Yet another Aquaspacelight question

[fdm]

Well, I decided on the Aquaspacelight 3x250W HQI w/4x24W PC actinics. It arrived on Thursday and "big surprise" it was dropped enroute, presumably by UPS. And one of the glass UV filters shattered. I spent most of Saturday taking the fixture apart and vaccuuming out the shattered glass. When I had it apart I noticed that two of the ballasts had broken completely free from their mounts, one MH and one PC balast. I remounted them, then I realized that the unit did not have any fans installed in it.

I thought I remembered someone saying that they had a built-in fan.

Did I get a new model? old model?
Did they ever have fans?
Do you think that there will be any heat issues without internal air circulation?

There are three vents on the top of the fixture, one over each MH bulb. And the ends of the fixtures are vented as well. THe MH ballasts are mounted at the ends of the fixture right beside the vents.

Thanks again,
Frank

[Ninong]

They don't have fans... and they never have had fans. They are designed to be suspended 30 cm (12") above an open tank. Some people have noticed an increase in the water temperature when they try to place the fixture any closer than 9" above the surface but it's usually not an issue if the fixture is mounted in the open, at least 10" above the water. It's possible to use them with a semi-canopy sorta setup as long as the ventilation is adequate. Usually this is accomplished by having the fixture fully exposed, suspended just barely above a canopy with a large top opening.

Boy, you seem to be taking this UPS situation rather calmly. How do you know no other damage was done that may not be obvious right now? Are you just going to ask them to replace the piece of Schott Durax tempered glass and leave it at that?

Ninong

P.S. -- One of the reasons they do not use internal fans is because you can't blow air directly across the surface of an HQI DE lamp without affecting its performance.

P.P.S. -- Check out how Mobert has her fixtures mounted: http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin...974#post381974 She's running two 4-ft length Aquasunlight Classic fixtures over an 8-ft long 240-gal tank. She has them mounted pretty close to the water but she's only running the 150w 10,000K HQI DE lamps. You have to scroll down past the first pics to get to the most recent updated pics that show the "canopy."

[Ltspd]

I would contact the place you got it from and have them file a claim with UPS. They should send a new one out and bill UPS. I would feel better with a whole new unit.

[fdm]

Ninong: LOL, I'm calm now. I've had a few days to cool off There is no physical damage to the fixture at all ... well other than the one broken pane of glass. The other 2 panes of glass were still intact. When I had the fixture apart, I checked all of the wire junctions and ballasts to make sure that all of the wires were still connected. After I cleaned the fixture of all the glass, I ran it with all the bulbs on in the garage for a little while, just to make sure. It all seems fine. My feeling was that I have little faith that UPS would do any better with the second fixture than they did with the first, that's why I agreed to just have the pane of glass replaced instead of the whole unit. I really hope I don't regret that.

I looked at Mobert's site and that's almost exactly what I had in mind. My tank is free standing (viewable on all 4 sides) with the main header beam of the house running directly overhead. I planned on hanging the lights from the beam about 12" from the water line. Then building a four sided fasade matching the stand to reflect the light back into the tank instead of letting it spill into the room. I planned on the fasade being 12"-14" high so I figured I could have doors on the long ends for access to the tank.

[fdm]

Paul: That was my first inclination. But as you can read above I decided against it. I'm starting to doubt that decision since reading yours and Ninong's post and several others on Reef Central.

[Ltspd]

For the money you paid for the unit I might feel better. They are very nice setups and should provide years of trouble free enjoyment.

I would atleast get some sort of documentation that stated that the fixture was damaged, you felt it was workable with the exception of the glass, but if a elec problem should arise you expect the situation to be corrected with no cost to you.

[Snaphook]

Ninong...So, if you had a fan that blew across the water under a HQI light it effects the performance? Why? I am about to order this same light fixture and I was going to have 2 fans to help keep the temp down. Your inpt is appreciated.

Thanks

[Ninong]

Snaphook,

If you are buying a fixture you will have no problem because the fan will NOT be blowing directly on the exposed lamp (I hate to use the incorrect word bulb here but I'm afraid I may have to). Anyway, the lamp is the little thing that lights up inside the fixture. The problem with HQI double ended lamps is that if you blow air directly on them you would lower the operating temperature which affects their spectral output and reduces their operating lifespan. The reason it does this is because the lowered operating temperature lowers the internal pressure which in turn affects the chemical equilibrium of the compounds inside that are responsible for the light.

So... only people like Ltspd who went the DIY route by building their own reflectors, etc., have to be concerned about where to place fans. If you purchase a fixture that encloses the lamp, it will have a UV absorbing shield that would block any air from hitting the lamp directly. However, one of the members of this board was nice enough to point out that his little PFO mini-pendants (that he hates) have open ventilation slots on the sides that would permit air to get inside. If that is the case then one should exercise caution in not directing the flow of air from the fans directly into these ventilation slots.

Ninong

[Ltspd]

With my DIY canopy I am using no fans, only well placed vent holes. I dont have a heat problem with (2)250w HQI and (1)150w HQI plus the NO actinincs.

If I do begin to develope a heat problem once summer rolls around (I run a/c) then I have made provisions to pull air out of the canopy without drawing air directly across the bulbs. This is pulled from behind the reflector in tha air space between that and the hood top.