How to contain light in the tank

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

I see what you mean, I’m ok with the light on the ground, just don’t want the T5 bulb directly visible to my eyes when I’m in the living room. The T5 lights are only on for about 4 hours a day so night time isn’t an issue for me.

Ah got you. Yeah you should be fine with a minimal skirt then. I thought you were worried about spillage everywhere.

@BoSalman It's really not bad. I have 2 T5's and 3 A360WE's and with the lights on in the living room you can see the lines still but they're not bothersome. No matter what, even with a canopy that meets the water line, the tank is going to fill the room with a glow. With the lights off my living room is a nice blue purple hue lol. Lights on and you don't notice at all though. Only 6 recessed lights easily overpower the tank's glow. When I just had the Kessil's over the tank the room still glowed.

 

[hart24601]

For this reason I am thinking of trying out the orphek bars if needed eventually vs T5 and angle them to the middle of the tank, but I am not too worried about shading until I have acros 1ft across, lol. Happy you found a solution! There have to be a lot of people with this issue.

 

[ShadowR55]

Here is the completed project:

I cut the boards and hung the two sides on with hinges and then attached the two short ends using L brackets. Then I attached magnets on two corners to align the panels better at the corners. Now I need to figure out how to keep the door open when I swing it up.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Here is the completed project:

I cut the boards and hung the two sides on with hinges and then attached the two short ends using L brackets. Then I attached magnets on two corners to align the panels better at the corners. Now I need to figure out how to keep the door open when I swing it up.

That looks great!

 

[reefwiser]

Looks good there is always going to be a blue glow where a reef tank is located. Reefers just get use to it and don't pay attention to it any more.

 

[ShadowR55]

Looks good there is always going to be a blue glow where a reef tank is located. Reefers just get use to it and don't pay attention to it any more.

Yeah, I just didn’t want the bare lights blasting the whole area, this is much better and I am putting a matte black vinyl on the inside of the panels, should be here on Friday.

 

[Fin]

That came out nice and matches your stand. Do you have enough room to work in the tank when you need to? Nice looking tank BTW.

 

[ShadowR55]

That came out nice and matches your stand. Do you have enough room to work in the tank when you need to? Nice looking tank BTW.

Yeah, I put it on Hinges so I have plenty of room.

 

[T-5unsystem]

I would have just lowered the whole assembly, skirt looks good though!

 

[vieiras]

Here is the completed project:

I cut the boards and hung the two sides on with hinges and then attached the two short ends using L brackets. Then I attached magnets on two corners to align the panels better at the corners. Now I need to figure out how to keep the door open when I swing it up.

Are the board hanging on the light fixture or are the lights mounted to the board frame itself? We have the same issue and trying to figure out alternatives and worried about the weight from the ceiling.