Question about Canopies.

[tprize]

So I am now trying to figure out what exactly I want in my system. I am not a DIY guy and I want everything to be store bought. I am all thumbs when it comes to building things. So my question is about pre built canopies. I am looking at a RR Perfecto or Oceanic tank, and I have a few questions about the canopy.

1. Can I put a pre built 48" light system inside the canopy?
2. If I plan on using the glass to cut down on evaporation, can I put a pre built 2x250MH light system right under the canopy on top of the glass without my fish boiling?
3. If I do a Retro fit system, will this help with preventing heat buildup?


The reason I am asking these Q's is there doesn't seem to be a lot of room between the tank and the top of the canopy. So I would love to hear what others have done without hacking it apart DIYing it and such. I was thinking of putting two larger fans blowing into the canopy from the back to help get the heat out.

[tprize]

Someone has to have the standard canopy for one of these tanks.

[saltaholic]

Well the dimensions of the canopy is going to decide what light system you use. As far as the glass cover...ditch em. MH's and evaporation go hand and hand no way around it. Covering your tank will only increase heat and get in your way. Salt creep also will block light. Controlling heat could be as simple as a clip on fan blowing across the back of the canopy.

[Racso]

1. Can I put a pre built 48" light system inside the canopy?

if it is PC lighting, the answer is MAYBE. It depends on the light. Some lights (current) have fands on the ends and cannot be put under standard canopies. ESU lights CAN be put under canopies because their fans are on top of the unit.

2. If I plan on using the glass to cut down on evaporation, can I put a pre built 2x250MH light system right under the canopy on top of the glass without my fish boiling?

No. You cannot put MH under standard canopies. You have to custom build the canopies and use a retro fit. Also, having standard glass that close to MH will crack/break. I've had PC lights break glass, I don't want to think how fast MH would break them.

3. If I do a Retro fit system, will this help with preventing heat buildup?

I think retro fits cool a little better because they do not have the housing to hold in the heat, thus heat dissapates faster. However, again, you cannot fit MH in standard canopies.

[tprize]

Thanks guys, the only other thing I was thinking of doing was taking the top off the canopy, and just placing the pre built system with legs on top of the canopy. That way I would still have the nice canopy look, bust just have the light sitting on top of it. This would also allow me to put fans in the back to blow over the tank.

[JTEAGUE]

I have a Perfecto 48 in canopy and run a Coralife 48 in powercompact under it. It works fine for me. The canopy is open on top I mean it has s 1x4 slats and is not solid, so heat is not an issue.
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t63/JTEAGUE173/HPIM1624Custom.jpg

[cdbias2]

I have a very similar setup. 90g.
We bought a 48" Hamilton w/2-250w HQI's and 2 110 VHO's.
Normally all HQI hoods have a glass cover to stop the UV light.
We removed the lid to the canopy and the glass covers and it fit right in place, It will not fall off because it sits down inside just like the lid did. It fit perfectly like it was made for it.
We still had 3" left over in the front for feeding, but tank maintenace does require removal. We love our Hamilton.

[benray4fun]

I have a canopy that I modified to fit a current light fixture containing 2x150w MH and 2x130w Pc's. The fans are on the ends, so I cut a hole in the canopy ends and installed 4" fans to aid in cooling the system. Also, I have the canopy glass tops installed, but the plastic hinges are warped due to heat. Their are no plastic strips on the glass tops to promote gas exchange on the surface. I do have to clean the salt creep once a month and by that time the glass does cut down on the light penetration. I do not recommend the 250w MH's with this set up due to heat issues, unless you're considering further modifications or a custom built one.
It is a very clean look, here's a pic....

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/benray4fun/reeftank128.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

[saltaholic]

Racso,

What RC has taught me:
You’re ALWAYS wrong
<5000 post: nOOb
You MUST have Metal Halides
DSP & BB are BOTH wrong
Your skimmer sucks
Your W/Cs regimen is wrong
Your tank is too small for a Tang:

That's a good one:lol:, just playin RC has been a great place and there are a lot of great members, but that does sum it up on a humorous note.;)

[tprize]

Well I think that the solution that I have come up with, is to place the light on top of the canopy. That way I get a good height off the tank, Don't have to worry about hanging it, and still get the nice look of the canopy from a viewers point of view.

[alan214]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9314207#post9314207 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by saltaholic
Well the dimensions of the canopy is going to decide what light system you use. As far as the glass cover...ditch em. MH's and evaporation go hand and hand no way around it. Covering your tank will only increase heat and get in your way. Salt creep also will block light. Controlling heat could be as simple as a clip on fan blowing across the back of the canopy.

I TOTALLY disagree. There are other alternatives to the heat (shorter photoperiods, fans on the sump and lastly a chiller). Salt creep does not block that much lick if you wipe the glass down once a month or so.

The main point of wanting to hang onto thhe covers is to prevent your fish from commiting suicide. Unless you use eggcrate (which also blocks a small percentage of the light) instead of the glass covers, you will eventually come home to dead fish on the floor.

[tprize]

That's one reason why I want a glass top is for gobbies and wrasses

[gusman4]

I have a canopy with an open back i think its an all glass canopy. but anyway i have 2 250mh and 2 110vho inside with no glass between it and the the water i do have a couple of 4in fans in to opening in the back and one in the sump. This has been working just fine for over a year all corals are growing great and had no real problems with heat. i do evaporate probally about five gallons of water every two three days. but if you have a rodi unit then its no big deal.

[saltaholic]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9339356#post9339356 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by alan214
I TOTALLY disagree. There are other alternatives to the heat (shorter photoperiods, fans on the sump and lastly a chiller). Salt creep does not block that much lick if you wipe the glass down once a month or so.

The main point of wanting to hang onto thhe covers is to prevent your fish from commiting suicide. Unless you use eggcrate (which also blocks a small percentage of the light) instead of the glass covers, you will eventually come home to dead fish on the floor.

I wouldn't "TOTALLY" disagree, either way is okay. However I stated my opinion on glass canopies and MH's. I found that constantly taking the canopy off and cleaning the glass was a pain in the a$$. With high circulation you will have to do this once a week.
Egg crate is IMO the best alternative, only a small amount of light blocked I doubt your corals would ever notice. Even this is only needed if you have fish that are proned to jumping as mentioned in a earlier post.