MH Pendant Heights?

[SnowManSnow]

Hey guys,


I'm new to the world of MH pendants.. my question is this:

How high can I raise the pendant without making a significant differance in light intensity? Right now it raises my temps by 5 degrees by the end of the day to top out at 80*. ... so I'll have to raise it more. The hight of the light at this point is about 12 inches. Am I going to hurt my light levels by raising it more?

Any ideas?

 

[Juck]

What's wrong with 80 degrees?

Do you have a fan in the pendant?

 

[SnowManSnow]

I was under the assumption that 80 is a bit too high????

 

[Unarce]

85 would be too high. Some people can bare 84 during the summer. I keep mine at 80 all year long.

 

[Unarce]

Right now it raises my temps by 5 degrees by the end of the day to top out at 80*

Some might even say that 75 isn't warm enough.

 

[SnowManSnow]

DOh! Live and Learn

 

[Anonymous]

I shoot for 80-82 even during winter. Easier to maintain that during the summers here.

 

[Tackett]

Mine remains a flux between 80 and 86. Even when it hits the 86 marker (rarely), none of my critters seem to care. Maybe they are just used to it.

 

[Tackett]

oh yeah, one more thing. Remember that the higher the temp, the higher the critters metabolism is. So if it gets up to that temp, you will have to try to feed them more often.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

you've got it 12" above the surface of the water and it still fluctuates 5 degrees? very strange. Is it in an enclosed canopy?

mine's 8" off the water in a canopy with the top and back open and on a warm day it will rise about 4 degrees to 84. no big deal.

if you feel that you need to install a fan, this one's great. http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant ... e=ICE-FAN4

 

[Tackett]

you could stand and blow on it during the day

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

you could stand and blow on it during the day

hehe, that would be much cheaper.

 

[Tackett]

A buddy of mine did everything but urinate on his to get the temps down. Eventually rigged up a DIY chiller with a wal-mart freezer.

 

[fishboy19]

wouldn't urinating on it just increase the temp even more? Plus it would smell.

-Matthew

 

[Anonymous]

Temperature all depends on the animals and where they're from. Overall, the corals hobbyists keep come from reefs that can range from 70 to 86 F.

 

[SnowManSnow]

I would think temp is kinda like PH.. and so many other parameters... as long as they are within an acceptable range they are fine.. as long as they are stable... the stability seems to be the key... at least in my years of FW tanks.
B

 

[Anonymous]

Sure stability is great, but there are wide temperature variations in nature. The important thing is to keep a temp within the optimal range. 80 degrees is within that range.