Ordered my lights!! Should be here friday :)

[Dimdim]

You can have a lid with this, as long as its exactly the same dimensions as your tank, and fits flush with the ends of your tank youll be good to go! Ill take a pic when i get home for ya

 

[TommyP]

Thanks alot.

 

[Jimmye4fish]

You can have a lid with this, as long as its exactly the same dimensions as your tank, and fits flush with the ends of your tank youll be good to go! Ill take a pic when i get home for ya

Yeah my canopy barely hangs off the sides (1/8-1/4" gap) on the sides. The back is fully open though. I'm ordering a light this week for sure.

 

[Jimmye4fish]

Also, can you measure from the top of the tank to the top of the light please? I want to see how close it will be to the canopy. If I go T5 I will prob either cut out some vents on the top of the canopy or if there is a good amount of clearance I might even add a couple small fans. Still debating in my mind. LOL

 

[TommyP]

I'm thinking about getting this set up pending pictures - I keep going back and forth to the 120w Leds because they're $300 for two units ( i have a 55g tank ) but this unit for the 6 bulb t5 is only 180 free shipping but have to replace bulbs every year - hmmmm

 

[Dimdim]

Distance is 3 inches, good luck with a canopy and this t5 fixture... U cannot hang it, youd spend more money trying to mod it to hang the. Buying a good t5 fixture imo a canopy on a sw tank is not worth the hassles also prevents gas exchange

 

[Jimmye4fish]

I'm thinking about getting this set up pending pictures - I keep going back and forth to the 120w Leds because they're $300 for two units ( i have a 55g tank ) but this unit for the 6 bulb t5 is only 180 free shipping but have to replace bulbs every year - hmmmm

I'm in the same boat. Looking at 2 TaoTronics or a 6 bulb T5 for my 75 gallon. It's a tough decision for me. Which LEDs are you looking at?

 

[TommyP]

These one's here. They're dimmable, LED, 120w, 3w, blue & white. I just don't know how to mount them if I get these, and they're so expensive upfront compared to only 180...

2 Dimmable 120W Aquarium Coral Reef Fish Tank White Blue LED Light White Expower | eBay

 

[Jimmye4fish]

Those look pretty nice. Similar to the TaoTronics for $129 each but I'm not sure what the difference is. I will check it out when I get home.

 

[TommyP]

Those look pretty nice. Similar to the TaoTronics for $129 each but I'm not sure what the difference is. I will check it out when I get home.

yeah check it out, from the research I've done it seems like the main difference is that these are dimmable and the Taotronics are not...

 

[Dimdim]

Those led pendants can ONLY be hung and NEED to be at least 12" away from the water or u risk the chance of burning everything up due to too much light, 90degree optics are standard so if your tank is more then 14 inches deep look into bigger optics, i was gonna be led then decided t5 was the way to go, tommy . IMO t5s are the way to go if your unsure about leds. Beside im willing to put my money on it that in two years time well be able to pick up 120w dimmable cree led fixtures for around 100 120 bucks DOMESTIC

 

[Dimdim]

Here a pic of the mounting legs tommy

 

[Jimmye4fish]

The main reason I want to go LED is to keep my canopy on. My canopy is 8" from the waters surface. Worse case cenario I can cut a hole out the same size and the LED lights and mount them flush with the tips of the lights sticking up thru the canopy. I'm pretty good with wood work so I can hide it pretty easy.

 

[TommyP]

Thank you. It looks like a lid would fit but may not be able to open it correctly with that overhang there.

 

[Jimmye4fish]

So are the brackets 3" tall? I think this will work with my canopy.

 

[Dimdim]

You can extend the legs out along the track you see in the one pic, but yea flipping open the canopy might not work, you could try a sealed canopy with a groove cut out from the center front peice of the canopy to feed and what not?

 

[Robert_ellis]

Here is how I did mine which would lower the lights. I have a larger canopy but the braces on the side wouldn't allow use of legs but maybe the pic will give you some ideas...