placement of MH bulbs

[hockey nut]

I'm currently making a 48" reflector and was wondering how far apart should I place the MH bulbs from each other. My guess for the best balance would be about 16" apart. But I'm not sure

Any comments would be welcome. Thank you

[Jaws]

What size is your tank? Dimensions?

[danny zubot]

I drew a little picture and did some basic geometric calculations and 16 " seems to look good on paper. Your reflector design might ultimately determine the best spacing though. :smile:

[hockey nut]

Tank dims are 48 x 24 x 24". I will be running 2 x 250wt MH and 4 x 110wt VHO atinic. The length of the MH bulb and socket are 9 1/4 inches total. If I space it out from either end about 5 1/2 to 6 inches there should be a space between both bulbs of about 16" . Is that too far apart?


should be about 20- 22 inches wide by 48" L.

Any helpfull hints etc???? Thanks

[danny zubot]

My 2 cent tip would be make sure the bulbs are pointed in the right direction. Remember that no light is emitted from the front and back of the bulbs so they need to face front to back, in other words perpendicular to the tank itself. This goes for the reflectors too. I hope that made sense? :confused:

[hockey nut]

I know what you mean but unfortunately I will not be able to place the lights like you mentioned. Only for the fact that the VHO's are very wide. If for some reason I don't like the way it looks or it hinders the lighting effect I'll just have to try something different. :rolleyes:

Almost all commercial MH lighting that I've seen in stores and that are in hoods etc. all run parallel with the length of the tanks. Just the way it is I guess. :smile:

Thanks for the tips

Callum