Help for 70w MH 5.5 Gallon Hood

I need some Suggestions on the Best way to build a hood for a 5.5 gallon. I want to put a 70w MH in it, But my major concern is the Glass to Block the UV. I do not mind a pendant, but I do not want to hang it from the Ceiling? Any Ideas or Suggestions? If someone knows of a Hood I can buy that can be retrofitted that would help too.

i have a 5.5 wit a 70w mh along wit 4-13watt pc... i just put the mh in the middle and the pcs on the side... but my hood was a DIY project of mine.... then i went to the glass store and got me a piece of glass to fit over my tank right in the lip of my trim... my hood is very shallow so i had a big issue with heat.. so i put a 4inch fan blowing air into my hood... now temp stay around78-79.. i like my setup.. the only thing i really didnt like at first was the glass.. i didnt like the fact of leftin it every time i had to stick my hands in the tank and feed my fish... so i got another piece of glass that was 2inches shorty... so when i put it over my tank there was an inch of space on each side to drop food and cool my water some... didnt help with leftin it everytime when i had to stick my hand in my tank but it did help with the heat and the feedin issue...

bert

Thanks. That was my thought as well. Just cut some glass to put over the tank. Hoods aren't that hard to build, but I was concerned about the heat. I also will have a fan blowing across mine. I guess I could always make the canopy a bit taller. how Tall is yours?

mine is about 5-6 inches tall...

And the pictures.....

I was thinking that I could install a piece of glass in the hood itself that could be slid out if need be. About 1" lower than the bulb. Would this be unsafe? heat issues?

is the glass an ABSOLUTE necessity?

just regular glass...?

I had a lot of trouble with that problem as well. That's when i bought a $10 lamp from office depot and used only the arm to mount my 70w pendant onto it. With minor drilling, my pendant was ready to go and maintenance has been a piece of cake since.

Here are some photos.

welcome to the ghetto.

Originally posted by T?@7

is the glass an ABSOLUTE necessity?

just regular glass...?

I think so. You need to block out all those goofy rays the MH's give off so you dont go blind and kill everything. oh well.

Originally posted by sukeband

oh well.

Hmm. Ok!

but is it regular glass or what??

toefu, thats a pretty cool idea you have there! Looks good.

Any glass or acrylic stops most uv light. I think you could go to a Good Will store and by an old CHEAP picture frame, then use the glass.

I see. thanks for the info

Acrylic is a natural uv filter, glass isn't It needs to be coated. If you go acrylic, use lexan solar. It is 90% Par efficient, and blocks out almost all UVA and UVB rays. Jah, I am working on mine tommorrow. Maybe you wanna come by and check it sometime? I am gonna use the lexan solar cut to fit my tank rim w/ holes for my returns. Good luck to all and don't get electrocuted!

i have my 150w hqi in a diy hood and i just drilled and screwed on a piece of acrylic to the bottom that way no water or salt creep can get in to the bulb compartment i keep a fan in the canopy it keeps everything nice and cool no melting but my light is like 4 inches from the bottom i would'nt put the glass less than a2-3'' from the light

I was wondering of you guys have any troubles with uv rays coming out of the back of your hoods. The MH's covered on 3 sides and then on the bottom with arcylic/glass right?

I just ordered on of those "clam lights" from hellolights and am in process of making / purchasing a canopy for it.

I don't worry bout it. Are yuo gonna stare at it for hours on end? You should be fine.

Jah, I used Lexan XL from Home depot, used a dremel to cut a piece to fit directly on to the rim of the tank, under the hood, my evap is almost nil, and the lexan xl has wonderful UV resistant properties. Go to GE plastics website for more info. The only thing I don't like is I have to lift the hood to take the plastic out. But that's good for me cuz I can't keep my hands out of the tank. I highly recommend it, as after the bulb burned in, my corals got a sunburn, basicaly everything in the shade of the light is opened, but in direct light, do'h, sunburn. The tank is recovering, but I would suggest this and light acclimation from the start.

Those rays will only hurt you if sit and stare at the bulb for hours on end. Then again, that's kinda how a bug zapper works: "Light is good, light is pretty, LIGHT IS PAINFUL!". I'd be more concerned about getting an electrical burn from mis-wiring or a broken bulb slicing my hand open. Just my thoughts.

I would only suggest using tempered glass and not acrylic on your hoods.

What if your fan goes out?

The heat will probably melt the acrylic (fire or at least livestock loss). Heat on normal annealed glass will cause it to crack if hot enough. Just think about it because I would hate to see a fellow reefer or his house go up in smoke.

By the way, acrylic as well as glass does limit UV getting to the tank. You dont want to completely limit UV though.

AND DONT STARE AT AN UNPROTECTED HQI BULB UNLESS YOU ARE LOOKING TO GET A DISABILITY CHECK.

It will damage your vision unless sheilded. Mogul base bulbs almost always have the glass shield around the main portion of the bulb for that reason.

I have never heard of acrylic being used as a UV blocker (unless it is the kind made for it as mentioned), in fact, it should block almost nil UV rays, as it is often used because of this. I would go with the glass anyways due to the heat, the acrylic will prolly warp and cloud up anyways. For glass, make sure it is thick enough to block rays...too thin and it might not be good enough.

For a hanger I have used conduit...just bent it with a bender and clamped it to the side of the stand. It is durable, and can suspend the pendant above the tank very well...even easy to move/swing out of the way like this.

For a 10 gallon I am making, I plan on using a 70wDE halide with some compacts, so I will simply mount the halide through a square hole I plan to cut in the top of the wood hood (in a cannibalized halogen fixture). This will offer a total enclosure for the DEhalide to prevent UV leakage, as well as good venting throught the top of the hood.

Rich,the lexan has a melting point of 800 degrees. It is specifically designed to block the UV. head over to GE plastics .com to see more info.

Wet , Damn man, why you gotta make me wanna build ANOTHER hood! nice drawings, I may have to do that.

I have 2 fans plugged in. If 1 goes out, the other is still on. If I had a chiller on the tank, it wouldnt help the fact that my house could still burn down LOL> I just couldnt find a cheap glass alternative. this piece of lexan xl10 cost my 7 bucks.

Hey, I'm sure not all sunglasses are made of glass, and they block UVA/UVB, right??

V

Sunglasses that arent glass have a UV filtered coating to protect you from UV rays. Living in Florida you learn this very quick.

It was my understanding that if you want the glass to transmit any certain wavelengths that it had to be made of quartz. I think it says something about that in Martin Moes first book.

Im sure a glass shop would be able to get you a nice piece of glass that would work great. And probably for under 10 bucks.

$7.oo aint so bad

Where did you get those 2 lamps?

who are you asking and which lamps...???