The Puffer Forum

Has anyone ever built one? One thing my tank is lacking is a good top, I have adapted the current hood as much as poss but want to add more lighting and a flat top for oodles of bulbs would be perfect. The tank draws oodles of attention so need something basic to start as I can work on hiding cables etc after I have more light. I built the stand to a sensible standard but because of the wetness above need a few tips etc. thanks guys and girls

Just for info : currently running a pair of t5s a pair of strip LEDs and a power block led. Wish to add another pair of strip LEDs and another pair of t5s. Tank is 5 foot by 2 foot by 2.5 foot tall. Reef with easy corals such as leathers and xenia, the corals are growing well but obviously wish to add harder to keep corals in the near future

I made a hood from 1/4 inch black acrylic and installed a ballast and VHO lights. It was on an acrylic tank so it hinged on acrylic hinges (2,on the tank, 1 on the hood) with a peg running through. You can purchase a VHO ballast online,along with wired mounting sockets for the bulbs.
-R

You'd think a MOD would know the appropriate forum to post this????

Ha ha, brain was working at a million miles an hour in the early hours of the morning. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it lol. Do you think my plans will produce enough light? Acrylic is super expensive here in the uk so was thinking of using wood, I assume I will need to treat it with something?

Don't ask me--I just move threads to their appropriate forum...

I'm just a worker bee in Queen bee's clothing!

You could use several coats of marine grade polyurethane varnish on the wood. A thin acrylic, countertop laminate, or even glass on the inside would provide better protection, however.

T5 says the bulb is 5/8 inch. I believe "s" indicates 10k or sun spectrum. Are these 45.75 inch 28 Watt or 54 Watt HO bulbs?
How many watts of Led lighting is it and what is the spectrum of their light?

For a 5 foot tank about 400 watts of fluorescent (or equivalent) would be ideal. I'd use 1/4 to 1/2 actinic with the remainder10 k fluorescent bulbs. Not knowing anything about your LED lamps I don't know how to factor them in.

My reef setup used 3 110 Watt fluorescent lamps on a 4 foot tank. One 110 Watt VHO actinic and 220 watts of 10k.

I haven't designed reef tank lighting since 1987 when nobody was selling cultured corals so there may be newer ideas on what us ideal.

My impression is that you'll need quite a bit more light than you are proposing.

-R

If I were you, I'd upgrade to T5 bulbs/fixtures.

The t5s are high out put, 50 something watt I think? Will find out what the LEDs are because it doesn't say on the power box thingy. Might just add 4 more t5s

Six 54 watt t5 HO 4 10k, 2 actinic would be sufficient light. The light will be brightest in the middle, so placement of corals should take this into consideration. There will be a lot of heat, so you may want put 12v muffin fans and air intakes vent on the back of your hood, or leave the back open and leave a gap between the tank and hood along the front and sides for convection cooling (preferred). If you don't have a chiller, having fans will provide evaporative cooling in the summer but a chiller would be a better choice if it gets very warm at times. Fans must always blow in to keep salt out of them.

Thanks for the heads up, cooling is not such an issue here in the uk, I think my tank maxed out at 28c last year which was fairly easy to bring back down a little. Will consider some sort of cooling system to be safe though. I think I will keep the LEDs in the mix as I like the effect they give. Will keep all posted when I decide what to do

I have 6 T5s over my 90g reef. I only run the fan over my sump in the heat of the summer. There is a fan built into the canopy, which flows over the bulbs.

Pufferpunk wrote:I have 6 T5s over my 90g reef. I only run the fan over my sump in the heat of the summer. There is a fan built into the canopy, which flows over the bulbs.

Cool Reef PP!

Hey Bertie, keep us posted on what you do. I need a lid for my 18inch x 10 inch shrimp tank, so may copy what you do

Was thinking a upvc sheet with soffit boards and trim to keep things straight. That's gonna work out cheap cos I can cost most to work. It's white so should reflect light just wonderfully. Still planning though