DIY Canopy - lighting questions

[jinmon]

Hey guys! This is my first post here (other than in the introduction forum) - nice to meet y'all!

Okay, so I bought a 40 gallon regular tank and stand combo and it came with a glass lid. Now, I have cats - lots of cats (felines, not catfish) - and they're BIG. That glass lid makes me nervous, so my dear husband is going to build a canopy for the top of this tank (no one told me a stock sized tank would have NO commercially available full hoods, gr!)

Anyway, the canopy design's not looking too tricky, but I don't know much about common lighting stuff. I can get lots of info on what bulbs I want (looking at T5 HO or compact flourescents, I want a light-to-moderately planted tank eventually) but what I don't really know is what are my options for putting the lights in the canopy? Everything I've seen says to mount the lights to the inside top of the canopy, but I'm curious - can I get one of the light strips with the little feet that sit on the edge of the tank rim and just put it under the canopy, completely unattached to anything? Or will it not fit or otherwise be a terrible idea? If that won't work, can I attach one of these complete fixtures to the top of the canopy somehow? Or do I really need to just buy a retrofit kit/DIY thing from AH Supply or something? I want to ensure that whatever I have light-wise is protected from splashing and condensation by glass or acrylic, and some of the ready-made lighting fixtures have this built in, so I was wondering if I could save some work this way....

I hope this all makes sense, I know I don't know the proper names for these things yet! Thanks in advance for your help!!!

-Julie

 

[mg6682]

The kits from AH Supply and such can be retro-fitted into the strip light you have. You can mount the ballast to the back of the strip if you run out of room. You can also mount the kits directly to the top of your canopy or hood - the end caps are made for this (AH Supply's are anyway). If you're concerned about it, just leave the glass tops on. Also, if you have cats (like me), use at least 1/2", as the 1/4" will get flimsy. Another thing I'd do is to nail the top (where the light is mounted) boards on top of the end pieces for better support (or brace them from the inside). Heres a shot of one I built tonight for reference (all 1/2" from Lowes). I'm going to mount mine directly to the top of the boards.

 

[beviking]

With wood, anything is possible

You could even use an appropriate length shop light mounted to the inside of a hood as in mg6682 post.

Here's an idea...leave the tank lids off and filled with water. Entice the cats to jump up there :Angel: and after they get wet once, they won't go back

 

[Hound]

Heh, my parents used to have this cat that if you weren't watching she would jump into the bathtub with you. Some cats just seem to like water. Some aquariums just don't lend themselves to easy lighting solutions. For your 40g I would look into using ahsupply myself. If you had one of the cf lighting units with legs I'd worry about one of your cats burning a paw trying to get up there. Since you have a glass lid you can get a kit from ahsupply and mount it into a wood canopy without worry of splashing. One thing about using these kits is that they come with some really good reflectors which is something you don't always get when you buy other light fixtures.

 

[mg6682]

With wood, anything is possible

You could even use an appropriate length shop light mounted to the inside of a hood as in mg6682 post.

Here's an idea...leave the tank lids off and filled with water. Entice the cats to jump up there :Angel: and after they get wet once, they won't go back

Funny you say that - this happend to my cat last weekend and she hasnt been on the tank since :bday:

 

[jinmon]

Heh, love the idea of letting the cats take a swim - just put all the aquarium stuff on a GFCI circuit too... nah, don't want to risk it.

I like the stuff from AH Supply, but I'm curious how much light I need. My tank's 36" long, which means I'd need a 96W kit. Too much for a lightly planted tank? I've seen some T5 retrofit kits that are like 2 39W bulbs, which would also mean I could spread out the light over the canopy a bit better. If I DID go with the 96W kit, should I put the light further towards the front of the tank or the back? I actually might be able to almost center it - looks like our canopy design's going to be one where the entire front flips up to rest on the back, but it's about a 40/60 split so if I put the light on the front part of the back section it might be centered... not sure though.

Thanks! BTW - mg6682, that looks like a nice job!

 

[Hound]

From ahsupply you can get a 2x36 watt kit with a 34.5" reflector also. Either this or the 96 watt both come with real good reflectors. Myself I would try to center the lighting or have it just a bit to the back of the aquarium.

 

[jinmon]

Ack! Not MORE options!!! Thanks though, I missed the 2 bulbs, one reflector option...hmmmm....

 

[beviking]

It's a 40gal tank 36"long? How wide is it? If it's 18" wide (front to back) and you're placing a 4" wide bulb with an ah reflector, you may end up with a bright foreground (if you place it near the front) or visa versa for the rear. It could lend itself to a neat affect though. Personally, I don't bother with the reflectors and painted the inside of the hood white so the light was more dispersed. Just an idea

 

[jinmon]

It's only 15" wide (front to back). I guess I need to decide how much light I want in there overall - 72W? 96W? More? I think 96 would be sufficient... maybe?