Acrylic Canopy/Light Holder for My 19G

Hello, my current tank is a 19G, measuring 30" x 12" x 12". More on that here (if anyone's interested ).






The light fixture I'm using is 2 feet long, and my tank is 2.5 feet long, so the original stand that came with it can't be fitted onto my tank.

Decided to get an acrylic canopy/light holder custom-made for it.

I've done up a few designs, not sure which one is best:



Option 1 and option 2 aren't much different except for the width. These 2 designs are more for supporting the light than covering the tank.

Option 3 covers most of the tank, leaving only an opening for my hang-on filter. As I've recently had 3 fish jump out of the tank and die (the cause is still under investigation), I thought this would help in preventing that.


Questions:

1. Will the acrylic melt under the heat of the light fixture? (it can get pretty hot).
2. For option 3, would there be any problems such as excess heat getting trapped inside the tank (I will be getting a chiller soon)? Or... lack of oxygen even?
3. If I choose option 3, it would be quite troublesome to feed my fish and anemone. Any suggestions on how to make feeding easier?
4. The thickness of the acrylic I plan to use is 0.5cm, is it strong enough to hold the light fixture?


If anyone has any ideas on how to make it better, or if there're any problems with the design that I should know about, do let me know!

Thanks!

 

I make all sorts of things from acrylic, I have a few thoughts...

First DO NOT cover the entire tank. If you cover the entire tank you will have an issue with condensation on the acrylic, over time this will cause the inside to heat up and warp the acrylic. Also you want good air flow over the water surface. If you have an issue with fish jumping you can fit plastic screaning or other similar material to prevent that. I would also have an good air gap between the fixture and the acrylic with a fan driven vent. Not sure what the spec of the fixture are; knowing that would help in determining what the air gap needs to be.

You should be fine with the thickness as long as the support areas are designed well.

Since I can not view the pictures for some reason, I can't comment on any of the other design issues.

Hope this helps

 

Thanks for replying!

Hmm, how about if I drill lots of holes into it? Would that help help with the condensation issue?

Fan-driven vent? How can I do that? I'm planning to raise the fixture off the acrylic a little with some kind of disc my mom fixes onto chair legs for easy gliding. Wonder if that will help?

Specs as in what type of lights? Um, not sure if this is it, but: 4x24 w T5 HO; bulbs are 2 x ati aquablue, 1x ati blue plus, 1 x giesemann pure actinic.

And somehow the pictures don't seem to load now, they were fine earlier!

 

Ok, now I can see the design you had in mind, totally different than what I was thinking, LOL..

what is the device that is clamped on the left side of the tank??

 

Oh, that's actually a...clip on fan.

I live in Malaysia, so the weather here's pretty hot, and my tank temperature can reach up to 30C if I don't use a fan.

But I'll be getting a chiller soon, so the fan won't be there when the acrylic canopy is up!

How high up do you think my air gap needs to be? And how do I do it?

 

If this were my tank, here is what I would do:

I would create a black opaque surround about 4" ~ 6", you would have to be a little creative to work around you HOB fuge. Within the surround approx 2"~ 3" down attach cross members for the light to rest on.

Not sure if you like the idea of the fixture being hidden or not, but this way you maintain an open top design (you could still use your clip on fan) and the tank would have a 4" ~ 6" side wall which should solve your jumping fish issue.

Just a thought...

 

PS.. Nice looking tank ++

 

Weeelll, generally I'm not a fan of surrounds, and I kind of like the proportions of my tank now ;D

And when I get my chiller (which I definitely will), I won't be needing the fan anymore. The fan is pretty bulky and as you can see it doesn't look very pretty there either, lol.

Thanks for all your suggestions though!

Thank you!

 

In that case; go with design concept #3.

You have plenty of open air space with the cut out area below the fixture. I would create 2 acrylic brackets to fit under each end of the fixture ( cut them to form fit if possible ). I woud have the brackets suspend the fixture around 2" ~ 3" inches above the opening. Should look really sleek and not change the overall look ;D