VHO Lights in a platic hood???

[ecugman]

I just recieved a Icecap VHO set-up (660 ballast and 2 X 96w bulb). Could I, for now, install these light in my elcheapo hood that came with my tank? I will be building a custom hood early next year but would like to go ahead and use the lights until then. I'm dying to get a couple of corals & polyps.

Will they run to HOT for that hood?

Thanks in advance!

 

[ecugman]

>>

That would be PLASTIC hood! LOL

[ December 07, 2001: Message edited by: ecugman ]</p>

 

[JRoweNole]

egugman:

I've got an IceCap 660 w/4 VHO lamps. I'm not so sure about if you should install them in your plastic hood, but why don't you set them on top of a glass cover? Some people don't like the idea of a glass cover (heat issues), but I've had mine on top of my 92 gallon reef tank for over a year with no problems.

If you don't like the glass top idea, go to home depot and buy some cheap egg crate light covers and cut this out to your opening dimensions.

 

[ecugman]

I could put them on top of the glass but I would still need something to cover the lights and ballast or my wife would kill me!

What do you have on top of the lights?

 

[ecugman]

I could put them on top of the glass but I would still need something to cover the lights and ballast or my wife would kill me!

What do you have on top of the lights?

 

[FishDaddy]

ecugman,
I've been running two VHO's with Ice Cap in an All Glass double strip light for almost 3 years. I gutted the entire fixture, just keeping the shell and reflector, and put the ballast under the tank in the stand. I did put a Radio Shack 3" fan in the space between the reflector and the shell underneath the vent slots.
The 48" striplight is too short for 48" bulbs and endcaps but the 46.5" URI's fit perfectly.
The bulbs do hang about 1/2" below the bottom of the shell so I used wood spacers at the ends of the fixture to elevate it.
One of these days, I'm going to get around to building a hood and adding a couple more VHO tubes but this works quite well...the plastic barely gets warm.
Dick