Help me design my hood

[tommyp]

Hi,

I am planning a new hood for my 65 aga

My current hood is a Diy that i put together pretty quickly without great thought.

For my new hood I am thinking for now of keeping my lone 250 mh and vho's but leave room to add another mh later. Damn crossbrace.

My thoughts so far are a piston lifted full front door. and running a 36" long alumium reflector for both the halide and the Vho's. Right now i am running uri's with the internal reflectors and a spiderlight on the MH. Should I go with the longer reflector or should I just get another spiderlight for the second mh when I add it?

I thought the long reflector would be nice and tidy I would mount the vho's in it as well and it would take up very little space. but since the vhos have internal reflectors they don't really need it.

Another big question is how to cool it? Right now I have one 3"fan blowing air over the water and the mh from the side. I want to add more fan power in this hood but maybe dc fans because the one I am running now is ac and prety loud.
should I mount one at each end and then put cooling holes above the reflector? I was hoping to have some ventilation at the top of the hood but use the reeflector to cut down on the light loss.

and oh yeah where should i mount the vho ballast? right now it is mounted on top of the hood. I would some how like to incorporate it into the design or banish it to its own ballast box like the mh.

Sorry for the long post Any experienced insight about any part of the hood would be greatly appeciated.

tp

[Maxx]

This is what I'm gonna be building for my 58 gallon here shortly...
Might be of some help to you...

[tommyp]

wow that is quite the setup. No room above my tank for the crank etc (slanted cieling) but that is a great idea especially if it gets too hot!

Thanks

tp

[Maxx]

what about off setting the crank part so that it allows the canopy to fit into the slanted space? gimme a minute and I'll show you what I mean.
Nick

[Maxx]

how bout this...kinda PITA...but....

[fidojoe]

Good idea, to get the lights to pull up as you open the lid!

[Maxx]

Actually that wasnt what I was thinking of at all...but that can work too.
The black circle at the end was to relocate the handcrank elsewhere.

[wooddood]

lookin good maxx.

[tommyp]

yeah that would work great! I am really thinking about a fixed height hood though because I don't think I want the halides closer to the water then they are now and don't have the room to put them any higher. For flourecents that would be great. would your hood be open enough so fish would jump out?

Thanks for the great drawings.

TP

[Maxx]

Good idea, to get the lights to pull up as you open the lid!

I can see how you would think this...I wasnt able to color the spacer bar for the hand crank in...paint was being funny...
Not a bad idea in and of itself though...hmmmmmm...

I am really thinking about a fixed height hood though because I don't think I want the halides closer to the water then they are now and don't have the room to put them any higher.

The concept here is to have the hood fixed height, but the lights themselves are able to raise and lower. The reason for this is to gain easy access to the tank while working/playing/feeding etc w/o burning your self. It also allows for better air flow over the tank, doesnt trap heat in, helping out heat related issues w/ MH's.
Also as a final benefit, it allows for easy acclimation of corals to increased lighting. Put the coral where you want it, raise the lights up to lower the amount of lighting the corals are getting, and then shorten the photo period a bit. Corals will need to adapt when first placed in a new environment, and when bulbs are changed out on a regular basis.

would your hood be open enough so fish would jump out?

Yeah, thats why you put something like glass over the top w/ a small space in the back to allow for air exchange, (altho if your sump is operating properly, its a moot point), or egg crate over the top of the entire tank, to keep fish that like to "explore" the carpet in....

Thanks for the great drawings.

hey no problem. Its kinda fun actually to think of new ways to do this stuff. The most recent drawing isnt the greatest design. I can see how it would be cumbersome to make and more than fun if you guys ever moved it....but it is a way to do it. The important thing to remember here is that there are many ways to do this. Too many people get wrapped around the axle and cant think outside the box. Find the solution that works for you and go w/ it.
My current set up is the reef that shouldnt be...its like a frankenreef w/ the plumbing being "made to work" and the canopy looking like it was salvaged from a third grade arts and crafts project. But it does work, and I've learned alot about what NOT to do. So everything works out in the end. Have fun w/ it, and good luck,
Nick