I know where you are at on that one. My GF is very irritated and work called wondering what the hell I have been doing the last few weeks. I don't think they are going to understand when I tell them... oh you know... light installation and sump quieting projects.
Canopy design ideas
- Thread starter tsciarini
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I used molex connectors for everything going into my canopy. I can take the canopy off and have no wires dangling to worry about. I have a CAT5 inline splice for the RKII and I made 2 notches on the rear bottom of the canopy, so my 2 Tunze cords and my temp probe can stay in the tank when I take the canopy off.
I also went so far as to cut the Tunze cords in 1/2 and then use spade connectors to re-attach them, so when I want to clean them, I just disconnect the connectors and then I can pull the pump out of the tank and clean it.
I also took some time off of work to finish the canopy. I just couldn't sit there at work with not much to do at all, when I had so much work at home I could be doing.
Very bad trait to have.
Mav - Love your canopy. :up: Excellent work and well worth the time and effort you put into it. The RK2 framed in is super nice. The front flip design is probably how I am going to do (actually redo) my FW tank.
Tony - I think Cameron mentioned my idea of using a motorized lift to solve a couple of the problems you are facing. I really wanted to stick with the All-Glass Modern Series stand and canopy. The canopy is rather short at only 8" and finishes the whole setup with more of a furniture look. I also like the lower profile of a short canopy and wanted to keep things simple...ahem. :blush:
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I have been leaning towards using only T5's to light this tank as I am really more interested in keeping a school of 8 or so Anthias as my primary animals. The mostly soft corals and some LPS will likely do well with just the T5's.
The T5's are low profile and will fit into this hood no problem...well almost no problem. :confused2:
I have a lot of plumbing over the top of this tank from my closed loop with 4 outlets and one big honkin intake pipe.
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The motorized lift has required the installation of 1x4 crossbeams in the canopy and large shelf brackets to mount the canopy/crossbeams to the heavy duty slides. I have another crossbeam that the lift motor attaches to. Then there is the power supply and wiring for the light and the lift motor. :doh:
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Mounting the lights and wiring around all of this stuff has proved to be a challenge. Well...so much for keeping things simple. :confused2:
Once I get all this installed it may actually be cool to just bump a switch and up goes the canopy off the tank...feed the fish, scrape the glass, place a new coral...bump the switch again and the canopy goes back down - and the whole time the lights are still on...hopefully with minimal blinding. I promise I will post a video of the canopy lift when I get it finished and working.
Tony - I think Cameron mentioned my idea of using a motorized lift to solve a couple of the problems you are facing. I really wanted to stick with the All-Glass Modern Series stand and canopy. The canopy is rather short at only 8" and finishes the whole setup with more of a furniture look. I also like the lower profile of a short canopy and wanted to keep things simple...ahem. :blush:
I have been leaning towards using only T5's to light this tank as I am really more interested in keeping a school of 8 or so Anthias as my primary animals. The mostly soft corals and some LPS will likely do well with just the T5's.
The T5's are low profile and will fit into this hood no problem...well almost no problem. :confused2:
I have a lot of plumbing over the top of this tank from my closed loop with 4 outlets and one big honkin intake pipe.
The motorized lift has required the installation of 1x4 crossbeams in the canopy and large shelf brackets to mount the canopy/crossbeams to the heavy duty slides. I have another crossbeam that the lift motor attaches to. Then there is the power supply and wiring for the light and the lift motor. :doh:
Mounting the lights and wiring around all of this stuff has proved to be a challenge. Well...so much for keeping things simple. :confused2:
Once I get all this installed it may actually be cool to just bump a switch and up goes the canopy off the tank...feed the fish, scrape the glass, place a new coral...bump the switch again and the canopy goes back down - and the whole time the lights are still on...hopefully with minimal blinding. I promise I will post a video of the canopy lift when I get it finished and working.
Somebody on Reefcentral already made a motorized canopy, It had 4 threaded rods extending down through the celing of his house and into each corner of his canopy. One motor turned all 4 rods at the same time and the canopy rode up the rods in perfect line. He had large nuts in each corner of the canopy welded to plates that were scerwed into the corners. Real slick, can't remember the motor he used, but having 4 rods coming through the sheetrock ceiling is a little extreme.
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Casper, you can sun tan under that 3rd pic... Nice job!
Hey guys and gals,
I'm setting up my canopy and am curious what everyone does when you're using two fans. I have a Corallife 48" retrofit - 2X150w MH and 2X PC with lunar lights. I will be using two fans. Should I mount them both on the same side blowing in or mount one on each with one blowing in and the other blowing out?
I'll post pics of my canopy tonight when I get home.
Thanks
Doug
I'm setting up my canopy and am curious what everyone does when you're using two fans. I have a Corallife 48" retrofit - 2X150w MH and 2X PC with lunar lights. I will be using two fans. Should I mount them both on the same side blowing in or mount one on each with one blowing in and the other blowing out?
I'll post pics of my canopy tonight when I get home.
Thanks
Doug
Either point them both in or both out. If one is in and one is out, you effectively only have one fan running. Depends on location. This is a very general statement. If you are mounting them to the top of your canopy, blowing out is best. If they are underneath or on the sides, blowing in is best.
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If you check out one of my pics, you will see two fans mounted on the side. I also cut a few 1/4" slots above my MH reflectors to let the heat escape.
From the research I have done and from other people's experiences, this seems to be the best way. Couple of fans blowing across the water for evaporative cooling and then holes or slots above the MH's to let the heat rise and escape the canopy. Helps alot when you can have the back of the canopy open also, to help with heat dissipation.
Quick note on fans blowing out, alot of people have premature fan failure due to the buildup of salt that accumulates on the fan and motor from blowing the air out. Just something to think about.
From the research I have done and from other people's experiences, this seems to be the best way. Couple of fans blowing across the water for evaporative cooling and then holes or slots above the MH's to let the heat rise and escape the canopy. Helps alot when you can have the back of the canopy open also, to help with heat dissipation.
Quick note on fans blowing out, alot of people have premature fan failure due to the buildup of salt that accumulates on the fan and motor from blowing the air out. Just something to think about.
