Height of canopy

[wanecek]

Hi there,

I should have asked Jeremy this when I bought the Sunlight Reef Optix 3 250 watts from you earlier. Oh well...

Should I have a 15" or a 12" canopy. I like the idea of having a 15" canopy because it allows me to easily adjust the pendant.

But, I also might want to add some VHOs or power compacts in the future. If I add these lights in the future I believe they won't be as effective because of the 15" height.

I like the look of the Aqualine Bushke Aquaspacelights. These came with the 10k hqi bulbs and and 4 power compacts. It gave off a very nice white light.

I bought the 20k AB bulbs. So can I get the same nice white light with another bulb or will have to add additional lights? Should I just go with the 12" canopy because the 15" canopy is too tall and it looks awkward on top of the aquarium?

Thanks,

Michael

 

[graff71884]

It depends on the depth of your tank, I have mine about 12 inches so the light is about 30 inches to the substrate of my tank.

 

[wanecek]

I have a standard 120, so that is 24" deep with a 3 to 4" sand bed.

Thanks,
Michael

 

[graff71884]

Well, any less than 12 inches and you may run into heat issues. I would go with the 12 just for the fact that if you decide to run vho or pc, they will be more effective. I don't think 15 in. will do any better for you, just more room between the light and the water = less light to penetrate all the way down.

 

[Jeremy B.]

Hi,

You could still go with the 15" canopy and have VHO's/PC's. When I was running my 120 I built some standoffs on the inside ends of the canopy about 6" off the water to mount my VHO's to. I used 1"x2" material to do this with. I'm not sure if this is applicable to do in your canopy though, however if it is custom I wouldn't see why not.