Cool Touch Lighting Canopy

[buddyboy]

I was wondering if anyone has used the cool touch lighting CANOPY and whether it has presented any problems with heat considering it has no fans, also how is getting into the tank for routine maintenance like cleaning and feeding.. Comments would be appreciated..

 

[sooner97]

I bought their canopy, and the aluminum isn't too thick, so you can easily drill into it if you like. I installed 2 fans in the canopy myself. You can also ask them to install the fans for you. He asked me if I wanted fans in them when I ordered, but I already had 2 lying around so I figured I could install them myself. It's not hard to do.

 

[buddyboy]

Interesting? What about your main return Reason, I ask is i have a DIY Spray bar and wondering if your going to have to cut out around that area.. Does the canopy sit completely around the trim of the tank or does only partially.

 

[sooner97]

I'm not sure how your tank looks, but I have an Oceanic 72 G RR tank and it has the plastic canopy. I plan on laying the Cool Touch canopy on top of the plastic canopy. It does come with some metal chains that would allow you to hang them from the ceiling, but I live in an apartment, so I don't want to drill holes in the ceiling. I didn't purchase their entire setup, just the canopy, reflector and socket. I wanted an electronic ballast, and all they sale are the magnetic ones. So I purchased 2 Ice cap electronic ballasts and wired everything myself. It wasn't a hard project to do. If you need any help, just email me or you can post here.

 

[cmonkey]

I bought these lights with the retrofit and reflector about a month ago and have been very pleased. I am running 2 250watt Ushio 10k bulbs on them and they are very bright on my 55. The 400watt is only $10 more but it was way too much for my setup.
Cons
You will need fans, they are MH and do get very hot.
I actually bleached some of my live rock near the surface from the high amount of light.
Still waiting on my electricity bill.
Evaporate about 1-1.5 gallon a day.
Bottomline: from my research and my experience I found these to be the best light for the money if you are serious about keeping corals or clams longterm.