DIY Canopy

[pdiehm]

I have my canopy essentially built, just putting the final touches on it.

I have a cutout on the top of the canopy for my reefbreeders photon 48 to sit on, and I got to thinking about ventilation.

I have about 2" on the back off the trim as open. Should I drill some 2" holes on the canopy top or maybe put a 3" vent on each side of the canopy?

With the LED's on top, any heat they produce would be released into the room, which is why I didn't think about ventilation until now.

 

[OnceTrueFalseBr]

you could buy vent fans and wire them together pulling the heat out the back and some on the side pulling cool air in.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/insigni...lack/3648006.p?id=1219092663721&skuId=3648006
im not sure where else to get the right fans but this could trigger some thought

 

[pdiehm]

Electrical and me don't mix. Not an option

 

[OnceTrueFalseBr]

Electrical and me don't mix. Not an option

http://www.aquatic-eden.com/2007/07/cooling-aquarium.html

have a friend wire it for you?
http://www.3reef.com/threads/sump-cooling-fans.95512/

 

[TheYellowSnow]

You can do it. Take a simple 12v wall adapter and connect the wires. Easy. Even my nephew could do it.

 

[rfgonzo]

2'' should be enough for ventilation but a few more holes won't hurt. It also will stop condensation inside of your canopy that overtime will ruin your canopy. You won't necessarily need a fan in there for cooling but would be a good idea just to keep the air circulating.

 

[rtecanoe]

I had t5s in my canopy on my 180 gallon. It had two fans an each side and a fairly open back. I switched to two of the reefbreeder photon 48s that I simply cut out rectangles out of the top of my existing canopy and put them on it. i disconnected all 4 of my fans and have no condensation whatsoever in my canopy or on the photons. Maybe just cut an opening on each side of the canopy and put some type of vent cover over it for more ventilation, but I really dont think you'll need fans. the photons produce just about zero heat by the way. Extremely happy that i switched to the photons from my t5s

 

[RocketEngineer]

If you aren't comfortable wiring the fans yourself Rapid LED sells a Dual Fan Kit which is all plug-and-play. Add a couple PC fans and you are good to go. They also sell kits including the fans based on the size fan you go with. I use two 120mm on my hood and two 92mm in my light fixture.

 

[Incaico]

I did the same thing and it worked well. One fan pulling in cold air and one pulling out the warm air from inside the canopy.

 

[maddmaxx]

I did the same thing and it worked well. One fan pulling in cold air and one pulling out the warm air from inside the canopy.

bad thing about doin this is the fan pulling out the warm moist air will wear the fan down rather quickly and will cause the fan to become louder rather quickly also. its always better to have fans blowing cool air into the canopy and have some sort of open vents on the canopy to allow the air to be pushed out naturally....again always have the fans blowing in...

 

[pdiehm]

I have 2 5.75" x 7" holes on each end of the cutout for the photon. There'll also be a 1.5" gap along the back off the frame.

I would think that's plenty of ventilation to allow the condensation to evaporate and such. Right?

 

[maddmaxx]

yes that should be fine for ventilation...

 

[shellsea]

I have the reef Breeder 48 also. The built in vents of the RB sit below my canopy top and the back of the canopy is open about 5 in. I have no issues.

 

[tehachappi32]

I prefer 4 inch holes for air vents. Actually 2 holes on each sides even. The build up is really nasty after sometimes like a year. Heat trap won't be pretty specially in the Summer. ; Well I am in SoCal, so that is my case. Good luck with your build.

I have my canopy essentially built, just putting the final touches on it.

I have a cutout on the top of the canopy for my reefbreeders photon 48 to sit on, and I got to thinking about ventilation.

I have about 2" on the back off the trim as open. Should I drill some 2" holes on the canopy top or maybe put a 3" vent on each side of the canopy?

With the LED's on top, any heat they produce would be released into the room, which is why I didn't think about ventilation until now.