55 gallon with wooden canopy/hood

mikes22123

mikes22123

New Member
Hi, I have a 55 gallon freshwater tank I am going to convert to saltwater, most likely fish only with live rock. It is one of those typical setups you can buy at Petsmart with a wooden cabinet underneath and a wooden canopy that fits over the top and hides the lights, filter etc from view.
I would like to get VHO lights for my saltwater tank but am worried about the heat buildup if left covered like this. Removing the hood is not an option. Does this mean I must stay with the NO florescent lights that came with the tank or is there some kind of upgrade I can get while still keeping my wooden hood on top of them.
Thanks in advance for your replies
 
jedi

jedi

Member
I have 90 gallon with a wood canopy and have 660 watts of VHO under the hood.
The heat is not an issue, you can touch the lights even after they have been on all day.
You will love the look of the lights.
However,
If you are gonna have Fish only with LR, you can stay with the NO lighting. But eventually, as we all do, you will want a reef, so invest in the lighting that will work for that.
Jedi
 
mdmacolyte

mdmacolyte

Member
With your canopy (and space constraints), you might want to look into getting some power compacts - that's what I ended up going with. I have the Lunar Aqualight Power Compacts on my tank - they came with 10,000Ks, Blue Actnic 03s, and 4 Lunar LED lights and I am very happy with them... =) You will be tempted to get the mounting legs - dont waste your money on them... LOL Your canopy wont fit over them. Spend the extra money and buy light timers. =) I hope this helps you. =)
 
jlem

jlem

Active Member
Power compacts run a lot hotter than VHO's. VHO actinics look alot nicer than PC Actinics anyways.
 
mikes22123

mikes22123

New Member
My main concern is the heat buildup from having these things with a wood canopy over them will cause an electrical fire or something. I am not very mechanically inclined and have zero knowledge of electrical issues. I was once told on a different board than this one that I could not have anything but NO florescent lights if I kept my wood canopy. This tank is in the living room, the wife wants it to look nice so the wood canopy must stay. I would love to get better lights and be able to have them covered by the wood canopy. So far it seems I have at least 2 people telling me it is ok, would like more inout as I am becoming encouraged by this. I suppose if necessary I could open the wood canopy's top for a few hours a day if needed, so long as the cat(s) do not decide to jump on top.
I would like mor einput from anyone that has done this, I am not married to the FOWLR situation and would love to get corals if i could.
Please advise
 
dskidmore

dskidmore

Active Member
There's always the option of cutting a small hole and installing an exaust fan. (If you're not very electrical, look for a kit that comes with the power supply for it.) This will keep the heat from building up, although it will have the side effect of increasing your evaporation rate.
 
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