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Starting over with my tank!

My 75g RR tank build! / Update: Canopy/Lighting

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11 Comments
by
Hat39406
, 07-14-2010 at 11:47 AM (2748 Views)
I was going to do one big update but decided to break it up. This part is about my canopy. The system I got was a few years old and was really a fixer upper.

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Son-in-law Tim helping me! They had some bad wood on canopy, looked like it wasn't seal to great! He took off all bad wood.

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He replaced with all new wood. Notice I taped off the VHO caps to get ready for sealing and painting. I actually after this pick removed all VHO everything from the rear of the canopy to get ready to install T-5's in rear.

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I went with a 2/54 watts light strip with a 420 actinic and a 10,000k white. I had to retro it into my canopy.

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Oh, this is my sassy doggie (chihuahua) Tia. She in her blue jean skirt and top outfit. She was so exicited about new lighting she wanted to get dressed up. :-P

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Left and right side bottom of canopy. You can see how I use L brackets and large/small tie straps to hook up T-5's.

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You can see it lights up the tank nicely.
I'll talk about stand and tank next blog post.

HAT

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‎ Tank Entry , ‎ Electrical , ‎ My tank! , ‎ DIY projects

Comments

  1. tachorn's Avatar
    Hat the tank looks good, can you give more information on your lights. I have a tank just like yours and want to switch from VHO to T5.
  2. Hat39406's Avatar
    Hey Tachorn, thanks for the compliment! The T-5's are ZooMeds 2-54watt, the assembly is 48" bulbs were a little shorter. You have to buy bulbs, did not come with them. If I were you check out hellolights.com because I was going to get some retro kits from them but it fell through. With retro kit you could fit more bulbs under the canopy. ;-)
  3. melev's Avatar
    I'm concerned that your new light system is going to fall into the tank. Those angled L brackets will corrode over time and some stuff may flake off into the water, but that's minor in comparison to zip ties becoming brittle and snapping. The lighting itself will probably accelerate this.

    Since safety comes first, and saving money comes second, I'd like to suggest an alternative that works well and won't cost you anything more than likely:

    Install a wooden strip to each end of the canopy to rest the light fixture on. Wooden blocks won't go anywhere, and don't corrode. If you need to, you can slide the light out easily to work in the tank and then reinsert it when done.
  4. Hat39406's Avatar
    That's actually what I did in the stand wit the T-5's I bought for my old tank. I used wood strips to hang it. I have stainless L brackets, stainless wood screws and I know someone who owns the LFS who uses tie straps to hang his lights over the coral tank. But, I believe when I go to change a bulb I'll do the wood thing. I thought about it this time but thought tie straps would be easier to do maintenance on.
    Updated 07-14-2010 at 06:36 PM by Hat39406
  5. Midnight's Avatar
    Question, Do you not have any kind of reflector under the hood? Seems like I don't see one.
  6. Midnight's Avatar
    ok, I see what I am missing. That is a light fixture hanging form the hood?
  7. Hat39406's Avatar
    Correct, but the VHO's don't have a reflector. The lights in the front.
  8. Midnight's Avatar
    Shouldn't they have a reflector to maximize the efficiency of the lights?
  9. Hat39406's Avatar
    I'm thinking yes, I need to look at some online places to see whaat they have. I've just been busy getting the basics right. ;-)
  10. JABlacher's Avatar
    But, I believe when I go to change a bulb I'll do the wood thing
    I would change the zip ties now simply as a precaution as melev suggested. The direct light on them will deteriorate over time, and the last thing you want is the light falling into the water. You can spend as much money as you want on your tank, but it's always going to be the 5 cent item you skimped on that will fail in the end so why take the chance.
  11. Hat39406's Avatar
    Thanks for the info JABlacher. ;-)