I have noticed since switching out my PC for T5 my tank was hotter. Well over the Christmas weekend, no A/C was on, the tank got up to 84-86 degrees this will never survive a FL summer. It fried a few corals. They turned black in one day. The T5 are mounted under a canopy running on an ice cap ballast. This is generating more heat than the old PC I had for years. I would like to keep the canopy but can remove the flip top. The canopy is wood, matches the stand and hides on the hang-on things which would be visible, tank is in living room so total removal is not an opion.
The tank is a 4', 55 gallon. I am thinking of removing the flip top which would create an opening of 4'X8" to allow more heat the escape. This would loose 2 of the t5, I would still have 2, one mounted at the front and one on the back of the canopy, angled toward the center of tank. Could I get away with a small MH maybe 150 watt that would be 12"X8". This would allow a few feet of open canopy for the heat to get out. It seems to me the extra open space will work better than those tiny cooling fans.
The tank is a 4', 55 gallon. I am thinking of removing the flip top which would create an opening of 4'X8" to allow more heat the escape. This would loose 2 of the t5, I would still have 2, one mounted at the front and one on the back of the canopy, angled toward the center of tank. Could I get away with a small MH maybe 150 watt that would be 12"X8". This would allow a few feet of open canopy for the heat to get out. It seems to me the extra open space will work better than those tiny cooling fans.
