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RE: Open top tanks, suspended lights and glare



> Its all in the reflector. I will use the Coralife bell-shaped
> pendants because I think they will direct more of the light directly
> downward into the aquarium and minimize the glare at eye-level
> while sitting
> in the room with the lights.  Maybe someone using the Coralife may be able
> to add some of their experiences.  I am also planning on rigging up some
> sort of single pulley system making it easy to adjust the height during
> maintenance.  I like the new electronic ballasts but they are
> still priced a
> bit high for my budget.  I may mount the ballasts remotely in the basement
> below the floor where the tank is located.

I have a 6' open topped tank in my living room, illuminated by 3 175W
suspended Coralife Metal Halide pendants. The bottom of the fixture is 16"
over the surface of the water. When sitting in the living room, and facing
the tank, there IS a fair amount of glare from the lights. I have thought
about getting a 6' length of smoked plexiglass and hanging that in front of
the lights, low enough to shade the glare from eyelevel but have not gotten
around to it yet.

One thing that you have to be aware of, when using metal halides in a living
room, is the buzz from the ballasts. You mileage may vary, maybe I got a few
bad ballasts, but tar ballasts for MH's are noisy at times. I partially
solved the problem by placing the ballasts in a closet beside the tank and
running the lamp cords through a hole drilled in the wall. Makes a handy
place for a big Eheim as well.

James Purchase
Toronto, Ontario