Light Distance to Water Surface

[rstar]

Hey Everyone! Tomorrow i'll be replacing my old not-to-safe 175w MH with my new 250w MH I just got from Colby. Just a quick question, what would everyone recommend for distance of the light/reflector to the surface of the water before i mount it in the hood. It's for my 33g aquarium! I would like to have the best light coverage and penetration(if that makes sense) Thank in advance for the feedback!
~Ryan

[jody]

hey if your selling your old MH send me a pm

[rstar]

Oh, one more thing, Should I have a piece of glass cut for the reflector?

[patrick]

This is something you probably know,but make sure you start your new light at a highier hight for at least a few days,just so all your corals get use to the new intensity,Bleaching corals suck.

[sphelps]

The reflector will work best if about 6" from the water. And yes as already stated start higher if possible and/or shorter on time.

[rstar]

What would be the best way to acclimate my corals to the new intensity of light? The MH will be mounted in my hood, but if the need absolutely be i could chain the light to the ceiling to keep it higher for a few days.

[patrick]

This is my opinion;I would start at 2'(feet) from water surface for 2-3days,then lower by 6" for another 2-3 days so on until you reach the desired hight.You can even go longer between lowering.
Better safe than sorry

[rybcat]

adjusting light times would work as well.

[sphelps]

adjusting light times would work as well.

you got it, no need to lift the light if rigid mounted in a canopy, decreasing the time will have the same effect. Also if the bulb isn't new you have less to worry about.

[rstar]

Well i think ill rigid mount it and decrease the time. Though the bulb i am running now is 175w and im guessing its over 2 years old (14k got with the tank) and the new one is 250w and brand new (but its 20k) I talked to colby about it today and he suggested maybe 2 to 4 hours per day and keep an eye on the corals. Everyone think this will be ok?

[Rukus]

Im no expert, but I would imagine so. I upgraded from PC to 250W halides here not that long ago. I ran about 5-6hrs a day for the first 2 weeks, then switched to about 8hrs a day. Didnt see any problems. (other than a nice algae bloom :machine-g )

[sphelps]

Well i think ill rigid mount it and decrease the time. Though the bulb i am running now is 175w and im guessing its over 2 years old (14k got with the tank) and the new one is 250w and brand new (but its 20k) I talked to colby about it today and he suggested maybe 2 to 4 hours per day and keep an eye on the corals. Everyone think this will be ok?

Colbys the man, go with it