Need MH opinions/experience info...

[Ike]

Well, I'm finally taking the plunge into MH territory. Myt PC/VHO combo has worked well & I've gotten some nice color out of my sps, but it's just not where is could be. Plus I'd like to consider a clam in the future, SO....

 

I'm going to be using an IceCap 175 MH ballast running an XM 10,000k bulb. I've heard great things about this bulb, but I won't know for sure until I'm using it.

 

So I have a few questions.

 

1) Does anyone know of a material I can use to build my hood out of that's lighter than wood & fireproof? My current hood is built from 1x6 pine. It's nice, but it's heavy. I have a feeling that my new hood, built from 1x12 pine will be REALLY heavy. Any ideas?

 

2) I'm going to run actinic supplementation on an IceCap 440. I already have a 2x75 watt VHO set-up and a 2x65 watt PC set-up. Which would YOU prefer if you had a choice. I'm leaning towards VHO, but am open to suggestion.

 

Any ideas are appreciated.

[coral reef]

vhos all the way

[Von digity]

1) Metal is the best.

 

Almost all plastics have a working temp that MH might surpass, I'm not sure. If they don't melt, they'll warp.

 

I thought about using thick ABS, but having a metal reflector with a large air gap between it, or sandwiching ceramic tiles between the ABS and the reflector, or using that silver flame retardend stuff (y'know, its thick, they sell it at OSH.) I'm not sure if it will warp from the heat or not.

 

 

 

2) Stick with the VHO's, screw the pc's.

[jasontatro]

Dude!!!! Your avatar is killing me. I can't concentrate on reading. LOL

[SaltyDawg]

It may bea bit pricey to go with any thing other than wood. That being said aluminum would be ideal. Lighter than wood. Wont melt or warp. Wont rust. And you wont have to paint the inside white. Just clear coat it with marine grade poly. paint the exterior the color you want it to be and your set. Other wise your stuck like chuck. BTW I would highly recommend VHO over PC Lighting any day of the week. especialy in conjunction with MH.

That would be the ultimate combo for healthy and happy corals.

[Ike]

Thanks everyone,

 

I'm going to go with the MH/VHO combo.

 

I'd LOVE to use aluminum, but I've never done any metal work before, so that's going to be a problem. I'll have to do some more research & see what building materials I can find.

 

Thanks again for the input.

[qfour20]

Before I started my hood opus, I had a good long think about materials and construction techniques. I decided that I didn't want to use thick wood like your 1x12's, so I went a different route.

 

I built a frame from rectangular trim from homedespot (cheap stuff!) and then put on outer pieces of very very thin water resistant plywood. It's not done yet (and might never be) but here's a pic of it in progress. I think it will work well, and you might consider doing the same.

 

There will be a full thread detailing the construction of my hood sometime soon. Hope this helps!

 

-q

[Ike]

That's exactly the kind of solution I was looking for!!!

 

Thanks qfour.

 

How did you secure the frame pieces together? Gorilla Glue or screws?

[qfour20]

Rather lengthy answer to short question:

 

I made a jig out of some pieces of stud 2x4 at a right angle, and drilled out a large hole in one side. I put some glue on the pieces and clamped down the trim pieces in this jig and drilled a pilot hole in them with a counter-sink bit. I then ran a wood screw into the pilot hole and let it dry for a while. I can stand on the frame it made (there's more bracing in it now than there was in the pic. i had to have a place to mount the actinic pc's).

 

Sorry if this isn't explained clearly. Let me know if you have more questions. Worked great for me.

 

-q

[Von digity]

Check out these bare fixtures. Relatively cheap, if your looking for a pendant style metal hood. Theres even one that will accomodate MH and vhos. .http://www.reeftanklighting.com/shopdispla...at=Bare%2BHoods

 

Qfour's looks good as well