Exo Terra Compact Top Single Canopy 12" (30 cm)

[Kimbubbley]

Hi!

Has anyone taken an Exo Terra Compact Top Single Canopy (pic attached)

Height 9cm (3.5 inches) Width 30cm (11.8 inches) Depth 15cm (5.9 inches)

And mounted it with a 40mm or 50mm PC fan?? :s

My little viv to be is h21 x w35 x d20 cm

Will i get enough light and air circulation?? Is it likely to get too hot??

Kim

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I don't think you'll need a fan for these. They do produce heat, but not like if you put metal halide bulbs over the vivarium.

I have real live bamboos growing in one tank with 2 of those Exo-Terra light canopies over the terrarium, and they seem to grow well with the lights.

I have another smaller terrarium full of orchids and a couple species of Selaginella, no one's complaining either.

Just keep in mind that I don't grow orchids that like intense lighting under these kinds of lights though.

[Kimbubbley]

Cool! Thanks Philip

Thats one in the post for me now then... ew! excitement! LOL

Now i just gotta figure out how to mount it, the unit is exactely 2.5cm on all sides smaller than the tank.

I think hubby is bringing home some wooden batten tonight, gonna have a go at making a picture frame kind of lid just big enough to stand the light unit on and see how it goes from there.... might be another learning curve

Thanks for your help

Kim

[Kimbubbley]

Cool! Thanks Philip

Thats one in the post for me now then... ew! excitement! LOL

Now i just gotta figure out how to mount it, the unit is exactely 2.5cm on all sides smaller than the tank.

I think hubby is bringing home some wooden batten tonight, gonna have a go at making a picture frame kind of lid just big enough to stand the light unit on and see how it goes from there.... might be another learning curve

Thanks for your help

Kim

[Paul]

I agree with Philip that for a tank that size it should be doable. The biggest possible issue would be the intensity of the light emitted by the bulb. With that in mind, if that particular cfl doesn't do the trick, look into getting one of higher wattage.

Originally Posted by Kimbubbley

Now i just gotta figure out how to mount it, the unit is exactely 2.5cm on all sides smaller than the tank.

I think hubby is bringing home some wooden batten tonight, gonna have a go at making a picture frame kind of lid just big enough to stand the light unit on and see how it goes from there.... might be another learning curve

Thanks for your help

Kim

You might alternatively use a couple of wooden dowels to span either the width or the depth dimension putting them far enough apart for the fixture to sit on them. The dowels could be glued in place to prevent them from sliding.

[Kimbubbley]

Hi!

Thanks for the added info on upping the wattage if i need more light Paul

Still waiting for the light unit to show up, but think ive figured out the lid thing tho...i literally bought a oversized wooden picture frame

It will need some altering to fit snug to the light unit, but when you turn the pic'frame back side up its recessed with a ledge so hoping i can cut it to size (if it ever arives!!) and slip the unit down into the frame... should hopefully fit like a glove and reduce the distance the unit is up from the tank... we'll see!

Im currently thinking about substrate and humidity... whats available... do i need a layer of hydroton and what are its properties... will it wick water from the base to the surface for good humidity... what do i need to put on top of that... ultimately id like part moss part potting bark as a floor covering to work from how do i achieve that... what depth will it need to be... will anything grow in it!! LOL

Hmmm... realistically i cant see being able to measure light and humidity til ive got this next bit figured out... atleast with substrate in i could run it for a while to see what ive got to work with/tinker with

Id like something on the inside back wall i can mount on too... Epiweb maybe?? Need to do some more research, but SHOULD be revising for masters exam!!

Pics of "lid to be" attached!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

If I'm not mistaken the ballast is rated at a maximum of 27W.

The lighting unit is rectangular btw, not square. I think that it looks like you can easily fit 2 of them over the top without the use of the wood frame.

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

If I'm not mistaken the ballast is rated at a maximum of 27W.

The lighting unit is rectangular btw, not square. I think that it looks like you can easily fit 2 of them over the top without the use of the wood frame.

Isn't the ballast built into the bulbs with CFLs? That said, the manufacturers label says to use no higher than 26W CFLs in their hoods. I have 2 36" 4-bulb Exo Terra hoods for a 36x16x36 tall terrarium I'm setting up and I'm using 8 27W 5500K CFLs (1400 lumens output each) and it doesn't look like this is going to be enough light for this tall a terrarium. When I measure with my inexpensive meter I get less than 500 footcandles 6" up from the bottom (which I expect will be the lowest down I place my small phals); I don't see 1000 footcandles until I measure about 6" down from the top.

A video on a dealers site claims some users have got away with putting 40W CFLs in the Exo Terra hood (maybe the smaller hood), but I'd be afraid of melting the plastic, as the hoods get pretty hot even with the 27W bulbs.