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View Full Version : Planning of light for canopy design


Leafer
12/04/2007, 10:32 AM
Its time for me to start planning my future setup. My intention is for a carpenter I know to help me build two book cases with an aquarium stand and canopy in the middle. This will be set up in my living room with the sump below it in the basement. The tank will be a drilled 150 tall (48l x 24w x 31h)

What I want to figure out is what lighting fixtures to use. My thinking is that 2 x 250 MH with supplemental T5s or VHO would work best. I want the canopy to totally enclose the lights so that the only light I see comes through the aquarium. I can vent upwards or even to the outside. I also want this to be as quite as possible so if a fixture includes a fan that could become noisy, this should be ruled out. I’m not experienced yet with MH lights, safety and as much as it can be, efficiency is important.

So, I could build this to accommodate almost any lighting. What fixtures do you recommend I look into? Right now I think I would start with a couple of Ice Cap 250 MH pendants and maybe some retrofit T5s. The Giesemann infiniti with its 4 T5s looks nice, would something like this work inside a canopy?

Please help me with some suggestions.

Aadler
12/04/2007, 11:58 AM
yea those work fine, retro fit kits offer the most flexability however. And if you are going with 14k or 20k bulbs you should look into 400w halides as 31 inches is pretty deep. but if you go with 10k bulbs 250w would be fine. check out hellolights.

I love my (1)250w and (2)24w t5 retro kit(s) setup i put in my canopy over a 40 hex.

Leafer
12/04/2007, 12:19 PM
I have not ordered the aquarium yet. While I would like it to be taller the "long" version of the 150 would work for me also. 60x24x25. It sounds like this might be better for a reef set up. My fish would have a longer distance to swim and the shallower tank would leave the 250s as a good fit. Would I be correct in assuming a 4ft lighting fixture (with 2 X 250 MH) would work fine on a 5ft wide tank?

mg426
12/04/2007, 12:32 PM
if you are handy(and it sounds like you are) a DIY system can save you a lot of cash. www.hellolights.com has a nice selection of stuff for what you most likely need. 31 inches is getting up around 400 watt area.

Aadler
12/04/2007, 05:01 PM
i would consider 3x250w for a 60 inch tank, as i think most people would.