im assuming you have measured the heights, widths, ect ect. Heating issues thought of since its inclosed?. You have many many options Q.
you can build a brace to contain the lights within the canopy. or if have the space, you can drill holding fixtures on the roof of the canopy to fasten the detachable light supports.
congrats on the new tank Q, what size are we talking, dimensions, not gal
What kind of lights are we talking about? You may want to look at retro fits and ditch the pendants. You could use the pendants but they are going to take up a bunch of room. Plus they may be difficult to work around when doing tank maintenance. Retro's may even be cheaper for you.
bb- I haven't exactly measured anything yet, but I certainly will before I place the order. The tank should be delivered tonite- I'm getting very excited!!! I saw it yesterday at the LFS and it looks great!!
The back of the canopy is open, however it is up against a wall and therefore not exactly "open." The good news is that I can cut up that wall (matt wouldn't be very happy) and then have great ventilation into the closet. We cool the house to 72*F (22C) which should help.
The tank is a 125g (473L) 72x18x22 or in cm 182.88x45.72x55.88. I will need 3 MH bulbs.
I can't see to find Icecap retrofits that are double ended. It seems pendants are the only option ??
__________________ Gwen - 2007 Atlanta Reef Club Secretary MACNA XX Committee 125g RR AGA "The Simple Reef Tank"
Has anyone used this specific unit- any feedback would be appreciated.
The price just seems way too cheap, but I guess you never know. The writing in red kind of makes me wonder. It will be in a canopy, so avoiding moisture is impossible.
__________________ Gwen - 2007 Atlanta Reef Club Secretary MACNA XX Committee 125g RR AGA "The Simple Reef Tank"
I'm planning on putting an acrylic shield accross the middle of my canopy to limit the condensation in the lighting so that's why I am goin with those cheap ones. I'll run a fan through there also anyway. Whether the equipment is made for it or not, water and electricity just weren't meant to get tegether.
those pendant systems can be put in a canopy, but as noted they are large and not really meant for that. but you can do it..
i agree with the recommendation for MH retro.. they are usually MUCH cheaper. if you go HQI you are going to have to make sure you get the right UV shielding in place so you dont fry the tank. any specific reason why you want DE vs SE bulbs? SE would be just as affective but cheaper.. and easier to acquire and mount in a canopy.. but thats JMHO
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Retro is the way to go. You will have better air circulation and cooling power with a retro. A hood mounted in a canopy requires more room, add weight to the lift-top, and has less of a light spread........especially with HQI DE.
If it was me doing that same tank, I would go with SE torpedos.
I have recently purchased the 250watt HQI retro kit from HelloLights. I have not installed it yet, but here are some pictures of the unit. I personally prefer the electronic ballast over the magnetic because of the smaller footprint offered by the electronic ballast. The “cores” of magnetic ballast are big and heavy and do get hot, also they have to be shielded from the water. This to me means you almost have to locate them remote from the light, whereas the electronic ballast I can easily place within the canopy. Hope this helps.
FYI That HQI reflector housing is much smaller than the reflector I got with the 175W SE bulbs I just got from hellolights. Maybe not lengthwise but the open reflector might be almost twice as wide. But the light is awesome and it is better reflector IMO because it has the dip in the middle (forget what thats called) and multiple angles to really reflect all the light into the tank. I also got the cheap magnetic ballast and it is heavy but not in a housing so not all that big. I was planning to mount it on the rear of my canopy. But if I like the lights I think I may upgrade to electronic at some point. The magnetic hums a little but definitely not too loudly.
The heat that is transferred to the water via lights is radiant heat. The heat of the ballast is conductive heat, and have limited infuence. Unless the ballasts are enclosed in the canopy or aquarium stand, ballasts have but limited infuence.
Retro is the way to go when you have a canopy. The pendants displayed look rather large and it looks like you will not be able to install anything else in the canopy once those pendants are installed. It took me weeks to decide on the lighting for my canopy. I also posed many questions regarding location of the
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