Glass Canopy

[trippclark]

I have a 55 gallon aquarium with a full size wooden canopy with 4 VHO fluorescent lights. The canopy completely covers and rests on the top of the aquarium. Between the lights and the water I have two 24” all-glass hinged versa tops. I have had these glass tops since long before getting the full canopy – back when I had a single strip light that rested on the back half of these tops. My concern is that the glass tops that separate my water and lights gets very cloudy. No doubt, this greatly cuts the light reaching my tank, and adds to the heat build up in my canopy as light and heat are reflected back that cannot pass thru the not-so-clear glass. I clean these glass tops often, but they quickly turn opaque again in a matter of days . . . or hours. This got me wondering two things. One, do I really need these any longer since I have a full canopy? If I do need these, are there any tricks to cleaning them better, or making them stay clean longer? If I remove these, will this same opaque deposit just instead form on my bulbs and impact their effectiveness?

 

[trippclark]

Okay, since I have gotten no reply, I am guessing that maybe me description is unclear. So, I am attaching 2 photos. The first is a shot of the tank showing the wooden canopy. The second shot shows the glass canopies that I am questioning. Any ideas???

 

[trippclark]

Second picture . . .

 

[michaeltx]

I learned long time ago that those glass tops are mainly for FW tanks without a canopy. once you get a canopy the are kinda redundant to me.
their main purpose is a place to put lights on and for the light to pass through. after you get a canopy the lights are higher off the water. and they actually cause more problems than what they are worth IMO>
now if you have any jumpers in your tank its best to have something over the tank to keep them in. alot of people go to Home Depot and get eggcrate and place that over the tank its got a lot of holes in it but small so things cant jump out but things like like and air can get to the tank.
I hope this sorta answers you question but you will never keep them clean LOL
Mike

 

[michaeltx]

on the bulbs you will get a little bit of salt build up that a damp cloth occasionally over the bulbs will keep it off.
Mike

 

[javatech]

yea most everyone go's topless on ther tank. if you have some fis that are jumpers you can get some eggcrate at a homedepot

 

[moonrs]

What does the "egg crate" look like? Are you talking about chicken wire? Btw, my compact light, which is suspended from the ceiling about 6" over my topless tank, does get some salt deposited on it, but it's not too bad. Like Michealtx said, a damp paper towel wipes it right off. HTH, Richard

 

[aileena]

i would take off the glass tops and put some wire screen on the back of the canopy

 

[wwfstyle]

Just remember that if you take the glass top off your water lvl will drop faster due to evaporation. I leave my glass on and I clean it about every other water change. I use a razor blade or an sos pad.

 

[javatech]

Originally posted by Moonrs
What does the "egg crate" look like? Are you talking about chicken wire? Btw, my compact light, which is suspended from the ceiling about 6" over my topless tank, does get some salt deposited on it, but it's not too bad. Like Michealtx said, a damp paper towel wipes it right off. HTH, Richard
take a look here
http://building-materials.aubuchonha...nel-100429.asp

 

[moonrs]

Thanks, I may just go get some....

 

[michaeltx]

aileena metal of any kind on the back or sides of the tanks will corrode quickly its best to use a plastic material for it. if the rust falls into the tank it can cause some major problems with the water and any livestock that you have.
FWIW
MIke

 

[shine~on]

do the glass canopies interfere with the lighting at all?

 

[numnums]

trippclark,
what kind of lights do you have in that canopy? Actinic, 50/50???
I started out with two actinic and two 50/50 but the color is too purple. I have since replaced one actinic with 50/50 but still get a little purple. Just wondering what you have...
If you don't have the actinic, does anyone else know how to balance 4 110w VHO bulbs to not get so much purple?

 

[trippclark]

Well, I just got the new lighting and am transitioning. Before last month, I just had two 50/50 Normal Output 40W CoraLife bulbs. When I got the new ballast, I really was not sure what bulbs to buy, but ended up getting four URI Actinic White 110W. I installed two of these and the two 50/50 N.O. bulbs. My thought was that jumbing from 80W total to 440W total in one step might shock the system. So I am now at 300W. My plan, however, is to put in the other two VHO Actinic White bulbs very soon (maybe this weekend) to raise it up to the full 440W (8W per gallon). I am still very confused as to which combination of bulbs is ideal or recommended, but aesthitically, anyway, these Actinic Whites give off what I think is a pleasing white light. I'd be curious, though, as to what is the best bulb to use (or combination of bulbs) for a Reef tank.

 

[trippclark]

Shine~ON asked . . .
do the glass canopies interfere with the lighting at all?
Since I started this thread with basically this same question, I may not be the best to answer, but I think the answer is YES. Since getting the first replies, I pulled the glass canopies out and immediately noticed that within minutes my cooling fan, which has 3 speeds and is temperature activated, slowed down. This tells me that indeed heat was building up significantly between the hood and the glass. This confirmed for the that light (and heat) were not efficiently passing through the glass but were being reflected back. So, I think that it is logical to determine that significantly more light is now getting in the tank, where I want it, rather than bouncing back into my hood.