Lighting through a glass top?

[kwirky]

Originally Posted by fkshiu

Here are Sanjay's results for 150W DE HQI bulbs both with and without a 1/8" glass shield:

http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.c...&Submit=Submit

The glass causes a good 20% loss of PPFD (a.k.a. PAR) for nearly all bulbs.

and that's WITHOUT 1/8" salt creep built up on the glass to boot. you'll lose a lot of light so it's a major tradeoff you'd have to consider if running a glass top.

using egg crate on halides is a bit of a pain with most reflectors because it'll block a lotta light on the outer edges. egg crate's really only best for flourescent lighting. maybe look into an auto-top off unit? i love mine.

a good ol' canopy works wonders for keeping fish in