Clear mesh cover disintegrating from metal halide

blebs · Oct 13, 2019

I switched over from LED to MH, 6 months ago. Over the past 6 months, a hole has been forming on the clear mesh screen I used for my top. When you go to touch the screen, it has become super brittle, and just breaks away, it is not melting. The hole is big enough now that I am worried about losing fish, and will be replacing the cover with eggcrate as my temporary/permanent solution.

I never had this happen before with mesh screen covers, and I am assuming it is a reaction to the intense heat from the MH. The light is not that close to the screen, maybe 12". Anyone ever had this happen to them?

Omgitsjoe · Oct 13, 2019

Do you know what kind of mesh you used? Was it DIY?

Flippers4pups · Oct 13, 2019

blebs said:
I switched over from LED to MH, 6 months ago. Over the past 6 months, a hole has been forming on the clear mesh screen I used for my top. When you go to touch the screen, it has become super brittle, and just breaks away, it is not melting. The hole is big enough now that I am worried about losing fish, and will be replacing the cover with eggcrate as my temporary/permanent solution.

I never had this happen before with mesh screen covers, and I am assuming it is a reaction to the intense heat from the MH. The light is not that close to the screen, maybe 12". Anyone ever had this happen to them?

Most likely from the UV the lamps put off, not from the heat.