I was planning on posing a build thread for the stand and canopy, but I wanted to get some feedback on the size of the canopy before finishing it up.
This is my first crack at woodworking or building anything like this so any feedback is greatly appreciated.
Please disregard the unfinished state of the stand as I’ve got plenty of sanding/painting/repeat to do before it’s even close to being called done, but my question is what are y’alls thoughts on the canopy height?
I have a reef radiance Lumentek120 now but i am hoping santa brings me a radion this december. Right now I have 14" total height from the glass and figured I needed most of that, bit if the size of the canopy takes away from the tank. Do you think I could get by with one about 10" or so or does this look proportionate as is?
Just remember to build in a half inch gap all round btween the top of the tank and the hood, to let it breath and ventilate like a chimney, out the open back or lots of slots in the top. natural cooling. otherwise, if you make it air tight, you got a toaster oven, to boil the water. I like natural circulation, costs way less to build than fans and such. Works for free!
Thanks for the tip on ventilation…frankly, I hadn’t even thought about that.
As things stand now I am either going with the Maxspect Razor or the Radion for lighting. I have had the “cheap” led fixtures and just haven’t had the growth I would like on any of my LPSs (haven’t taken the SPS plunge yet, lol)
That being said, my zoas and xenia have been growing like crazy.
With either the razor or the radion I had planned on just playing around with the hight off the water once I get them over the tank to determine the best hight for optimal spread.
Can anyone chime in here with how high their fixture is over a 24x24 footprint?
Thanks for the feedback because I’ve got some time today and have been finishing up the stand and am about to dive back into the canopy.
[quote=“BigCase, post:6, topic:7553”]
I had mine hanging approx. 10inches from the top of the water on my 24X24 cube.[/quote]
I wouldn’t listen to this guy!!! He doesn’t even remember what his tank looks like,
[quote=“BigCase, post:6, topic:7553”]
I had mine hanging approx. 10inches from the top of the water on my 24X24 cube.[/quote]
I wouldn’t listen to this guy!!! He doesn’t even remember what his tank looks like,[/quote]
FYI ecotech just released a nano sized radian as well. Maxspect are great lights, i owned one of their first gen models. If i had the money to choose i personally would go with the radian nano.
Also, I’m doing this myself with my canopy, i would try to incorporate ventilation for your light and for heat to escape. I did so by leaving a section of the top of my canopy open sense you can’t see that part anyways.
I’m not a big fan of canopies myself, but they do look good IMO. I just prefer an open top for easy access, and I like to see hardware and how things work.
Anyway - whatever you do - make sure you can easily remove the canopy yourself if you need to, or plan for some removable panel or hinged panel so you can get in there.
Well, this is the finished product. Also ended up painting the two back sides of the tank as it’s home came to be in the corner of our living room. I think the enamel paint should easily peel off should we ever decide on a different location and need the use of that viewing panel again…“hopefully” is a strong word in this instance, lol
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