Egg Crate

[zoltarblue]

So after one succesful suicide and another attempted one by my fish I am putting white egg crate on the top of my display. Question I have is how much light will the egg crate actually block or dillute light wise. I am using SOL Blues

[Origami]

I ran this test a while back:

http://wamas.org/forums/topic/26776-eggcrate-for-focusing-light/#entry235953

 

Why don't you just use netting and a window screen frame? I think there's a DIY post that L8 2 Rise put up in the past.

[Origami]

Here's Sam's post:

http://wamas.org/for..._1

 

BRS sells clear screen, too.

[Incredible Corals]

How big is your tank? I have a few feet of the clear stuff left over from my old tank you can have. I like the stuff that bulk reef supply sells as well.

[zoltarblue]

Its 72" long

[MBVette]

do the clear screening, you will be much happier

[Ryan S]

I did the DIY screen with everything from my local home depot. It was cheap and easy!

[Incredible Corals]

Its 72" long

 

Sorry, don't have that much.

 

I would just do what Ryan did and get it all from Home Depot in black. I doubt it blocks all that much light and it's probably 1/2 the price if you ordered it from Bulk Reef Supply in clear.

[MBVette]

I had origionally put mine together with regular black screening and switched to BRS clear. There is a huge difference in the amount of light that gets through, and I would spend the extra money on the clear.

[Ryan S]

Unless you used a PAR meter and can back that statement up with raw data, I have to call shenanigans.

 

I will be picking up the Club par meter in a couple of hours. I will take readings with and without the black screen on top, and see if there is any difference. I really doubt the reading changes at all.

[MBVette]

I was able to tell by eye, it was that obvious. Vince from QR was here when I had the black screen on it and had it clear on one side black on the other and one side was significantly darker than the other. But if I had a par meter I could find some of that screening again and easily replicate the test.

[Ryan S]

I was able to tell by eye, it was that obvious. Vince from QR was here when I had the black screen on it and had it clear on one side black on the other and one side was significantly darker than the other. But if I had a par meter I could find some of that screening again and easily replicate the test.

I don't have any clear to test it, but I can do with and without the black screen. If the readings are that different, I'll probably switch to clear then.

[MBVette]

I have extra clear screening around, but we are to far apart to really make it worth while to do a hand off.

[Big Country]

I have my tank covered with the clear BRS screen, problem I have is that the screen doesn't last but maybe 6 months before the MH's make it brittle enough that it starts to tear apart when you touch it wrong. Is a real pain having to order new from BRS all the time. I may try the black from the local Southern States next time and see if I see a difference.

[Integral9]

I got the clear netting from BRS and did up 3 covers for my 135. Almost a year later they work great under my 500W+ of T5s . No successful jumpers. One did try. I heard him bounce off the screen and splash back into the tank. The sound made me smile. My only complaint about the DIY screen kits, is they only seem to have outside corner pieces. No inside corner pieces. If you have over the top plumbing or a HOT appliance, you have to either cut a hole in the screen (which makes it hard to remove) or you have to frame around the pluming / appliance. And that requires an inside corner piece.

 

I have my tank covered with the clear BRS screen, problem I have is that the screen doesn't last but maybe 6 months before the MH's make it brittle enough that it starts to tear apart when you touch it wrong. Is a real pain having to order new from BRS all the time. I may try the black from the local Southern States next time and see if I see a difference.

 

That's odd. You might be getting too much UV from your MHs. Do you have UV filter glass between them and your tank? Could also be thermal stress, but given the short amount of time, I am leaning more towards the UV. Nylon is very flexible which makes it great for temperature variation, but UV rays make it brittle. Just like the dashboards on old cars. They were made of Vinyl though, not Nylon, but the concept is the same.

[Coral Hind]

If you do use the egg crate it helps to focus the light according to the tests Anthony Calfo and Sanja did. Just make sure you have the tapered or thinner side up.

 

I used a screen Sam made from the black material for about two years and it never got brittle under MH's.

[Big Country]

 

That's odd. You might be getting too much UV from your MHs. Do you have UV filter glass between them and your tank? Could also be thermal stress, but given the short amount of time, I am leaning more towards the UV. Nylon is very flexible which makes it great for temperature variation, but UV rays make it brittle. Just like the dashboards on old cars. They were made of Vinyl though, not Nylon, but the concept is the same.

 

I do not have the glass on my fixtures, they are SE fixtures, I may be wrong but I thought it was only the DE fixtures that had UV issues and needed the glass. The bulbs themselves, not the bottom of the fixture, are about 17" above the netting.

[Coral Hind]

Yes, the double ended bulbs give off the higher UV. The outer glass of the SE bulbs blocks the UV. All new SE bulbs are supposed to be designed so they shut off if the outer glass breaks or the packaging has to have a warning label letting you know it doesn't automatically shut off.

[Integral9]

I do not have the glass on my fixtures, they are SE fixtures, I may be wrong but I thought it was only the DE fixtures that had UV issues and needed the glass. The bulbs themselves, not the bottom of the fixture, are about 17" above the netting.

 

That is really odd then. Yes, the DE fixtures need the UV glass, the SE ones shouldn't and at 17" above the netting, temperature shouldn't be an issue.

 

hmmm... I found this reseach paper from VPI (VA Tech) indicating that saltwater and more so salt residue residue degrades nylon quite redily. If you have an issue with splashing or bubbles in the tank, that could your problem.

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-110899-095334/unrestricted/etd2.pdf

[LCDRDATA]

I got the clear netting from BRS and did up 3 covers for my 135. Almost a year later they work great under my 500W+ of T5s . No successful jumpers. One did try. I heard him bounce off the screen and splash back into the tank. The sound made me smile. My only complaint about the DIY screen kits, is they only seem to have outside corner pieces. No inside corner pieces. If you have over the top plumbing or a HOT appliance, you have to either cut a hole in the screen (which makes it hard to remove) or you have to frame around the pluming / appliance. And that requires an inside corner piece.

I just did screen covers for my eel tank, which uses a CPR overflow box and a top return. Rather than try to do angles with the screen, I used a narrow piece of eggrate (probably 3") running the length of the back that I could break the appropriate squares out of and leave the rest intact for jump-proofing. Then the screen is a simple rectangle.

[PotomacBoater]

I'ld be curious to see some PAR results with black vs. clear. If anyone has tested this in the past

[Big Country]

That is really odd then. Yes, the DE fixtures need the UV glass, the SE ones shouldn't and at 17" above the netting, temperature shouldn't be an issue.

 

hmmm... I found this reseach paper from VPI (VA Tech) indicating that saltwater and more so salt residue residue degrades nylon quite redily. If you have an issue with splashing or bubbles in the tank, that could your problem.

http://scholar.lib.v...ricted/etd2.pdf

 

The water level in the tank is not very far below the netting since it sits on the inside rim of the tank, with the returns and power heads stirring up the surface of the tank there is always water very near the netting with bubbles I'm sure the netting is damp most of the time so it may just be a combination of the water along with the heat degrading the netting. I don't know what I did last night moving the screens around but I ripped a big hole in one of my screens and the rip is directly below the bulb.

 

I'ld be curious to see some PAR results with black vs. clear. If anyone has tested this in the past

 

 

+1 since the black bird netting at Southern States or HD is much cheaper than ordering the BRS clear netting.

[Origami]

Is the netting nylon? It didn't look like BRS specified the material on their site (I may have missed it). Or could it be polyethylene or some other polymer?

[Big Country]

Is the netting nylon? It didn't look like BRS specified the material on their site (I may have missed it). Or could it be polyethylene or some other polymer?

 

Don't know, don't see it on the BRS website either, was hard to just find the netting since they redid the website. When I get home I'll look and see if there was a label on the last netting I bought in the package that I might still have laying around

[Integral9]

I don't know what I did last night moving the screens around but I ripped a big hole in one of my screens and the rip is directly below the bulb.

 

Did the screen crumble or did it unzip? Crumbling would be indicative of decay, where as unzipping is just bad quality. While working with it, I noticed I could unzip the screen if I pulled on it just right. The threads are melted together instead of tie wrapped, which makes it easy to unzip if you hit it just right.

 

fwiw: After a whlie of being above my tank, my screens have a "crispy" feel to them. I'm assuming it's salt. The screens don't seem to be loosing any strength though.

 

Is the netting nylon? It didn't look like BRS specified the material on their site (I may have missed it). Or could it be polyethylene or some other polymer?

 

After a quick search it looks like there is nylon and polypropalene varieties available. BRS does not specify which theirs is.