plastic center brace and MH

[martym]

I am putting a 50g reef system together. The tank has the plastic center brace. Th3 250w MH bulb sits right above it. The problem is, I had the light running for 5 minutes and this brace is hotter than I want to touch. Will the MH melt this brace? The lighting system is a coralife single 250w mh with blue actinic CF. Fixture is on the legs that come with it.
I wish I could just remove the plastic brace.

Thanks for your help.

[rocketlily]

To raise my light fixture on my 50 gal. I nailed 2 - 2 x 4's together (painted black), laid them across the ends of the tank, placed my light fixture legs on top of them. This raised the height of the light 3". I also keep a little 3" fan blowing between the top of the tank and the light.

The top centre brace does not get hot now.

[martym]

How much did that reduce the light intensity?

[rocketlily]

I don't think raising the light 3" really does reduce the intensity of the light. I'm finding that I am having trouble finding enough "medium" light places for corals as the tank is very bright.

[martym]

What is your lighting?

[rocketlily]

Outer Orbit w/250 MH

http://oceanaquatics.com/store/product/2268/Outer-Orbit-250W-HQI-T5-36%22/

[REDNECK_REEFER]

You can remove the center brace and replace it with acrylic strips. My friend Canuckgod420 did it on a 40g breeder. Place clamps around your tank wher the brace is, than remove the brace, have your acrylic strips ready and the glue you intend on using, place the strips where needed for support, then glue them into place wait 24h or so, then (SLOWLY) remove the clamps making sure that the tank does not bow on you. After it's done it looks great and it adds a custom look to your tank. Since acrylic is clear, your light will pass right through them with minimal loss of spectrum+power:mrgreen:

[martym]

Thanks for the info :) I'll think about it, don't know if i have the courage to that.

[Drock169]

you can also remove the brace and replace the removed section with a strong wire, this will also remove the shadowing