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View Full Version : Canopy Height?


fitzgeraldjw
06/09/2011, 09:47 AM
I'm getting ready to begin construction on my canopy and was wondering what an ideal height is for my size aquarium. I have a 75 gallon, and intend on using 6 54 watt T5s. If anyone can give me some suggestions I'd appreciate it. Also, at this point I have no clue what type of corals I will wind up keeping. Thanks

apuhl20
06/09/2011, 09:50 AM
The higher the better so you have room for fixtures and room to work. I hate having a tight squeeze and having to take the canopy off to do anything. 12 inches is nice, the new 180 I'm working on will have an 18" canopy.

Bosco83
06/09/2011, 09:54 AM
If you never plan on using any other lights I would go 6". My current canopy is 8" and I had T5's on it and then just recently switched to LED's and it's just high enough to still get good coverage.

Brian

Chris27
06/09/2011, 10:23 AM
12" is a bit high on a 75 Gal, it'll swamp the tank and look goofy sitting up there. 10" or smaller is generally more aesthetically pleasing. It's nice to have room, but you don't want some ugly contraption resting on the tank taking away from the natural beauty of the tank.

aleonn
06/09/2011, 02:05 PM
10-14" would give you good wiggle room. That way, you can suspend a light fixture at any height you want. However, if you have retrofit lights and cannot change the height of the light, 10-12" should be fine.

fitzgeraldjw
06/09/2011, 03:28 PM
Thanks for the responses. I'll probably go somewher ein the ballpark of 10"-12". I guess what I was really concerned with was whether or not there was an ideal height for the lights off the water in respect to growing corals. I want to make sure I wasn't thinking too high so that corals that may live lower in the tank received adequate lighting, although I guess I could always move more demanding ones closer to the top.

gweston
06/10/2011, 10:57 AM
I like to drop the lights down a bit lower so there is some room for air above the lights. So if you want the lights ~6-8" off the water. 12" can work. Plus you have some room on the sides of the canopy to install a few sets of 80mm fans for cooling.

Make sure to make the canopy wide enough to accommodate the T5's. Take into account the bulbs, the endcaps, and the standoffs all together. I built a canopy for my 125. I got lucky. I miscalculated the extra 1/4" or so on each end for the standoffs... BUT everything ended up fitting perfectly with a tad of space to spare on each end (whew!).