MH glass covers

[VegasFish]

I have a Coralife metal halide with pc fixture for our tank. It has glass covers protecting the halides. The covers get dusty and it just seems to me it lessons the light coming through. The pc's don't have any covers. Do I need the covers? Anyone else running their fixtures with the glass covers/protectors? The bulbs are 8 inches from the water.

Thanks

[hebsway]

If those are the DE Halides leave the Glass in place. You need the UV protection it provides. If the SE you can remove them but the first time cold water hits hot glass you'll need new bulbs.

[TheGreatAukSociety]

I have the Coralife Aqualight fixture. My pc's have acrylic covers and MH's have glass. Mine are the double ended bulbs and they need the covers to prevent them from UV sterilizing the tank. Single end bulbs have the UV shield built in. DE bulbs do not.

At the last seminar the one speaker Steven Pro, was for glass covers even for Single ended bulbs because it keeps the reflector clean and functioning.

[VegasFish]

Great. Thanks Sonny and Mike. Back on they go.

[TheGreatAukSociety]

Make sure you put them back all the way snug, I sometimes leave a small crack and burn lines in my tank.

[wazupjames]

Yea, I left the glass cover off for 1 week while I went on vacation. Glass broke the day I left. Came home to every coral burned away. Lost just about everything.

All DE MH bulbs need the UV shield.

[VegasFish]

The shields are back on. I'm glad I consulted the forum or I would have crashed my tank again. Thanks guys.

[kentlighting]

What are you using to clean them? Isopropyl alcohol works wonders with a microfiber cloth or chemwipe lint free towels. It's what we use at work to clean our fixtures. The uv shields do deteriorate over time and brown the light or turn hazy and need to be replaced every so often


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kentlighting]

Get the highest purity you can find the water content in the lesser strengths can leave streaks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kentlighting]

Oh and one last thing, isopropyl is great to wipe down your de lamps to make sure there is no oils from manufacturing or your skin that could cause blisters in the bulb and lead to failure. Alright I'm off my soap box now I promise.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[VegasFish]

I clean them with soap and water then rinse with ro water. I haven't seen any discoloration.