Supplemental LED's and a canopy?

[dianapickles]

Hi

I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions or could help me with a bit of an issue.

My 200g currently has 4 T5HO lights that are in the lid. It came with it and unless I remove the lid, I'm stuck with using T5's. (Which I don't mind but I'd still like to supplement with a bit of LED).

The T5's I have right now are:
2x actinic blue
1x purple actinic
1x White

Are there any LED's that I could use which I could somehow fit into the lid? I'm looking at LED strips but I have no idea how I'd put that in there, as it would block out the t5's. Someone suggested putting kessil LED's into the two holes I have in the lid but those seem a bit too expensive.

Here's a photo. Should I just keep the lighting I have? Fit LED's into the holes? Or just do nothing at all...

[dabob79]

Check these out...

http://www.amazon.com/TrueLumen-12-I...pro+led+strips

They come in different colors, and you can add dimmers to them for better control. Slim, easy to mount, and several of them should add the color/shimmer you're looking for.

[jayball]

Originally Posted by dabob79

Check these out...

http://www.amazon.com/TrueLumen-12-I...pro+led+strips

They come in different colors, and you can add dimmers to them for better control. Slim, easy to mount, and several of them should add the color/shimmer you're looking for.

IIRC that was a 30 inch deep aquarium, they are not going to push much par unless you line the whole thing with them. That could work for additional supplementation if they fit in between the reflectors though, I am not sure if it would be worth it.

Diana,

It would be helpful if you would post the full dimensions of the aquarium, your ultimate goals/what coral you want to keep, and your budget.

knowing measurements of your existing canopy , how much room you have from the top to the water, and how much room is in between the reflectors would also help for us to recommend something. You may wind up having to cut it up a bit to fit something

Like was mentioned in the other thread, those 4 t-5's will be great supplementation, but even though it looks bright with them your par measurements will be very low.

[dianapickles]

Originally Posted by jayball

IIRC that was a 30 inch deep aquarium, they are not going to push much par unless you line the whole thing with them. That could work for additional supplementation if they fit in between the reflectors though, I am not sure if it would be worth it.

Diana,

It would be helpful if you would post the full dimensions of the aquarium, your ultimate goals/what coral you want to keep, and your budget.

knowing measurements of your existing canopy , how much room you have from the top to the water, and how much room is in between the reflectors would also help for us to recommend something. You may wind up having to cut it up a bit to fit something

Like was mentioned in the other thread, those 4 t-5's will be great supplementation, but even though it looks bright with them your par measurements will be very low.

The tank is 30inch in depth, 60inch in length (across the front of the tank) and the width I think was 24 inches.

I think there's about 2-3 inches between reflectors and the centre area with the fan as seen in the photo has much more space.

And the room from the top to the water is horribly low. It's hard to know exactly but I'd say probably 2 inches from the water.

[jayball]

I am coming up short trying to think of something that would work at only a couple inches off of the water. It is making the suggestion of trulumen strips sound better. (I think you can do 2 4ft strips per power supply) Was the aquarium used for salt before? I can not imagine those reflectors standing up to salt spray for a long period.

How attached to the canopy are you?

[dianapickles]

Originally Posted by jayball

I am coming up short trying to think of something that would work at only a couple inches off of the water. It is making the suggestion of trulumen strips sound better. (I think you can do 2 4ft strips per power supply) Was the aquarium used for salt before? I can not imagine those reflectors standing up to salt spray for a long period.

How attached to the canopy are you?

Well the guy who sold me the tank claimed he built it himself and it was made specifically for marine purposes but I actually ended up finding the tank on a Chinese website (so many awesome tanks) and found out it was meant for freshwater fish. An arrowana tank to be specific. I became suspicious as soon as I noticed screws and that the canopy has metal hinges and many other things not meant for saltwater.
(I should probably talk to the seller about that...)

I'm actually hating the canopy! I really would prefer to get rid of it entirely. Just worried about the built in wiring. The wires go down the overflow protected by a pvc pipe and are somehow connected to this powerboard in the sump area.

Also, every time the lights are on, I'm feeling a bit of a buzz or tingle when touching the water. I'm assuming with how low they are, the lights are leeching some stray voltage into the water.

.... Yeah I think it's time to rip that canopy off.

At the very least, the rest of the tank is slowly coming together.

[IMG][/IMG]