hazymranch Posted January 29, 2006 Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 So, I finally got around to wiring up the lighting kit I bought from DEL this weekend. The first step was to remove the MH from the industrial casing (it is an industrial work light with the bulb and ballast in the same casing) to make room for the T8 and T5 fixtures. I wired up the fluorescent bulbs well enough (Good stuf Dr. Evil...thanks) and fitted the MH in the center of the canopy. All of the lights worked beautifully although all of the corals pulled in their polyps and shrunk up tight. I thought that this was normal as the zooxanthellae will have to adapt to the new lighting. That was until my eyes started to burn at around 9pm last night and got worse until I finally went to the ED at 3am where they told me that I had "arc eye" common to welders who don't wear appropriate eye protection. This made me reflect on what was going on inside my tank and when I looked at the tank this morning (after a topical analgesic, voltarin, codeine, and paracetamol allowed me to open them) I noticed everything was still looking very bad and my bicolor blennie was visibly struggling and would not eat (very alarming as he is typically voracious). Oddly enough, my ocellaris and cleaner shrmps are fine. So, my question is: assuming that the bare MH bulb subjected the tank (and my eyes as the bulb flared to life unexpectedly as I was looking at it struggling to ignite) to a pretty bad dose of UV, how much damage have I done and what can I do to alleviate it? Do I keep all light off in the tank until everything recovers? Do I quickly figure out a way to cover the bulb with the original glass (polarized I now assume) and get it up and running ASAP so the clam and other high-light requiring corals don't suffer? Could the light have affected my Blennie that much or should I be looking for another reason why he is struggling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted January 29, 2006 Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 The glass smashed on one of my lights a couple of weeks ago, while I was at work, I turned it off as soon as I got home but I still lost a couple of hard corals and the leathers in the tank shead a couple of layers of skin. I don't think the type of glass is important but if you have the glass close to the light it needs to be able to handle the heat. The glass I broke was like the old style safety glass and ended up in lots of tiny bits. I'm not sure why your bi-colour would be affected and not the other fish but I guess they can get sunburn like anything else and the bi-colour is more likely to spend more time near the top of the tank than the shrimps or clowns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted January 29, 2006 Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 Oh and keep an eye on your corals, if they do die you dont want them rotting in the tank, I would remove them if they start looking bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Heh, it must have been a DE because they NEED the cover glass to block all the lovely UV-C that comes off them. So, basically you've been had a nice 250? watt UV sterilizer busily sterilizing your tank all day. I expect you're going to get a LOT of die off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazymranch Posted January 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 In fact, it was a BLV 14,000K 150W bulb. It was only running for a few hours, but that was enough to kill the blennie (just found on the bottom). The fate of the corals remains to be seen, but the white xenia that was growing a pulsing beautifully has been hit hardest. I'm hoping that parts of it will survive to regrow. Now, as far as lens material goes, will any glass thick enough to withstand the heat suffice? Do I need to get a special polarized or tempered glass? What if I put an acrylic lid over the top, which would be 150mm from the bulb? When do I re-introduce the shielded MH? Do I let everything recover first and risk the death of the clam? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 you need a special glass I think its called boro silicate but dont quote me Anyone else know???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 You can’t run Double need bulbs without cover glass as you will fry the corals. You will have to get toughen glass to shield the lamp. Single ended bulbs can be run without cover glass as the bulb has protection built in. Acrylic is no good as it will bend It is like going outside all day without sun screen. I would just run the floros for a few weeks . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Yip boro-silicate glass is pretty much pyrex, it can handle the heat gradients of MH but also provides UV blocking. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazymranch Posted January 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Sweet, thanks for the info. I plan to take the glass from the original case and bring it to a glass shop to have it cut and drilled so I can affix it right to the reflector. The white xenia is now all but dead and I have cut away the dead bits and left a few polyps that may survive. The brown xenia is much the same. Both of the euphyllia managed to escape death, probably because they pulled completely inside at the first sign of UV burning and I hope they will recover. The 'shrooms shouldbe OK as they were in a low-light area to begin with. The clam is looking pretty bad and the zoanthids are variable. Some will die and some will live. On the upside, all of the algae is gone. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Unless it is normal standard glass I'll be surprised if they can cut or drill it, cause it will shatter. I had a friend who worked in the glass business and he told me the cut/drill etc the glass and then heat treat it to harden it because once it's done you cant work with it. Boro-silicate may be different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 yeah boro-silicate just has a low thermal expansion coefficient, so it doesn't crack as it's heated, and can stand thermal gradients across it's surface. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazymranch Posted January 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 Unless it is normal standard glass I'll be surprised if they can cut or drill it, cause it will shatter. Why couldn't I have read your post BEFORE I went to the glass shop. :oops: They tried to cut and drill it and it shattered as it was obviously hardened glass. So, for the bargain basement price of only $67.50 I bought a 20cmx20cm piece of bronze glass made for woodburner windows. It is slightly tinted bronze, but it should stand up to the heat easily enough. Does anyone see a problem with using this glass? As normal 5mm glass is 75% UV resistant, this should be at least that. If I hadn't been given this light fixture for free, I might be really upset about all of this rather than simply saddened about the loss of my fish and corals. I suppose this is a learning exprience and everyone has done similar and possibly worse in their first outing. So far my death tally numbers 2 fish, 2 shrimp, and the number of corals remain to be seen as none of them are entirely dead yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeBlog Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 I would think that the bronze would reduce the amount of light getting to the tank, change the spectrum, etc... I just used some clear 4mm (can't remember, but it is fairly thin) toughened glass about that size and I believe it cost me less than half of the price you paid for the bronze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazymranch Posted January 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 I just used some clear 4mm (can't remember, but it is fairly thin) toughened glass about that size and I believe it cost me less than half of the price you paid for the bronze. So, did you have the glass cut/drilled and then hardened? If it was hardened glass, didn't it shatter when you tried to cut or drill it? I'm so confused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeBlog Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 So, did you have the glass cut/drilled and then hardened? If it was hardened glass, didn't it shatter when you tried to cut or drill it? I'm so confused. I didn't need any holes drilled, so I can't comment on the drilling aspect. I just needed a rectangular piece of hardened glass. So, I just took the measurements of the area in my reflector, called the glass shop and they had it made for me. I picked it up the next day. Not all places have the ability to make toughened glass. I believe that there is only one place in ChCh (Glass Tech). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazymranch Posted January 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 I got the bronze glass home and had a better look at it and it is only very slightly tinted so I don't think there will be any significant loss of light intensity or shift in the spectrum. It will work for the interim while I sort out a longer-term solution. Thanks for the info Joe. I will call around and see if I can find another shop that does untinted hardened glass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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