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View Full Version : Adding MH light to my canopy


sohal1025
01/19/2009, 10:18 AM
I have a nick oak canopy that has only enough room for floresent lights and want to put MH in there(it should be raised up some) Any suggestions??????

Convert or buy new??

~sp0ok~
01/19/2009, 10:30 AM
a pic would help .........

sohal1025
01/19/2009, 11:04 AM
Does this help
<a href="http://s117.photobucket.com/albums/o44/kubisch01/?action=view&current=IMG_3960.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o44/kubisch01/IMG_3960.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s117.photobucket.com/albums/o44/kubisch01/?action=view&current=IMG_3959.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o44/kubisch01/IMG_3959.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s117.photobucket.com/albums/o44/kubisch01/?action=view&current=IMG_3958.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o44/kubisch01/IMG_3958.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

troylee
01/19/2009, 12:35 PM
you can make your own reflector close to being flat and mount a bulb in there if you are into diy stuff how much room do you have?? it looks like you are using t12 vho bulbs they are about the same diam of a mh bulb if so....you wont get the most out of the reflector but it can work....

Uncle Salty 05
01/19/2009, 02:48 PM
You will need glass between the MH's and the water.
If one drop of water hits a hot MH it will explode.
I don't know if you have enough room (depth) in that canopy?
If the bulbs are too close to the wood it will discolor, if the bulbs are too close to the glass it will shatter.
Maybe if you had enough fans exporting heat it would work.
You might want to add 4-6" of depth to your existing canopy.
That would give you more room and wouldn't be that difficult.

Edward Smith
01/19/2009, 03:41 PM
T5's would rule in there.

No top necessary and no heating issues.

Uncle Salty 05
01/19/2009, 03:43 PM
T5's will never match the look of MH's.
No matter how many you cram in there.

qfrisco
01/19/2009, 03:57 PM
What's the distance between the bottom of the top of your canopy and the water? Which reflector do you plan on using? I had to do the same thing when switching to MH from overdriven T5s. I cut holes in my canopy top and mounted the pendants above the hole. Doing it this way, the heat radiated by the pendants doesn't even go in the canopy which helps with cooling, and I buy myself 3-4 more inches of clearance. It works great.

Pics below:

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i211/joelq/IMG_5674.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i211/joelq/IMG_5676.jpg

Uncle Salty 05
01/19/2009, 04:02 PM
gfrisco, great idea!
That's using the old noggin.

sohal1025
01/19/2009, 05:57 PM
That set-up looks cool, what fixture is that and where did you get it?
I have six inches from the canopy to the water surface.

qfrisco
01/19/2009, 06:55 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14193339#post14193339 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sohal1025
That set-up looks cool, what fixture is that and where did you get it?
I have six inches from the canopy to the water surface.

6" might be enough clearance. I have 7" clearance from the water surface to the glass UV shield of my light fixtures. You'll have to check with whoever's fixture you go with. The pendants I went with are the Aquamedic Oceanlight 250w HQI pendants. The fixtures come with M80 magnetic ballasts. They're normally kinda pricey but I got them used from a member of my local reef club for a good deal.

sohal1025
01/20/2009, 03:17 AM
I am currently using 2XVHO and 4Xt-5's

qfrisco
01/20/2009, 10:04 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14196763#post14196763 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sohal1025
I am currently using 2XVHO and 4Xt-5's

Depending on how much room you've got under your canopy lid, you might still have room for a couple of your T5s or VHOs for supplementation. As you can see from the pic of my setup, I have two T5s with Icecap SLR reflectors in front of and behind the metal halides.

sohal1025
01/20/2009, 11:17 AM
My canopy is hinged in the middle with 9.5" on the back and 10.5" on the front part that lifts up. Not quite sure how to mount the light on top and still be able to lift the top, ya know?

Uncle Salty 05
01/20/2009, 12:44 PM
That does complicate things a bit.
It kind of depends on how much you want to keep your current canopy. If you like its looks and/or have a lot of $ invested I am sure you can devise a way to get it done.
You do it as shown above with half in fron and half in back with the hinges moved to the ends of the pendants.
If not you might just want to build a new from scratch?

sohal1025
01/20/2009, 01:46 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14198012#post14198012 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by qfrisco
Depending on how much room you've got under your canopy lid, you might still have room for a couple of your T5s or VHOs for supplementation. As you can see from the pic of my setup, I have two T5s with Icecap SLR reflectors in front of and behind the metal halides.

Did you just cut an opening in the top and set the black wood piece there....How is the hinge mounted on the back?

qfrisco
01/20/2009, 05:29 PM
My canopy lid only hinges in the back. If you look at the picture I took from the top, you can see the left hinges just behind the pendant, underneath the two yellow wires.

Does your lid hinge in the middle and also in the back? If so, maybe you can stabilize the middle hinges, and basically make the lid a one piece lid that only hinges at the back.

sohal1025
01/21/2009, 03:19 AM
No,, there are no hinges on the back of the canopy, just in the middle.

qfrisco
01/21/2009, 09:03 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14205128#post14205128 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sohal1025
No,, there are no hinges on the back of the canopy, just in the middle.

Hmmm. I don't see any other way to get metal halides in there unless you're willing to modify the canopy, and as Uncle Salty alluded to, it may not be worth the effort and $.

If you're willing and able to modify the canopy, depending on how it was built, you could mod it so the top hinges at the back. It could be as simple as doing a rip cut with a jig saw down the length of the canopy as well as the sides. Then rig some way to make the now two pieces of the lid one, then install hinges in the back. This would also depend on how thick the wood is back there, and if they would support the stress of a hinge.

Another option would be to raise the canopy as you were originally thinking, and mount the MH fixtures underneath the lid. But I estimate you'll have to raise it by at least 4", probably more depending on which MH fixture you go with, but it would probably look silly sitting up so high on your tank.

sohal1025
01/21/2009, 03:44 PM
Having the fixture on top instead of under it would eliminate a heat issue, right?

Uncle Salty 05
01/21/2009, 03:51 PM
I wouldn't say it will eliminate the heat issue (you are probaly still going to want fans), but it will greatly reduce it for sure.

Be prepared to lose some of that nice coraline you have going now. Coraline doesn't like MH's.
It is still worth doing the upgrade, nothing beats the "sparkle effect" of MH's IMO.

sohal1025
01/22/2009, 03:26 AM
I use 2 fans blowing from the back side of the canopy now, but if I change them to an in on the left and an out on the right is that going to make much of a difference..(I figure that the fans I am using now being both blowing in that the warm air has to go out somewhere)

Uncle Salty 05
01/22/2009, 07:48 AM
One in and one out, or two 3" in on the sides and one 4" out on top with the back sealed is best.
It takes all heat up and away from your water and speeds evaporation (which cools your water).

qfrisco
01/22/2009, 08:46 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14208976#post14208976 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sohal1025
Having the fixture on top instead of under it would eliminate a heat issue, right?

As Uncle Salty mentioned, it won't eliminate the heat issue, but it certainly helps it a great deal. A large portion of the heat is radiated from the fixture itself - you can literally burn yourself if you touch the aluminum fixture. And given that no part of the fixture is in the canopy, you wouldn't have to worry about getting any of that heat out.

I still have four 80mm PC fans in my canopy, all running about half-speed (driving them with 6 volts instead of the full 12). Without the fans, my water would quickly overheat, especially in the summers here in Dallas. I'm still able to get by without a chiller, though.

I have all four fans blowing in - since the back of my canopy is wide-open, the heat has an easy way out. If the canopy were closed up on all four sides, I'd recommend an in-to-out setup.

jubjub
01/22/2009, 12:32 PM
u know i been pondering the same question since i just bought 2 new ice cap ballasts/new bulbs and wanna keep the MH's so atleast here is my thought im planning to put http://www.aquacave.com/250w-metal-halide-hqibr-parabolic-reflector-with-lens-1537.html in my canopy they are cheap prob not the best reflectors out there so you dont have to worry about them being so close to the water cause they arent super efficiant.

how wide is your tank (mines a 5footer) so spreading them a little farther apart might help with heat dissipation as well

sohal1025
01/22/2009, 03:57 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14214258#post14214258 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by qfrisco
As Uncle Salty mentioned, it won't eliminate the heat issue, but it certainly helps it a great deal. A large portion of the heat is radiated from the fixture itself - you can literally burn yourself if you touch the aluminum fixture. And given that no part of the fixture is in the canopy, you wouldn't have to worry about getting any of that heat out.

I still have four 80mm PC fans in my canopy, all running about half-speed (driving them with 6 volts instead of the full 12). Without the fans, my water would quickly overheat, especially in the summers here in Dallas. I'm still able to get by without a chiller, though.

I have all four fans blowing in - since the back of my canopy is wide-open, the heat has an easy way out. If the canopy were closed up on all four sides, I'd recommend an in-to-out setup.
How do you run the fans at half speed???

sohal1025
01/22/2009, 03:58 PM
BTW its 48" wide.

qfrisco
01/22/2009, 03:59 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14217250#post14217250 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sohal1025
How do you run the fans at half speed???

Standard PC fans are driven with 12 volts DC. I just run my fans with 6 volts DC. I drive my fans with a multi-voltage AC adapter and I just set it to output 6 volts DC. The fans don't push as much air, but they are more quiet.

sohal1025
01/23/2009, 02:37 PM
Cool, thanks for the info. I think I am going to pick an adapter for the fans.
I dont think these fans are from a PC. They were from a LFS, like the Icecap ones.
Would they work the same(@6volts)

qfrisco
01/23/2009, 02:52 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14224742#post14224742 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sohal1025
Cool, thanks for the info. I think I am going to pick an adapter for the fans.
I dont think these fans are from a PC. They were from a LFS, like the Icecap ones.
Would they work the same(@6volts)

I wouldn't be able to say for sure as I'm not familiar with those. Be careful though as some fans not only operate on a different voltage, but might also require AC versus DC current.

sohal1025
01/23/2009, 02:57 PM
It says 114v and 14/12watt on the front of it though, not sure either way(I am no electrician)

sohal1025
01/24/2009, 03:03 AM
Anyone else want to chime in on this one before I burn down my house,,Ha Ha...

sohal1025
01/24/2009, 10:11 AM
Going to try it today..

sohal1025
01/25/2009, 09:46 PM
Or maybe tomorrow.