Canopy Question

[Jiddy]

I just the tank! Oceanic 90 Gal RR with black ABS stand and canopy... anyways:


I just bought a Oceanic ABS canopy for my tank. Its like a plastic type canopy. And I bought a 2 250w 2 T-5 Retro Kit. Ive never had MH's before and wanted to know how I can mount my lights above the tank since I dont think the ABS canopy will be strong enough to hold all that gear and heat up. I could be wrong but if anyone has the Oceani ABS hood with lights Id love to see and hear what you did.

 

[Scooterman]

http://www.elmersaquarium.com/k4095ocwave.htm

Does it look like this but black?

 

[Jiddy]

Yes thats the one one, but black. Im going to have to build a frame to support it.....

 

[lizardarm]

I think that I had read (quite a while back) that that canopy was not halide-safe. Also, that canopy isn't very tall and I'd think that it wouldn't leave enough clearance above water to safely mount halides.

 

[Puffer Princess]

Are you serious, why didnt i hear this before?? What are we going to do Jiddy?????

 

[Scooterman]

I would definitely check into that from the manufacturer. Worst case send the canopy back & build you one out of wood, their easy enough to make & paint black. I like about 14" maybe 12" of hood clearance, If you could build a 1"x6" frame that mounts around the tank & the hood sit on top of that, then you could hang the reflectors with small chain as I did & shouldn't be a problem. One way or the other I'd say you can figure this out easily enough.

 

[DonW]

The reflectors you bought are tiny and have a glass cover. If the canopy is tall enough you will be fine. The heat is not that high and a small stand off will be fine. The weight will be next to nothing. The ballast are the majority of the weight and they can go elsewhere. I think if you can get some pics and measurments it would be helpful.

Don

 

[Jiddy]

Tank: L 48.5 x W 29 x H 18

Canopy: L 49 x W 8 x H 19

Stand: L 19 x W 49 x H 32

All from http://www.oceanicsystems.com/products/contrast-stand.htm

When they say width, I think its more like what you'd think of as Height. My LFS has the same canopy and its only 8" tall, but 19" from front to back.

 

[Brenden]

I have a oceanic canopy but on a 144 alf cylinder tank. I bought some 1" square aluminum from Lowes and bolted the MH's directly to it. I cut the aluminum the length of the tank so the weight is supported directly by the sides. Never had a problem

 

[Jiddy]

Is your oceanic canopy the ABS or wood

 

[Scooterman]

8" is too short IMO, make a riser to jack it up 6" & you should be fine, don't over complicate it, main thing is to get air across the water surface & blow the heat out & you shouldn't have issues with melting plastic.

 

[Jiddy]

Well if Brenden would chim in, hes got a similar setup

 

[Jiddy]

Okay, if you were me and didnt want to retro-kit the setup you just bought for $600 and from reading Hellolights return policy I wont have to pay a restocking fee if I take the store credit, what Metal Halide setup would you get? or would you pay the double shipping and 10% restock fee and do something else with the remaining $400 in your lighting budget.....

 

[Jiddy]

Like this

http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1378

 

[Jiddy]

Or this:

http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=352

 

[Scooterman]

Jiddy I think Retro seems to bother you more than it should. basically retro you connect the ballast to the light, hang the reflector & plug it in, all in one unit you still have to hang it & plug it in. This hood issue will be the same regardless, I say Man it up & at least try what you got first I really believe you have what it takes to make this work, no offense!

 

[Jiddy]

Thanks... i think, lol. Heres my concerns. Heat of metal halides on the ABS plastic canopy. Heat to the water because the hood is only 8" tall.... other than that. Im okay. Brenden, who is a close friend of mine, has the same setup and I asked for pics but he never showed, but he has a chiller.... wouldnt getting a T-5 setup that is only 5in tall be so much easier.

 

[Scooterman]

I think the T5's are a good choice & may not heat up as much but you have the Mh on the way?

 

[Jiddy]

The metal halides will be at my house tomorrow, they are in my city Fed-Ex.....

 

[Scooterman]

Lighting can be difficult to figure out what you want, very opinionated. I think you can keep lots of corals under T5's as It has been shown to work well, depending on several factors like types of lamps used, how often you replace them, this makes a big difference, just like the types of corals you keep. I don't know how much heat will build up with 8 t5's as compared to two mh's.