Building a hood

[realhiphop]

Hopefully someone with experience can help me out here. I plan on buying either 2 separate 1x36 watt PC's or a 2x36 for a 10 gallon.

 

I want to build a hood for the lights and place built in fans on the side of the hood.

 

All help is greatly welcome...

[Guy]

I built a hood for my 10 gallon to house the 2x36 ahsupply setup.

I am not sure of how handy you are but the best bet is to to buy some 1x6" pine and box out the frame (I used 1x4, but you mentioned adding a cooling fan. this will give you some room to cut out the fan and inlet holes in the side) If you have access to a table saw, I would suggest mitering the edges for a neater look(45 degrees) As for the top, you can buy a 2 foot piece of 1x10" pine and cut it to size. As for cutting out the holes for the fan, I would suggest buying a cheap hole saw for about 5-6 bucks from a home depot or hardware store. They attach to a drill and work well and you'll get a nice round hole. Ask them for the type used to cut holes in doors for doorknobs.

One thing to keep in mind is that if you have any hang on the back equipment, you will need to cut a clearance slot to accomodate them. You can either cut out slots in the back. or substitute the 1x6" back brace for a piece of 1x4. this will give you 2" to clear equipment.

 

Another thought is will the hood rest on the top of the tank, or would you prefer it to fit over the side. If you decide to have it slip over the top a bit, make sure you add a "stop" on both sides of the hoods interior to keep it from sliding down

 

I fiddled around with making my top hinged and found it to be more trouble than it was worth on such a small hood. I have my hood elevated slightly off of the top of my tank with a small fan blowing from the back for cooling.

 

I stained mine and sealed it with a spray polyurethane. The spray is easier to use on smaller projects and will cost you about the same as buying a small can of the brush on variety.

 

One last suggestion is to simply purchase one of ah supply's premade hoods which have the on/off switch included. I bought one from a fellow reefer on the board for my 20 gallon and the hood looks good and fits nicely.

 

good Luck

 

Guy

[Satchmo]

I second using the 1x6 wood, but I'd go with poplar. It's not much more $$ than pine, and will hold up better if your poly job is subpar. I made mine with 3 sides (open back for HOB and ventilation). I took my measurements to Home Depot and they cut the wood for me, much easier unless you have the right tools and skills (of which I have neither).

 

I did mine slightly larger that the tank so that it fits around the tank. I used some small L-brackets on the inside of the hood so it can rest on the top of the tank. This way, the canopy hangs down and covers that 1" plastic strip around the tank. I thought it looked better this way. Adding some cheap moulding around the edges did wonders in masking my ineptitude. It actually looks pretty good.

 

On the inside, seal the corners and seams with DAP caulk. Use gloss-white paint on the inside and whatever you like outside. Then throw a few coats of polyurythane over the whole mess and mount your lights. If you want to add a fan, just mount it in the open rear of the canopy and you'll be all set.

 

If you've done woodworking before, then I apologize for pandering, but I may as well mention it: 1" thick wood is not one inch thick. It's actually 3/4". This came as somewhat of a surprise to me. Just take that into account when you're working out your measurements. Good luck.

[Guy]

I agree with your idea on the open back. I originally made a box design because I was making (or attempting to make) the hood hinge. no need for 4 sides if the top is part of the design. The L brackets were a good idea as well.

 

if Realhiphop is going with the ah supply set up, than be sure to buy the 2x36 set up that is intended for 10 gallon tanks. this uses a wider one piece reflector that fits nicely into the hood with no modification. if not, the regular 2x36 or 1x36 set up uses a 24" reflector which will need to be modified to fit.

 

Guy

[realhiphop]

ok. well here's my deal with the lighting. I'm a complete newbie so all suggestions are welcome. I want 72 watts of PC lighting. I want the lighting to have the option to do dawn and dusk. so I want 2 separate ballasts, with 2 on/off's and 2 power cords.

I figure that the lights will get hot, so I want to be able to have a fan start up with the lights simultaneously when they turn on. I want the hood to have ventilation, and make sure the lamps are moisture resistant. thanks

[Satchmo]

I have the 2x36w kit from ahsupply, and think it's perfect for 10g's. But the bulbs cannot be operated independently. If you want the dawn/dusk effect, you'll have to buy single 36w kits x2. This is more expensive, of course.

 

Either way, the basic hood design Guy and I used would work well for you. You can pick up a small fan from Radio Shack for ~$20. Wire it right into the ballast, and it will go on/off with your lights. With the fan and open-backed canopy, you'll get plenty of ventilation. I would mount the ballasts on the outside of the hood (especially if you are going to use 2), and this will keep the temp down considerably.

 

If you need any more help as you go, feel free.

[ross76053]

I'm also in the process of building a new 10-gallon canopy, and as luck would have it, I'm already doing everything that Satchmo and Guy have suggested. My fan setup is a little different - instead of mounting a fan in the back, I'm going to try mounting a small computer fan in the right side of my 4-inch-tall hood (blowing outward) with an air intake screen on the left side of the hood (drawing air inward).

 

My thinking... instead of the fan cooling the water, I'm having the fan expel the heat generated by the compact light kit. We'll see in a couple of weeks. If anyone has tried this and it failed, let me know. Otherwise, I'm diving in.

[gobies]

I figure if/when I make a hood, I'm going to use two fans: one for inflow, one for outflow.

 

If you're only using one fan for outflow...I'd suggest attaching it in some way that you can remove it and flip it around to set it up so that it's an inflow fan. That way, if the outflow-only doesn't work as well as you'd like, you aren't stuck buying another fan for inflow to retrofit into your finished hood.

[Satchmo]

Ross, that plan sounds good. I would suggest having the fan blowing air in as opposed to sucking it out. People I've spoken with who have had their fan sucking out have had problems with corrosion due to the salty air the fan is constantly exposed to. If you have it blowing in, it should push the warm air out the other hole... same effect, less wear on the fan.

[ross76053]

Ahh....gotcha - good idea. I'll give it a shot.

[Dave ESPI]

See my thread on custom made hoods.

What Satchmo said is good. As are others points.