Lighting Suggestions

[Cylon]

I'm building a canopy for my 125 gal African tank. Now the problems are:

1. I know the basics about lighting.
2. I have to build the canopy at least 13 inches tall. Don't want to make it to much taller because it may be hard for my wife to lift the front doors up all the way. Has to be at least 13 inches because I have a emperor penguin over the back waterfall filter. Somehow, I have to be able to clear the light to remove the filter threw the canopy to break it down for cleaning. I have to strip it down because the sand crews up the impellers. The filter has to clear the light so I need a low profile light to mount it to the top of the canopy.
3. The light needs to be bright enough to shine from at least a foot above the water to the bottom of the sand and I would like to grow moss.
4. I'm cheep so if you could post a link to where you would buy the light and the model you think would work best for me.
5. The canopy is going to be 27 ½ inches wide.

I'm going to paint the inside of the canopy gloss white.
I also run a Fluval 404 canister filter.
As you can see the light I have is so tall.


Thanks lots
Cylon

 

[Chichevache]

Have you considered building the light directly into the ceiling of the canopy? That way you will hopefully have the clearance you need underneath the lights.

 

[Cylon]

Thanks for your reply
Yes, That is what I would love to do. I want to mount the light to the top panel of the canopy. The light would be about a foot above the water. Need something to penetrate the distance. Not sure if T5s are right for me or LED. Thinking I might have to spend a lot on LED bulbs for the amount of coverage and to be able to grow moss. I'm sure anything would be thinner than what I have on the picture above.

 

[xUnRaTeDxxRkOx]

T5HO are sufficient enough to grow moss, depending on the reflector/s on the lighting system is what will either raise/decrease the PAR the T5HO bulbs are able to produce. Whereas going with LED's can be difficult because not just any ol LED will be able to grow plants, and LED fixtures are costly at this point in time.

I would suggest looking into a 72" T5HO lighting fixture because the overall cost of the fixture would definitely benefit you compared to going with LED.


Here's a low priced Odyssea 72" T5HO - http://www.aquatraders.com/72-inch-4x80W-T5-Aquarium-Light-Fixture-p/52307.htm


If not the Odyssea then you start getting into the Nova Extreme 72" fixture around $400+, or the Aquatic Life 72" fixture around $500+. If it were me I would just go with 2x48" T8 shoplights from HomeDepot and install in each end of the canopy this way they'll provide you with a fair amount of lighting, and give you 24" of brighter lighting in the middle of the tank where they criss-cross.

http://www.homedepot.com/Lighting-F...splay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051

Plus as you can see in the HomeDepot link that price is super cheap
I went with this route with one of my 55 gallon setups, I got a 4x32w T8 shoplight on the tank, but I had to remove 2 of the bulbs because with all 4 bulbs running it was just way to bright and causing diatom algae to explode all over the tank. Plus the shoplight I'm using is only 3" tall, and I plan to install a 1/4" thick piece of glass to put under the light fixture in the canopy so water doesn't splash up the bulbs.

 

[Cylon]

Thanks so much xUnRaTeDxxRkOx. That is a huge help. I going to look at all your links now.

 

[Chichevache]

You should also check out http://ahsupply.com/ They have DIY kits that look excellent and are pretty affordable. I found their prices comparable to Home Depot as well. I haven't tried it yet, but it may be worth looking into.

 

[Cylon]

You should also check out http://ahsupply.com/ They have DIY kits that look excellent and are pretty affordable. I found their prices comparable to Home Depot as well. I haven't tried it yet, but it may be worth looking into.

Another great option. Thank you.