Fitting LED's Under a Canopy

Discussion in 'LED Aquarium Lighting' started by Devon, Nov 28, 2012.

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  1. affordable Aqua

    affordable Aqua 3reef Sponsor

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    Stamford, CT
    Which LEDs are you planning to use. As stated before, you need to have the lights high enough to get enough coverage over the tank. Too close and you have a sort of spotlight effect. You can counter this by using more fixtures but then of course your expense goes up. There are some LEDs like the Aqua Illumination that has a heat sink at the top, and would probably allow enough air flow through the vents to not have a heat issue. Whichever lights you go with make sure they can even be 'flush' mounted and will not cover their cooling vents.

    Also, make sure you go with a good solid brand. With the lights that close they will get a lot of salt creep on them. Some of the cheap chinese units I have seen dont seem to keep out the salty air well enough not to rust. Especially when used in a closed environment like that.
     
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  3. Romie

    Romie Feather Duster

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    i'm planning on adding a few 2"-3" holes on the top of the canopy but i already have a 6x6 opening on each end and almost the entire back is open as well

    also if you don't get any 90 or 60 degree optics it should really spot light right?

    when i get goin on this project i will deff post pics and or video about it..

    absolute worst case would be to lose the canopy :)
     
  4. Devon

    Devon Astrea Snail

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    I'm willing to use whatever brand, I want high end. I will even make my own. I can cut vent holes in the canopy if I need to. If I do a custom setup I should use 90 degree optics since there is not much space between the fixture and water line?
     
  5. averageguys

    averageguys Banned

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    From personal experience I have had a 150 tall with a canopy and now have a 92 corner.

    Pro:
    Visual Effects
    Electric Savings
    Cooler Tempature

    Cons:
    Most LEDs must be hung

    Ill send you a PM on a suggestion
     
  6. Romie

    Romie Feather Duster

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    i would assume no optics would be better close to the water because it would give you a more spread of light rather than narrowing it to 90 or 60 degrees
     
  7. Devon

    Devon Astrea Snail

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    Anyone have pic's???
     
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  9. Annie3410

    Annie3410 Teardrop Maxima Clam

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  10. somethingsfishy

    somethingsfishy Plankton

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    I had the same problem. My 125 gal tank had 7.5in clearance under the hood to the water surface. This was OK with the PC's(plenty of light dispersion) but too close for the LED's.
    I ended up taking a deep breath and cut three rectangular holes in the hood and mounted the units on the top. This gave me almost 9 inches of space above the water, insures plenty of airflow, and doesn't look too bad. My only wish is that the power cords had 90 degree plugs. There is a picture on this site somewhere.
     
  11. cap914

    cap914 Plankton

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    I dont have pics but I mounted 2 27" Razors in my canopy. I had about 10" from top of canopy to water line. So what I did was measure the fixtures and lined up and marked where they would be in relation to the top of the canopy. Then I used a hole saw attachement in my drill to cut out holes in the canopy directly above the fixtures fans. Next I drilled small holes in the top, fished wire through them, and attached to the fixtures. I left 2 " beween the top of the fixture to the top of the canopy which was Maxspects recommendation.........or close to it! Lol
     
  12. BUGz

    BUGz Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    I placed three heat sinks with 36 total Cree's into the top of my 55g, also mounted the three Mean Well drivers in there also. I was planning on adding fans, but the temp of the heat sinks never reach over 95 AND the lid the sinks are mounted to are slat vented. 4" from surface, no problems with heat at all!
    I cut up an old 55g acrylic to use as a custom shield for both LED's and drivers. This build has been online for about 16 months with no modifications, except the addition of a BoostLED controller.

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