Removing Cross Boards From a Canopy

[Ryan S]

Picture heavy.

 

I have 2 boards, approx 2" tall, buy 3/4" wide, by 36" across, that cross brace the marineland built canopy on my tank. I moved one of them to make room for where I mounted the radions. The question is, if I wanted to remove them entirely, would that be okay? Would the canopy stay structurally sound / would it have 0 chance of breaking or failing and dropping my lights into the tank / would the hinged canopy door that opens still work correctly and not be a point of weakness that could cause a failure?

 

The first cross bar is in the very front, the other is about 12" back:

 

In this view, you can see both of the cross bars, the front one is at the bottom:

 

In this view, you can see how I removed the 2nd cross bar in the back, and moved it 6" back or so (and installed it upside down, so the black painted part is against the canopy, and the unpainted part is facing downward...oops):

 

Here is the top of the canopy:

 

I could add some small L brackets around the canopy in the upper inside to make it stronger perhaps?

Edited April 11, 2012 by Ryan S

[Reefoholic]

Isn't it only carrying the two radions? I don't think they are too heavy for that canopy to fall apart. As long as you have every piece supporting each other, you should be fine.

 

I had my AI Sol hanging on a stick in the middle of my canopy and it was totally fine and I think AI Sols are heavier than Radions.

 

Does the top bend at all due to the weight of Radions?

[Origami]

Those braces look like they're intended to keep the canopy from sagging over time. It's not all about resisting the weight of the lights, but also the weight of the plywood itself.

 

I'm not sure what your reason for removing them would be, but if it's to get a larger flat surface to mount to, you could add some blocking and float another piece of material on the blocks to give you that surface.

[Ryan S]

Isn't it only carrying the two radions? I don't think they are too heavy for that canopy to fall apart. As long as you have every piece supporting each other, you should be fine.

 

I had my AI Sol hanging on a stick in the middle of my canopy and it was totally fine and I think AI Sols are heavier than Radions.

 

Does the top bend at all due to the weight of Radions?

 

The radions are very lightweight. They don't add any stress or bend to the top. I am more concerned with the stress caused by the sides of the tank on the canopy sides? Or when I lift up the hinged front door (it's heavy), the stress that might cause on the sides/corners of the canopy without the cross braces?

 

The reason for removing the boards is because I am considering adding some 36" T5s for supplements, and those cross boards are in the way.

[Ryan S]

Those braces look like they're intended to keep the canopy from sagging over time. It's not all about resisting the weight of the lights, but also the weight of the plywood itself.

 

I'm not sure what your reason for removing them would be, but if it's to get a larger flat surface to mount to, you could add some blocking and float another piece of material on the blocks to give you that surface.

 

 

In the photo above, you can see how I mounted the radions flush to the inside of the canopy. If I add 4 39w T5s in reflectors like this, and ran them front to back, like the radions, I figured it would be easier/ideal if they were also mounted flush to the inside of the canopy (they would then stick down about the same distance as the radions). I could just mount them to those 2 crossbars, but they'd stick down lower than the radions, would that be okay?

[Jon Lazar]

Ryan, I would leave the crossbars in place and mount the T5 reflectors to the crossbars. It doesn't look like that would block any light from your LED ficture. A couple of #6 wood screws should hold the weight of the T5 bulb and reflector just fine.

 

Are you planning on mounting all 4 T5 bulbs in the center of the canopy between the two LED fixtures? You might instead consider mounting the reflectors at the left and right sides of the canopy, and angle the reflectors so they point towards the center of the tank. That may help reducing shadowing and give your corals light from more directions.

 

Jon

[Der ABT]

or you could move the bracing above the top aka outside (probably wouldnt even seen them from outside) and screw up thru if they are just there for sagging...

Edited April 11, 2012 by Der ABT

[Ryan S]

Ryan, I would leave the crossbars in place and mount the T5 reflectors to the crossbars. It doesn't look like that would block any light from your LED ficture. A couple of #6 wood screws should hold the weight of the T5 bulb and reflector just fine.

 

Are you planning on mounting all 4 T5 bulbs in the center of the canopy between the two LED fixtures? You might instead consider mounting the reflectors at the left and right sides of the canopy, and angle the reflectors so they point towards the center of the tank. That may help reducing shadowing and give your corals light from more directions.

 

Jon

 

Thanks Jon. I used to have 250w MHs on my old 135g tank. And now the radions. I've never had T5s before, so they are new to me. (But I can't count how many TOTMs I've seen that ran on T5s, so I know they work! - Then again my tank is 27" deep, so I hope they still work on a deep tank!) I will definitely angle them on the sides. That's a great idea.

 

I have 4 T5s right now, but would consider 6 or 8, if I could fit them in the canopy. My current thoughts are:

4T5s: 1 T5/Radion/2 T5/Radion/1 T5. And if I get more,

6T5s: 2 T5/Radion/2 T5/Radion/2 T5 or

8T5s: 2 T5/Radion/4 T5/Radion/2 T5?

 

I'm even considering removing the radions entirely (shut up Travis!) and going with 12 T5s exclusively (the canopy is very shallow, so LEDs or T5s would work with their low profile, but MHs will not unless I cut a square in the center of the canopy and put a large reflector on top of the canopy with a 400w MH (I think being that high would allow for coverage of the entire 36"x36" below?) and then add some T5s on the sides for supplementation? (heck, could cut 2 rectangles and put 2 rectangle reflectors like these side by side above?)

 

Just batting ideas around for now. Cost isn't a factor (at least it's not if I sell the radions). I just want the best lighting setup for a 100% SPS tank. And I don't want "limits" such as SPS only at the top half of the tank. I want to be able to put it anywhere, high or low. And I want good growth and coloration.

[BowieReefer84]

My new tank will be 100% T5, and I used to have led's...

 

In your case I think you should just do a retro kit as you have a canopy to conceal it all.

 

Here is something to look @

 

http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/LET_Lighting/Miro-4_Retrofit_Kits/

 

I think the 8 bulb with another 2 bulb added would be amazing... OR, just get a 4 bulb and mix them in around the perimeter...

[Ryan S]

My new tank will be 100% T5, and I used to have led's...

 

In your case I think you should just do a retro kit as you have a canopy to conceal it all.

 

Here is something to look @

 

http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/LET_Lighting/Miro-4_Retrofit_Kits/

 

I think the 8 bulb with another 2 bulb added would be amazing... OR, just get a 4 bulb and mix them in around the perimeter...

 

The only reservation I have with T5s (39w at least) is multiple websites stating they don't work over 24" in depth. See here for example. "Recommended Tank Depth: up to 30" with carefully planned placement of corals."

 

I don't want to have to "carefully plan" coral placement (or should I accept that is going to be inevitable?). 250w MHs, Radions, T5s = all basically are weak in deep tanks. I feel like I should cut 2 holes in the canopy and plop 2 400w 20k Radium MHs and THEN I could grow sps anywhere?

[Ryan S]

I wish vivid would come out with their comparison results for their 800g experiment:

 

http://www.vividaquariums.com/aquariumLightExperiment.asp

 

Radions vs. 400w & 1000w MHs. Their tank is 30" deep, and their radions are 15" off the surface, vs 8" for mine. (Then again, they are running 12 over that side of the tank, not 2).

[Der ABT]

my 90g is 35 high...i have 2x250mh and 2 54w t5s...im growing sps on the ground (bare bottom) no problem.....

some corals liek high light some med, some low....but i still grow them anywhere....lights are 10 inches from water...actual water depth is like 24.5 inches

 

27 isnt that much different and you have a sand bed so i bet its more like 25 or 24 inches of actual water...i guess measuring would always know for sure...i bet its not as deep as you think...water level is usually 1 inch lower then the top. sand bed is at least 1 inch maybe 2 etc..

i see plenty of 30 in tanks with t5s growing stuff everywhere.

 

or let me try the radion on my frag tank for a while and then forget you gave it to me if i like it.

[Chad]

Breathe.

 

Patience, Ryan.

 

Think.

 

All that is needed to grow corals is water near the right temperature that moves with the right chemistry and some photosythetically active radiation. In the late 90s we grew corals with standard MH bulbs (maybe 6500k, but probably less) and some VHO actinic supplementation and didn't have access to things like PAR meters or reef central or TOTMs to see how things were supposed to be. We just went with something and tried it. Your radions are fine. I don't see any data that you have provided to make me think otherwise.

 

Act.

 

Focus on the BASICS: husbandry. Get your maintenance routine solid. Get your feeding routine solid. Get your testing routine solid. Get your dosing routine solid.

 

DON'T CHANGE A THING. It can take a year or more for the subtle chemistry changes in a tank to equalize.

[Ryan S]

Thanks Chad. I took a good photo of the red planet frag last night. My goal is to resnap the same photo in 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months - And see how it's doing. If it grows and has nice color, the radions stay. If after 3 months it hasn't grown or the color is bad, then reapproach this topic and consider switching to T5s or MHs. I'm definitely not giving up on the radions yet, but I'm definitely cautious at this point. I haven't decided whether I will add the 4 T5s for supplementation now; or later. I will probably wait the 3 months to see what the radions can achieve on their own first.

[ErikS]

........Just batting ideas around for now. Cost isn't a factor (at least it's not if I sell the radions). I just want the best lighting setup for a 100% SPS tank. And I don't want "limits" such as SPS only at the top half of the tank. I want to be able to put it anywhere, high or low. And I want good growth and coloration.

It pretty much ends up that way no matter what light you use........growth, structure, etc = you can get limited to where corals can be placed, see below

 

my 90g is 35 high...i have 2x250mh and 2 54w t5s...im growing sps on the ground (bare bottom) no problem.....

some corals liek high light some med, some low....but i still grow them anywhere....lights are 10 inches from water...actual water depth is like 24.5 inches

Exactly, some like more or less light = you get restricted no matter what lights you have. Or you can go the other way, I had MH....27" deep (no sand) and no zoa. Tried them many times, they fried everytime. After a week they'd shrivel up & die. There is no "be all, end all" for lights - odds are real high you'll face some sort of restriction.

 

Sanjays data would show that Radions don't go deep, T5's aint the best at depth - depth is MH or LEDs with optics......................but.........what I've learned over the years is that you'll find tanks that violate every one of these supposed "rules" & are successful.

Edited April 11, 2012 by ErikS

[trott]

Can you notch the brace to go around the light or relocate the brace on either side of the light?