Lighting inside canopy

[chimbo84]

Gotcha - so you've got airflow through the back and have some limited access to the tank through the front.

If you don't need to do anything other than feeding, the lid on the front should be more than sufficient. It looks like the easiest way to mount the lights would be to run a HMS rail along the top of the canopy (drilling holes in probably 3-4 locations). I don't know what the top of the canopy is made of nor if it's thick enough to accommodate the weight of the lights.



As you can see from the image, the lights will probably drop down by 4-6" though - so that would place them only a few inches above the water.

Yeah, this is exactly what I’m thinking. The canopy is 3/4” marine plywood so it can definitely handle some weight. I am seriously considering upgrading the canopy to the 12” version just to get the extra 4” in height but $700 seems like a lot for just a little bit of extra height. May be able to sell the canopy I have to offset that so I’ll have to investigate it.

 

[blaxsun]

Yeah, this is exactly what I’m thinking. The canopy is 3/4” marine plywood so it can definitely handle some weight. I am seriously considering upgrading the canopy to the 12” version just to get the extra 4” in height but $700 seems like a lot for just a little bit of extra height. May be able to sell the canopy I have to offset that so I’ll have to investigate it.

I run Radions with the RMS mounts on my tank, and they're about 8-8.5" off the surface of the water. I run them with diffusers (aka: "splash" guards) because I have a couple of excitable fish. Even with that, they still manage to splash the sides and occasional top of the lights.

Also, the lower you mount the lights the less spread you'll get from them in your tank (which may mean needing more lights).

Just an abstract thought: you could cut out a portion of the top of the canopy from the center to the back to accommodate the lights and just use the HMS arm mounts to attach to the rear of the tank? You'd probably see the top of the lights.

 

[thesoulpatch]

I have the same tank and stand, I got a roll top that is 12 in. instead of a front lift. But i mounted with angle aluminum and it works perfectly.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

I recently purchased a tank setup that came with an 8" Planet Aquariums Canopy and two AI Hydra32 lights. Currently, the lights are mounted on arms over the tank and the canopy is in my garage because I haven't yet worked out how to mount everything inside the canopy. What I am thinking is to get one of the AI HMS mounting bars (LINK) and attach it inside the canopy so that I can mount the Hydras and have side to side adjustability and can add more Hydras at a later date without having to fiddle with more mounts. Given that these lights will only be ~10" above the water surface, I will supplement with reef bright strips at the front and rear of the canopy.

Two issues I can think of. (1) how to mount the HMS rail inside the canopy. The rail has T-track on the sides that I could use some angle mounts but sizing might be an issue. (2) Splashing. With the lights so close to the water's surface, I worry about small drops landing on the lenses and burning them out. May need to design a diffuser or sacrificial lens to go in front of everything.

Any suggestions or tips would be appreciated. I really like the look of the canopy and am trying to figure out a way to make this work. Planet Aquariums also makes a 12" canopy for $750 that I could get but I am not sure if that is worth the extra 4" in height.

Do you have pictures?

 

[chimbo84]

Do you have pictures?