New Canopy Plans & Lighting - Pictures - Page 2 - Finish

[noteworthy]

Hello.

I wanted to show you a picture of my canopy plans and explain my lighting ideas. I can't do MH because of budget but I think my plan should be successful.



http://putfile.com/pic.php?pic=11/33016112422.jpg&s=x12


I plan to get a 220w VHO ballast and run two 110 lamps with reflector, moisture resistant caps, and DIY moonlights from the forums.

I will not be able to set the actinic and 10,000 bulbs on seperately.. they will all come on at the same time. Is this a problem? Moonlights will be on a timer to come on just before the lights cut off.

My tank is a 55 gallon FOWLR atm but I plan to get some corals as soon as I deal with my livestock situation.

Cost of the VHO setup is 145 for everything. DIY Moonlights are 14 and canopy will not cost me anything because my dad has tons of wood laying around.

Comments or questions are welcome.

 

[mp3z24]

if i understand your drawing correctly, you are notching the back to fit a filter?

i think you have decent design, however, i would probably get rid of the front to back center bracing. i dont think you will need it.

also, i would make the sides full size and NOT notch them for the filter(?). i would frame the filter opening in the back of the canopy and have full coverage on the front and sides. i dont know how you plan on covering this framing for the final design, but i doubt you want an opening in the side where you can see the filter. (unless that is part of your deisgn)

one more thing, turning on the actinic and the 10k will be fine. some people like to run the actinic only to simulate dusk and dawn, but there is nothing wrong with turning both on at the same time.

as for corals, you might be limited to mushrooms and soft corals.

oh and nice drawing!!! (just messing with ya)

~mike

 

[noteworthy]

I have the 3" on the side open because my DIY skimmer needs an input. Check my gallery. Its a massive skimmer. Also I thought about the center bracing for leaving a gap for my 1" pvc and canister in/out lines.


Do you think its okay to raise the lights to feed the fish? Or should I mount the lights in the canopy.. rest on some supports and have them not attached to the top?


Well that would be 4wpg.. If I did get 330w that would put it at 6wpg.. I'd be able to keep almost anything correct?

 

[seaham358]

More WPG would be helpful if your thinking anemonies.. I have the icecap ballasts and I love them and I use the URI bulbs which give the tank a great look.
If you get the icecap 660 you can run up too 4x 110 on one ballast. Firing the 2 bulbs as you want at the same time is fine.

 

[mp3z24]

Do you think its okay to raise the lights to feed the fish? Or should I mount the lights in the canopy.. rest on some supports and have them not attached to the top?

having the lights mounted to the lid would be okay, you will probably want to turn them off if you are going to open the lid, just so you dont have to stare at them while you are feeding...

~mike

 

[greenmaji]

I was thinking at least 3 110 watt VHO bulbs when you were talking about this in chat.. you might want to get more oppinons on how much light you might need.. HTH

 

[noteworthy]

220w is 4wpg and good water penetration with my tank depth. Its enough for now.

A) A few questions. Has anyone mounted 48" VHO inside a 55 gallon canopy? If my calculations are correct, the tubes are too long to slip inside the walls of the canopy. Am I wrong in my measurements? Any ideas on how to correct the situation. I want a 12" tall canopy but I need my lights to be lower in the canopy.

B) As for the reflector I was thinking about aluminum flashing. Could I get away with just painting the inside white? Do I have to paint the inside of the canopy to prevent water damage?

 

[JProx]

i have 48" bulbs above my 55gallon tank, so your calcs are slightly off. the canopy i have (made by all - glass aquarium, purchased as a b-day present yrs back) sits an inch over the tank, and the fixture (another all-glass unit, ho though) sits on top the of the tank, and runs the entire length.

i have always liked polished aluminium than a painted white reflector. you can use alumium flashing alot of people use it for this application. you could paint it white if you wanted (remember to use paint that is meant to stick to metal) or just polish it up to a high mirror shine using polishing compound and a dremel to speed things up. it would be a great idea to paint or seal the inside of the canopy. the canopy will be exposed to alot of condensation (from evaporation) and it will warp/twist eventually. sealing/painting it would prevent that, use polyurthane for sealing though not thompson's.

 

[noteworthy]

Ahhh. So I should be able to paint the inside white and put some flashing behind the lights. I think I'll have the lights sit on a board and rest inside the canopy.



Does it matter what type of paint for the wood? Any white paint?

 

[JProx]

i am not 100% sure, but you can't go wrong with a latex paint (completely non toxic) but i would stay away from any oil based at all costs though, hopefully someone else will clarify

 

[greenmaji]

you could add a 3rd lamp with a 4-F32T8 ballast to fire it (20 bucks maybe I got mine for 16 LOL)
and Im not disagreeing with you JProx.. but Im doubt oil based pait would be an issue.. that stuff is very durrible just make sure its good and dry before use (only problem is there working on getting rid of it like they did lead paint and you cant paint over it with latex so just stick to laytex if you think youll need to repaint it some time down the road)

 

[noteworthy]

Project is finished. I have 20+ photos from start to finish. I'm pleased with the design but I couldn't quite make the canopy match the stand because the stand is a laminate over particle board from walmart. The finish is too smooth. My dad and I had fun with this project and he was anxious to see if my measurements were correct.

He had several old 4 ft NO fixtures with reflector laying around. I tore everything off the reflector, drilled 6 holes for my moon lights and hung the lights between my VHO tubes. I hooked up my VHO tubes where the NO bulbs are suppose to go on the fixture. I did flatten out the reflector some to get it to work. Drilled new holes on the end of each bulb side. Hooked it up and we were golden. The 10k and 03 bulbs are much whiter and blue over my NO bulb originally with the tank.


My moonlights turned out the best. Absolutely beautiful! Anyway I had fun with this project and hope you enjoy the pictures to come soon in the future.

 

[noteworthy]

More pictures from start to finish.

 

[noteworthy]

More pictures from start to finish.

 

[noteworthy]

Finished project below -

Tank gap inside measured is 48.25" x 12.75" - The canopy barely squeezed on and set down on the frame inside.

 

[greenmaji]

not too shabby..

 

[noteworthy]

Yeah.. the pictures don't do it justice. Looks nicer in person. Anyway I need to figure out how to hide that wood grain better.. I used a 3" roller on it to get more paint coverage to fill in the gaps. Maybe a one coat bruss will do better.


As for adding and removing water I had an idea.

Greenmaji... you know about my skimmer project.

What if I were to hook a pipe where my collection cup goes.. and elbow it down into a bucket or up as a drop line to add and remove water. All that would be needed is to adjust the output valve.

To remove water simply turn off the return pipe to the tank. My Mag 7 will pump water out to the pumps height. To restore water put the valve back like it was and pour water into the skimmer.

 

[greenmaji]

easiest way to hide the grain... many coats of paint and alot of sanding inbetween coats...

are you talking about some kind of pwc plan with the plumbing?
if so right about anything would work..