thanks man im looking at aroudn 11-12"
the canopy does have a 2 5" x 36" lines cut out of the top and I was wondering if that is going to be enough if not i was going to cut out a piece to allow the light to sit on top...

Okay, so I took some shots of the 40" side of my tank, so just a little longer than yours. My tank is also 18" tall, so at 3" deeper I'm sure your sandbed will have pretty decent coverage.
I also kept in mind that with the height of the fixture itself, and leaving some wiggle room for the cord, it takes up about 2½" of space.

So this is the light mounted at 3". With the height of the fixture, the top of it is 5½" above the tank rim. Distance from LED's to sandbed is 21". Noticeable cone shape, hard to see the return lines on the left, rocks on left have poor coverage.
http://i49.tinypic.com/24e2hci.jpg

Light at 6", 8" inches from top of fixture to tank rim, 24" to sandbed. Koralia clearly visible, returns visible, coverage isn't too bad.
http://i50.tinypic.com/35be26d.jpg

Light at 8" above rim, 10½" from rim to top of fixture, 24" to sandbed.
I think this is good coverage, and it's where I usually have my light mounted anyways. The photograph shows fairly even spread with not a huge amount of contrast, and this is much less noticeable to the naked eye also. If you can swing this height, in a 36" wide tank, I think you'll be happy with the results!
http://i47.tinypic.com/2lkqv7o.jpg

Anyways, I think you're in good shape. Depending on the rockwork, a 36" tank might be acceptable at the 6" height, I guess depending on how picky you are, but the light is badass anyways so you're sure to enjoy it!

Looking forward to seeing the tank filled and lit up!

Wow man thanks so much dude.:biggrin:

Well got the sump baffles in and ready to go
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...38/image-1.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...s338/image.jpg

Well folks I ran into some problems with the tank and its not going to be going where we want. Myself and Tammy were talking and the tank transfer will be put on hold until April or May the reason is we are moving and I don't want to go through the hassle of moving the tank 2 times within 6 months.


But on a good note I have bought some Scollies for the older tank..
all mine yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee hawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...38207646_n.jpg
http://sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...06218403_n.jpg
http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...48393021_n.jpg
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...89401887_n.jpg
http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...47409530_n.jpg
http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...97976764_n.jpg

Look forward to seeing it when you get it setup in the new place... In the mean time you should probably sell me that light of yours...

holy scoly there's a small fortune sitting there Mike! They're awesome looking =)

Oooh nice! I really like that 4th one. Haven't seen one like that before.

update
Well a little update we went and bought another house. We are renting out the other one top and bottom. This will pretty much pay for the other one that we bought, so after signing the papers Tammy says lets put a 8 footer back into the wall there excellent. So about a month before moving into the house she tells me that I have no more feelings for you anymore. I need time away from you. I don't know if this is going to work. Really you Got TO BE KIDDING. WELL HERE I AM. she took over the house I have some one renting out the basement suite. A NURSE LOL. and ways its costing me 300 per month to live here. but I have the garage , pool , hot tub .. yaaaaaaaaa baby.

ok on to the upgrade I never did sell the cube . remember how it was to big for the dining room. Who needs a dining room. I 'm moving it into the house today and prepping it for a move. I will be running a open top for the Mitras light. Going to get a screen top since I have lost my yellow wrasse and mystery and leopard already. so I will upload pictures after folks so I 'm still here going somewhat strong.

glad to hear you're still going strong bro. you should head out for a run sometime soon. we miss you lol.