How to conceal MH w/o in wall design or really tall canopy?

[zachtos]

How do you conceal hanging metal halide reflectors without an in wall tank or a canopy taller then 24"?

I am going to re-light my existing 240G w/ 400W MH and the reflectors (lumenbright3 mini) require atleast 18" from the bottom of the pendant to the water... that's nearly 30" in height. Is there a clever way around this w/o making a really tall canopy?

I don't want lots of light spilling into the room and I need to prevent most heat from entering the tank if possible.

a link or photo to some examples would be great.... next house will be in wall, but not an option here.

[Ralph ATL]

I have an 85 gallon, 22 inches deep with 2 X's 400 watt se 20k Hamilton in dual reefstar at 8.5 inches above water. 18 inches just sounds crazy to me.

[Amoore311]

How about a "floating" canopy?

Like this one:


Not mine, friend of mine built this tank/canopy set up.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b277/wagerja/DSC00288.jpg

[LobsterOfJustice]

You can make a short canopy and have the tops of the reflectors coming out of the top - paint them to match with a high temperature paint. Basically will look like a canopy with pyramids coming out the top.

[Misled]

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q68/jllndmb/DSC_6547.jpg

[DT's_Reef]

I would suggest custom building a wood canopy that floats above the tank, but is attached to the wall, with wiring going into the wall so it looks nice and clean.

Just have to make certain the bottom edge of the canopy goes a few inches, or whatever distance is necessary, past the edge of the light fixture so that the bulb is now viewable when sitting down on the couch, etc., at a height lower than the tank.

I have a Lumenmax Elite and need 15" off the water surface.

I did something similar, but it houses only one 400w halide. I have pics listed on a build thread somewhere (title is something like 85g.

There should be pics in this thread http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1530025

I do still get a bit of light spill in the livingroom. If the light hood was only 1" taller, I'd be set. Oh well!

3 separate enclosures attached to the wall might look awesome over your tank, instead of one long canopy.

[zachtos]

It seems like the floating canopy method would have a lot of incidental light spilling onto the floor, being very agitating while sitting on the couch. How much spillover light will there be, and will it be a problem since my couch is right next to the tank, wouldn't there be a glare in the corner of my eye while watching tv?

Floating canopies will not allow me to exhaust air out of the house to save on air conditioning, but probably would not require much in the way of ventilation away from the tank.

The canopy with humps/pyramids coming out of the top may not be too bad, anyone have photos to show what they look like?

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/zachtos/New%20Tank/DSCF0702.jpg
Here is a very old picture of the tank pre dating livestock, but it shows what I have to work with. The couch is right next to it, so I'm worried a float canopy will result in a blinding light in the corner of our eyes. But I like that idea... also, I do have ugly tubes etc to hide....

[DT's_Reef]

If your couch is next to the tank then yes, a floating light fixture would be tough. You really would have to have something enclosed.

Having fixtures stick out the top of the canopy is probably the easiest solution. Not sure how good that will look.

The only other thing I could suggest is that you build an entertainment center above it and incorporate the lighting as part of the cabinet design. It would have to be vented out the sides I'd imagine. This will probably be a bit complicated and I'm not sure if you're handy with building cabinetry, etc.

Or...build a 30" tall light hood....or have one built for you.

[Mark426]

Build a low canopy to hide your plumbing and go with T5....all problems solved.

[zachtos]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15639308#post15639308 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mark426
Build a low canopy to hide your plumbing and go with T5....all problems solved.

LOL, no thanks, I'm leaving T5's because they can't put out over 500 PAR at 6" depth (have a PAR meter) and my SPS wont color up strong enough for my liking. 400W is much better then T5, but 250W is similar. Of course, it's a lot more electricity too.

I suppose I will have to find a way to make an enclosed canopy 30" tall... I think it will look very goofy though, but I'll make a cardboard mockup first to see I suppose.

Anyone have any pix of a tank w/a hood where the MH drops into the top and is not fully inside?

[LobsterOfJustice]

Here is someone's cube on my local forum:

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x200/nauticac4/Cube%20Tank%20Build/P1100125.jpg

[zachtos]

OOh, I like that one, it's like a castle. What a neat Idea for raising the metal halide up w/o making the canopy ridiculously tall.

Any other ideas or photos are welcome, I'm sure someone will find this thread useful aside from myself.