-made all-in-one fixture like the AB-Aqualine Aquaspacelight or the AB-Aqualine Aquastarlight Future: www.ab-aqualine.de

3. If at 9" the light spread will cover a 23.5" width then a 18" wide tank will need a min of 7" height. correct?

If your tank is only 18" wide, you will probably have adequate light spread if the bottom of your fixture is at least 7" above the water.

Ninong