Glass top+raised light?

[mitchfish9]

I don't have this issue, but I was wondering if someone had a glass top, but they needed to raised their light. Wouldn't this block out a lot of light because there is not enough heat coming from the light to clear the evaporation off the underside of the glass? Because when the light is directly on top the heat clears the class directly underneath.

Just wondering if anybody has any experience with this.

Thanks!

[Noahma]

I have a suspended light and glass top. there is very little issues with condensation. Sometimes it shows up, most of the time it does not. I put a par meter under my top with and without the glass lid and had almost no change in par values either.

[lochaber]

I wouldn't think there would be a significant difference, but I hadn't thought about the effects of condensation.

Kinda interesting.

even so, I think it would just act somewhat like a diffuser, and scatter the beams, as opposed to absorbing/blocking/reflecting them. not certain though.

If it is just refracting/scattering, I don't think it would have a big effect unless you are using a focused light spread on a fairly deep tank. Optics really aren't my thing though.

[Miira]

When I had a glass top, the light was an inch above it and there was always condensation. I eventually stopped using the lid because it's easier to top off the tank 2x/week than it is to clean the glass.

[scapegoat]

If i remember, the glass tops pretty much halve the PAR value by the time it gets to the substrate.

[raulfd4]

I asked this specific question on Hoppy's thread about lighting with PAR vs Watts, and he said that as long as there is no mineral buildup on the glass, there shouldn't be much of an affect on PAR because of the glass and condensation.

[scapegoat]

Originally Posted by raulfd4

I asked this specific question on Hoppy's thread about lighting with PAR vs Watts, and he said that as long as there is no mineral buildup on the glass, there shouldn't be much of an affect on PAR because of the glass and condensation.

i must've read that somewhere else then...

the issue i see though, is that there is almost always a mineral buildup unless you've just cleaned it

[PlantedTankLover]

No to take over, but whats the point of raising the light above the class. I just have mine sitting on it.

[raulfd4]

Yeah, it definitely becomes a maintenance issue in terms of cleaning the glass to keep it free of mineral buildup.

I actually have to keep my lights raised above the glass because my lighting fixture does not have a built-in fan. The design calls for the fixture to be elevated so that it does not overheat.

[wkndracer]

Tanking 5dGH, 2dKH water dust on the dry side is more troublesome than anything on the tank side of the lids. Running the air conditioner 95% of the time living in Florida my tanks are almost all covered.

I raise lights to reduce the value balancing new tanks rather than changing fixtures.

[mitchfish9]

Thanks for the awesome responses everyone! Sorry that I couldn't respond until now

Originally Posted by Noahma

I have a suspended light and glass top. there is very little issues with condensation. Sometimes it shows up, most of the time it does not. I put a par meter under my top with and without the glass lid and had almost no change in par values either.

That is what I wanted to hear, it makes sense that the condensation shouldn't have much of an effect now that I think of it. It's just water like the rest of the tank.

Thanks, that was a good

Originally Posted by scapegoat

If i remember, the glass tops pretty much halve the PAR value by the time it gets to the substrate.

Like others have said, only if there was a lot of mineral buildup that might happen.

Originally Posted by raulfd4

I asked this specific question on Hoppy's thread about lighting with PAR vs Watts, and he said that as long as there is no mineral buildup on the glass, there shouldn't be much of an affect on PAR because of the glass and condensation.

Great!! Hoppy knows his stuff.

Originally Posted by PlantedTankLover

No to take over, but whats the point of raising the light above the class. I just have mine sitting on it.

Since most people's algae issues are because of light, it makes sense to try to raise the fixture instead of buying a new one.

Originally Posted by wkndracer

Tanking 5dGH, 2dKH water dust on the dry side is more troublesome than anything on the tank side of the lids. Running the air conditioner 95% of the time living in Florida my tanks are almost all covered.

I raise lights to reduce the value balancing new tanks rather than changing fixtures.

Thanks for the input, it's all about balance and sometimes that requires raising the light, especially for low tech. Thanks, hopefully this thread will help some other people.