Who has an raised/open hood on the 130?

[oneinamillion]

Anyone? I know reefmack does, stevieT.. anyone else? I tried to search for a thread on open/raised hoods that may have pictures but no success. I just want to do some research on whether or not I will like how it looks and its a bit hard to weed through the hundreds of pages of member's pages to find a specific picture.


And anyone that wants to weigh in on the pros and cons of raised hood vs. stock setup, feel free to let me know.

So far I have

Pros (of a raised hood):
- upgraded lights
- easier access to the back chamber
- less trapped heat

Cons:
- takes away from the AIO look
- more top off
- noise

 

[Dweezil]

Don't forget to add that if you have jumping fish or ever plan to you will need to find a way to cover the top. I'm not saying that's a pro or a con just something to think about.

 

[oneinamillion]

Oh yeah i completely forgot about that. Thanks, duly noted.

I found a few pictures on the 130 and 130D mods thread... sweet.

For those with raised hoods, do you have to take the hood off everytime you feed fish or have to move something?

 

[JimmyK]

I like being able to get my hands in when I want. I have no hood and replaced it with a fixture. Is that what you are contemplating or am I misunderstanding? I dont think the evaporation is greatly increased and the fixture is silent so the noise is a non-issue for me. It also allows me to play with different bulb combos if you choose T-5.

 

[TonyV]

I have the same fixture as Jimmy above. Love it except for the 4 fold evaporation rate.

 

[Setragni]

Picture is old but that is the fixture I have, even with the MH my tank runs cooler than the stock hood but I have to top off more frequently. It is worth it my corals and coraline are growing much much MUCH faster with the MH

 

[Poriferan]

I built a hood for mine

Its all painted now and the pendant hangs from a bar in the hood rather than the ceiling so I can remove the light/hood to access the tank better.

 

[Reefmack]

I also noticed a much cooler 130 with a raised hood, but I get by with no chiller by running a dual cooling fan on the back, blowing over the tank. A lot of evaporation, but I have an ATO in my sump for that. I can feed fish fine, but to do any major work I have to lift off the hood. We got used to the light bleedover, but I eventually put a light baffle on the front of the hood:

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/714579-post491.html

Works great for me and I just flip it back to feed.

 

[oneinamillion]

Excellent! Thanks this helps a lot. I really love how the upgraded lights make the inside of the tank look so colorful and bright.

 

[reeferman]

heres mine.its a marineland 150w hqi with 4 t5s.only the actinics are on in the pic.i too have cooler temps with this light.a lot more top off too!this is my 130,my 250 still has the factory hood.