Should I retrofit an existing canopy or build a new one?

N

Nokinja

Water on the Brain
Dec 21, 2004
6
0
0
44
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
I've got an empty 75 Gallon tank with a Light-Glo canopy on it which has 2 x 40w Light-Glo flourescent strips. That worked out, I have only 1.06 wpg gallon so i'm in need of more lighting before I start up a low maintenance planted tank.

What i'm looking for in the tank is a well planted, small schooling community tank. I have a large peice of driftwood i'd like to cover in moss, that would be sitting on a bed of riccia fluitian. (high WPG?) I'm not sure what else i'd like for larger plants because I honestly am quite new to the planted tank deal (besides a few val or swords that were the dinner of some Malawi's)

So I guess I have a few questions before I get everything underway. The canopy I have now is essentially useless for what I want, and there's no room under it for anymore bulbs.

What do you recommend I do? Disassemble the canopy for it's innards and attach that to the new hood? (keep in mind I have no electrical know how) I'm at a loss besides forking out another couple hundred dollars for a better canopy when I have half of the equipment at hand, just needing to be retrofitted.

If I were to strip the inside of the canopy I have now, how to you recommend I seal the wiring to keep it from the water and the evaporation?

Next, my issue is substrate. I've been reading a lot about the different substrates used by the members here, but am really confused as to what they are or how they are used. In my tank now is about 60lbs of crushed coral from the Cichlid tank I had going previously. Is that pretty much useless? (cost me a fortune) I'm going to do a bit of googling for that info as well.

I guess that's in for now. I'll be interested to hear any replies from the more experienced plant keepers here.

This hobby will be the starvation of me I swear it. :rolleyes:
 
For most applications in a Freshwater tank, yes it is useless. If your tap water is very soft, save some coral to buffer up the water at a later time if needed however. Instead I suggest that you look into one of the clay based substrates such as Flourite or Eco-complete. Much of the success of a planted tank is determined by it's base, the substrate. IMO, the importance of getting a good one shouldn't be under-estimated.

As to your lighting. The most cost effective way to re-fit your existing fixtures(in my opinion) is to go here: http://www.ahsupply.com/
You will see many options for CF(compact fluorescent) lighting and the dimensions of the pieces which will tell you whether you have enough room in your present hoods to accommodate the wattage you want.
I'm reasonably sure that you'll have plenty of room for a 2X55 set up, but for a 75 gal. you are better off with at least a 2X96 watt set. You will need to measure for inside dimensions of your hoods to determine what will work, size-wise for your purposes.
If the 2X96 won't fit you will need to build a hood to put them in. They have plans(easy) for boxes that will accommodate any light kits that you want.
My suggestion is that once you decide what you want that you call the number posted on the site and talk with Kim. He is honest and very helpful at making suggestions and will give you information and answers to any questions that you might have.
All the kits are water resistant, but it's almost a necessity that you put them over a glass canopy to protect your investment from moisture and deflect some of the heat that that much light will produce. They are also very easy to put together and are backed by AH.
I have purchased from them on three separate occasions. On one of them Kim actually offered me an option that saved me money.
I would not take anything you now have apart until you examine your options after measuring the insides of them. You may have to build a new canopy and if that turns out to be the case you'll still have the old ones in tact for future tanks. This hobby is quite addictive. :thud:
Hope this is of some assistance to you.

Len
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom