[SteveJess2000]

Hey guys!

I am STILL trying to decide on my lighting. I have the old bootleg standard comes with the fishtank lights. It's a 55G 48' Long. There are two individual 24inch canopy's and the tank is also separted right down the middle.

What do you think I should do here? Build my own canopy? If that is the suggestion I am gonna need some serious help!

I am looking to keep an anemone eventually when my tank matures. AND after more reading and experience. Thanks in advance!!!.


Steve

 

[mojoreef]

Steve the stock lights can sometimes keep some very low light requiring corals but not much at best. I would suggest building a canopy so you can retro fit some proper lights. If you dont have the tools or skill, most small furnature building stores could do it for you if you gave them good details. As per help fire away when you need a second opinion.
On the anemone, make sure you read up real good , they dont have a real good track record in closed systems, however some folks that really put the time and energy inot roviding a good enviroment have had sucess.

Good luck


Mike

 

[Mrs Smith]

My vote is to build your own canopy. I've done it, and we helped Jeremy1973 build his a couple of weeks ago. It's not as bad as it sounds. (And there are dueling craftsmen here - if you could call them that! :funny: Just check out ReefDave's and Thefatman's posts.)

So you're looking at MH? VHO? Torn between the two? I'm a MH fan - best option out there for anemones - and lots of other things, too. But that's just me. It's a tough decision, and you'll have to go with something you'll be happy with. (And preferably can reuse on the bigger tank you'll eventually end up getting!)

Danielle

 

[SteveJess2000]

Then I guess it settled. I am going to build my own!

I am not that much of a DIY'er but I did do all the plumbing for my tank. This hobby has really kicked me into gear. LOL!

I have read all of Jay's posts and I don't think there is anyway in hell that I could ever build anything to compare to his work! But I am willing to try. How much cheaper will it be to Build my own MH canopy? And how do I get started?


Steve!

 

[mojoreef]

Well sounds like were in for a ride, hehehe
On on the canopy you have to decide if you are going to use Metal halides or not. (I would suggest to if you have a chance at an anemone). If so you want to make it so the canopy is at least 11 to 13 inches high, this will give you enough clearance for the bulbs to sit. You must also concider putting fans in the canopy to cool the heat generated by the bulbs. These fans can be purchased online or at most radio shacks. The canopy can be completely closed in or open it the back. Open i the back is better for air cirulation but also will allow the light to shine out the back of it.

So make some choices and we go from thier.


Mike

 

[SteveJess2000]

Okay.....

My tank is up against a wall. I think I am going to go for the MH. T-he heck with it. lol. I will also take the fans. I don't want to fry my fish. (when I get them) lol.

I am really really clueless.



Steve

 

[thefatman]

steve, building a canopy for mh vs vho is goign to be a cost differance of like 5 bucks at most

that's speaking strictly of the hardware/wood/stain etc.. i'm not speaking from a lighting standpoint. THOSE are gonna be a major cost differance.

if you want an easy canopy, check out my first one. it was built for less than 30 bucks in parts. if i remember correctly. all it took was some 1x2's and a sheet of luanne, or 1/4" plywood, and a few small pieces of 1/2"x8" for the doors. add a little trim and it's done.

you can check it out here: http://www.angelfire.com/alt/reef/diyprojects.html#Canopy

and was built for the same 55g tank you have. if you like i can measure all of the boards, and take some more precise closeup photos for ya. fyi i also made it large enough to accomodate a 75 gallon tank it also now supports 4" 46.5" bulbs over the tank.

i'll be happy to help ya out on this one. and what's best, if you aren't too handy with cutting wood, HD can cut it all for ya at no cost

there are SOME folks around here that might question your manhood, by having wood cut for you. but i'l lremind them that you are a cop with a license to shoot people. .they'll back off :funny: :funny:

 

[SteveJess2000]

Jay,

I bookmarked that page you just sent me. WOW!

Also....I think I know you from somewhere.....are you really Bob Villa? What do you think the entire price of the canopy project will be? Including the MH?

And people can call me whatever they want.....but at least I'll have all ten of my fingers. :funny:


Steve

 

[thefatman]

lmao!!!

well, i know it'll run about 30-40 for the lumber, screws, etc.. and maybe 10 bucks for a small container of stain and polyeurathane.

now as for the cost of MH's heheheheh there are as many choices on what type of mh to get, what wattage, what color, what brand as there are fish in the sea

good luck figuring out that part!!!

i'll take some more measurments of the canopy too, if you decided to follow that model. there are many different ways to make one, i jsut found this to be a quick and easy way to do it, and provided a lightweight canopy that's easy to take down when needed.

good luck and have fun!!!!

 

[SteveJess2000]

Sounds good. I'll follow your plan......what should I get at my first Home Depot trip?

One more problem my stand is gloss black! So I don't think i want to stain the wood.

Oh yeah and the measurements.........so they can CUT IT FOR ME!!!!!!!! there I said it. LOL.



Steve

 

[thefatman]

lolol tomorrow morning when i get home from the office i'll measure all the framing for you.

painting will be even easier than staining

i already know the measurements on your tank, but how deep is your stand? do you want the canopy the same size as the stand, or the same size as the tank? i'm talking front to back here.

either way, i'll send a materials list in the morning, then i'll jsut note which pieces to resize, depending on how big you want the canopy to be.

 

[SteveJess2000]

My stand is the same size as the tank.....(it sucks) <--maybe my next project.

I guess I should have it the same size of the tank then huh? Or else it might look dumpy.

Thanks Jay.....I'll be here in the morning for that list and sizes.

Steve!

 

[Geoff]

your in good hands with Jay helping you.

as for the MH's, with your tank i do not really seen the need to go with anything any higher than 2-175w MH. with only 55g anything bigger would cause some serious heat issues, and i do not think you want to have to get a chiller. i would also thow a couple of NO actinics in there if you can. i do not think you need VHO's or PC in there with only 175watters, but i am sure others have opinions on this one.

you will be looking for MH retro kits. these include everything you need, but not the bulb. they are just the raw parts, so you can set them up any way you need to in your canopy.

G~

 

[ReefDave]

Mrs Smith...dueling craftsman....im far from that!!!

As for the canopy the very first one I ever built was extremly simple....

I measured the size of the top of my tank, then build a 1X2 frame. I used 1/4" paneling that looked like wood slats to skin this frame. Then I cut a 1/2 inch peice of plywood that I had laying around the garage and bought 4 heavy duty hinges to raise and lower the top. I capped the corners with 1" corner moulding.

The end result was a 15 dollar canopy (I had most of the materials at home already) and it matched the stand almost perfectly.

I would not build that exact canopy again as I had to reach up to high to get my hand in the tank, and ended up taking the whole canopy off everytime I wanted to work in the tank, but it was still cheap and easy to do.

Follow Jay's advice as its worked well for me so far, and feel free to PM me for information as I have plagerized<sp> his work pretty well to date.

Also keep your eyes open I hope to steal a camera sometime this week/weekend and get a few pictures of my stand progress out for some comparison shots with Jay's.....

Dave

 

[ReefDave]

Sorry Steve,
I just read your 2nd to last post. If you are considering re-working your stand, perhaps doing both at the same time is the way to go. This will allow you to save some on lumber, and get a good match between the two. Like Jay said if you are not an avid DIYer go ahead and have HD cut your lumber for you.....in hindsite I wish I would have had them cut my framing. I spent one whole day sanding the legs to make them exactly the same length.....im sure jay didn't have to do that letting HD use that giant radial arm saw!

As much as it pains me to say it, if you don't ahve the tools, time or skill, letting them cut it is the way to go! (see also "I used to be a man...." thread)

Dave

 

[thefatman]

steve, here are the measurments from a different canopy i built. i really think this is a much easier route to take. it might cost about 10 dolalrs more in the end, but will be well worth it. it's much easier to put together, and will be much sturdier as well.

this canopy was also made for a 55 aga

i'll attach some photos too. bearing in mind, this canopy was made simply to house a tank with versa hoods, so it's not as tall as the measurments i'll give you. since yo uare going with mh's you will want to make this canopy using at least 1x10 or 1x12 lumber. it was also made to be larger than the tank, so that it would accept a 75 tank in the future. so the sides are longer than the measurement i'm giving you.

this is also an open back canopy, which is what you want.

if you are REALLY bad with diy, you may want to look in the shelving section instead of the lumber section and get 3/4" x10 or 3/4"x12 then you will havea lot less sanding to do once you slap it all together.

measurments:
1x2 12 3/4" long (2 of these) side supports
1x2 48 1/4" long (2 of these) top front/back supports
1x10 or 1x12 12 2/3" long (2 of these) sides
1x10 or 1x12 49 3/4" long (1 of these) front
1/4" plywood 49 3/4"x13 1/2" (1 of these) top

you can put trim around the front and sides if you like, or not.

being as this is an mh canopy, i would also get:
1x8 24" long (2 of these) for doors

what yo uwould do then is cut open two door holes in the front 1x2 and then cover them with these two smaller 1x8's OR do one really long door in the front. the options are endless and simply based on how you want the tank to look.

and of course, you'll need four brass hinges.

you'll notice from the pics that i did not stain or polyeurathane the inside of this canopy. big mistake. moisture is a mother! i highly recommend that you DO polyeurathane the inside of this.

if you've never used it before, they sell some stuff at hd and lowes, that is by minwax, it's a wipe on poly. just pour it on a rag, and wipe it on. wait for it to dry and do it again. since it;s inside and not visible, you dont really need to worry about sanding in between coats. i would do 3-4 coats, with no sanding.

if you have ANY questions, jsut ask, feel free to pm me too.

i'm here for ya!

 

[thefatman]

here is a top view of the canopy

 

[thefatman]

here is the inside view, so you can see how it all slaps together

 

[thefatman]

this is a closeup of the sides. so you can see how those go together. the 1x2 support is raised 1 1/2" from the bottom. this allows the support to rest on the sides of the tank, and will allow the sides to overlap the tank moulding. this does two things, it covers the tank trim, and it keeps the canopy in place. if your stand is balc, and the trim is black and the canopy will be black, you dont really need to have it overlap completley. it looks a bit nicer, but not necessary. you could raise it and have it overlap only about 1/2" or so. this would give you more room on top to keep the mh's away from the water surface.

 

[thefatman]

and finally a view on the tank. this canopy as i said, does not house any lights, it's jsut there to cover the versa hoods on the tank. so it was made using 1x6 boards, instead of 1x12's. you'll need the larger boards, to keep the lights high off the surface.