Advice needed

[putemup]

I am in the process of having a new canopy made for my tank. My wife and I are having a debate about where the Led power supply should be mounted.

The question I have is should I have the canopy designed in a way so that I can mount the Led power supply in the canopy or will mounting the power supply in the canopy cause the lights to fail and or a fire hazard from overheating of the power supply.

All suggestions are welcomed.

 

[spiderman097]

is this a diy power supply?

 

[bluespot]

I dont have my LED power supplies inside my canopy due to not wanting to add extra heat inside the canopy and potentially exposing them to salt residue/splashes.

 

[rdnelson]

BlueSpot;855020 wrote: I dont have my LED power supplies inside my canopy due to not wanting to add extra heat inside the canopy and potentially exposing them to salt residue/splashes.

This would be my reasoning. I wouldn't be too concerned about them causing a fire but if they are remote you are removing that hear from the canopy and therefore the tank.


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[putemup]

What about if I mounted the power supply's to the outside rear of the canopy. This would aleviate most of the exposure to salt as well as keep the heat down in the tank as well.
Keep in mind that I plan on keeping the majority of the rear of the canopy open in an effort to allow the heat from the lights to escape but I could leave enough material on each side for the lights to mount.

Where do you guys keep your power supplies? I considered placing them under the tank but honestly there's no more room. I purchased 2 Maxspect razor (LED's) and each has its own power supply module.

 

[picoreefguy]

i keep mine on the stand directly behind the tank. its been there 1.5 years with no problems yet

 

[rdnelson]

Mine are built into the fixture housing.


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[curtismaximus]

rdnelson99;855067 wrote: Mine are built into the fixture housing.


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+1

I would like to see the power supply itself. What type of fixture is it?

 

[sharkbait]

BlueSpot;855020 wrote: I dont have my LED power supplies inside my canopy due to not wanting to add extra heat inside the canopy and potentially exposing them to salt residue/splashes.

This is the best advice you could get. Remove as much heat from the canopy as possible. Not that LED's put out heat like a MH fixture would, but even then you don't see anyone with their MH ballast inside their canopy. There are just too many issues that could happen, power supply drops in the tank, salt creep shorts out the power supply, the added heat the power supply puts out, etc. Just put it anywhere else but under your canopy.

 

[bluespot]

I have 3 Maxspect Mazzara P series modules so a total of 2 power supplies. I mounted the two inside the stand next to the doors. Even with most of the back of the canopy open to fight heat I would hesitate mounting them on the inside. You still have water and salt creep to deal with. My main concerns about mounting on the outside of the back of the canopy would be 1. Getting to them if they need to be replaced and more importantly 2. The limited space between the back of the canopy and the wall trapping heat and shortening the life of your power supplies. Maxspect power supplies are not cheap.

You may need to rearrange the inside of your cabinet to find the space. I did on my corner tank and found enough room to fit a calcium reactor and tank. You just need enough room to mount them to a vertical surface in the stand as far from the sump water as possible.

Edit: Oh yeah....since you don't have concrete plans for the canopy, have you thought about having a raised decorative moulding around the top of the canopy and putting them on top?

 

[jef4y]

It depends on the canopy too. I'm a HUGE FAN of open top canopies to allow air circulation and cut down on weight. But even with my open canopy, I still have my power supplies mounted on a board behind the tank (or dangling in the mess of wires back there). Heat, salt creep, and the possibility of one dropping in the tank are my big reasons.

In the end, the less crap you have hanging over the tank, the better off you are IMHO.

 

[putemup]

As tacky as this may seem, it looks like I may have to bolt the power supply boxes on the outside of the stand due to the amount of heat that could be produced in the canopy, salt creep and the possibility of them falling into the tank. I briefly considered mounting them on the rear of the canopy but I don't have enough space between the tank and the wall.

Mounting under the stand will still create the water hazard and there is still a tremendous amount of salt creep. Also it's already pretty tight under there.

Someone asked about size of the individual boxes. ( about 4 inches thick, 10 inches long, 8 inches wide)

 

[jef4y]

If your canopy is tall enough you might be able to mount them on the top way towards the back.

Edit: (and the height just matters so short people can't see the power supplies. hehe =)

 

[rdnelson]

JeF4y;855222 wrote: If your canopy is tall enough you might be able to mount them on the top way towards the back.

Edit: (and the height just matters so short people can't see the power supplies. hehe =)

Hey!!!! I resemble that remark!!!!!


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[jef4y]

Exactly! So Rich will never see your power supplies! haha...