lighting canopy diagram

[justDIY]

Here's some rough draft canopy diagrams on how I plan to do my lighting.

any thoughts?

 

[dansemacabre]

I like the slits on the top to allow for heat dissipation and evaporation. The power connector idea is a cool one too. Do you like the T5 bulbs?
I'm now buying a full hood instead of a retrofit, so I'm not sure how to do my canopy now. Should I just make a box, with front hinges, and leave the top off and simply set the hood on the top...or should I just set it on stands? There will be eggcrate on the tank and a glass or acrylic sheet in between the lights and the water surface.

 

[Electrobes]

justDIY I like the set up, see no probs with it from my eye. What fans are you going to use and at what CPM are you going to run them at?

 

[justDIY]

Do you like the T5 bulbs?

I like the T5's very much ... see my recent post about them in the diy forum - I was somewhat skeptical at first but now I have no doubts.

I'm now buying a full hood instead of a retrofit, so I'm not sure how to do my canopy now. Should I just make a box, with front hinges, and leave the top off

yea, that is a good idea - they call those wrap-arrounds or surrounds, basicly just a band that sits around the top of your tank, with braces inside to sit lights on

There will be eggcrate on the tank and a glass or acrylic sheet in between the lights and the water surface.

eggcrate is OK, glass or acrylic is unnessecary and will reduce your light output. when the glass is new, its fine, but after a few months calcium will build up on the glass and make it cloudy. acrylic will turn yellow after extended exposure to the radiation and heat from the lights.

 

[justDIY]

What fans are you going to use and at what CPM are you going to run them at?

i'm going with 4 5/8th inch 12 volt DC fans and will probably run them at 8 or 9 volts to reduce their noise.

since the fans will eventually get killed by salt water air, cheap dc fans are favored over more expesnive quiet ones.

also, ac fans sound kind of dangerous - having salt get inside there and cause a short circuit just doesn't appeal to me

 

[BillyZ]

what have you come up with so far for keying your power coupling? You might wanna see if you can dig up some coupling from stage lighting equipment. They'll have a half dozen or so connectors and be able to handle the draw you'll need.

can't think of an easy place to get one, but I think that's what you wanna look for. :?

 

[sumphead]

Hey G, How and where are you ballasts going to be kept? Just curious for ideas myself. Thanks
R-

 

[justDIY]

what have you come up with so far for keying your power coupling?

well, I'm going to use the standard 3 prong IEC style connector found on most anything electronic. it has 3 conductors, all individually insulated.

I plan on using 2 of the 3 contacts on each connector - the unused contact / prong will be clipped out, and the corresponding hole on the female side of the connector will be filled with epoxy

see attached diagram

 

[justDIY]

Hey G, How and where are you ballasts going to be kept?

the electronic ballasts for the fluorescents will be mounted up high under the stand, just screwed into the wood.

the magnetic ballasts for the halides will be installed in a steel toolbox or similar steel enclosure and sat behind the stand or next to it (ive got about 18" dead space on either side of my stand)

so, all the ballasts will be remote mounted, and wired to the canopy with those power connectors.

I have a source for 15 ft IEC power cables, so I'll be using them for everything - should have a nice finished look.

 

[dansemacabre]

The eggcrate is to allow gas exchange while keeping my to-be gobies in the tank. I need something to protect the MH from splash, do I not? I was told in the Getting Started forum that while they are not required, they come highly recommended.

 

[justDIY]

well, it really depends how close you plan on having your lights close to the water. unless you've got a lot of fish splashing and thrashing around at the water's surface, the tiny amount that sprays up from normal turbulance shouldn't cause any distress to halide or fluorescent bulbs.

 

[dansemacabre]

well, about how far would you suggest? I want to get some tridacna clams in the near future (after the tank has stabilized a few months) and the tank itself is 20" deep...after the DSB though, the surface of that would probably be about 15" from the tank top. I read that about 8" is usually a good distance. There will be 3x250 and 4x96 ...got a suggesstion on how high they should be, and if this will pose a splash hazard? Thanks again.

 

[dansemacabre]

And I just realized, 2 more questions...what's a good tool to use to cut eggcrate?
And...I got a small sheet of acrylic today (for the sump) and will it yellow even if it says on it non-yellowing? Or is the primary concern the warping of light wavelengths? Or decreasing intensity? or whatever else it does? Thanks.

 

[justDIY]

8" sounds great for the MH

get the PC's as close as you can, since they don't penerate very well and they're not very hot, so a little splash shouldn't hurt

 

[justDIY]

updated diagram

things changed:

1) reduced wattage of MH from 400 to 250

2) moved the t5's around a bit to make room for 2 more tubes as a low expense upgrade path

3) changed color temp of MH and T5 bulbs, so they'll be about the same, nice a blue

 

[dansemacabre]

It's a pre-made hood, so I think the PC are only an inch or so closer. I want to use the PC for Actinic supplementation only. The MH will probably be 10,000K (unless anyone has better suggesstions for clams/corals). And in case you just use the email notification (as I do), I'm gonna be redundant: know the best way to cut eggcrate, and will the acrylic yellow if it says non-yellowing? In addition, will acrylic that's approx. 1/11 of an inch be acceptable for sump baffles/walls? Or should I get thicker? And for a splash shield...would thinner acrylic aide in the light-bending and intensity loss, or do I really not need it? I just don't want exploding MH bulbs...I like my fireworks outside. =] Thanks, and I apologize if my redundancy bothers anyone.

 

[justDIY]

cut the eggcrate by scoring a deep line and then snaping it

all plastic will yellow exposed to the radiation put off that close to an MH bulb - go for glass and clean it regularly

1/11th of an inch? never heard of that - perhaps 1/8th but that would not be good enough for a stong baffle - 3/16th would work or 1/4

 

[dansemacabre]

My dad had grabbed a piece while I was at work today, and he said the guy told him it was like .09" or something, I just did the math. I haven't done anything to it, so I can take it back tomorrow when I get more eggcrate/stuff for the skimmer. To hold the baffles in place, should I use a good marine-grade epoxy, or regular aquarium silicone? Will a utility knife/boxcutter work to score the eggcrate? Prolly shoulda put this in a different thread...heh, sorry!

 

[justDIY]

use a 2 part epoxy for the best hold

if you want to experiment with positioning first, use some silicone, then you can scrape it off and start over

use a drywall knife or one of those big box cutters, something that will let you get a good score into the plastic