ross76053 Posted January 2, 2003 Author Share Posted January 2, 2003 30 hours of prep work for 20 minutes of staining - unbelievable. It's easy - follow the directions on the can. Link to comment
ross76053 Posted January 2, 2003 Author Share Posted January 2, 2003 The hood after stain was applied. Link to comment
ross76053 Posted January 2, 2003 Author Share Posted January 2, 2003 Next - the sealant.... I've done much research on sealants for marine use and have found that "Varathane" is the best product on the market. Use at least four coats, and allow a couple of hours between coatings. Here's the hood after it was sealed: Link to comment
ross76053 Posted January 2, 2003 Author Share Posted January 2, 2003 Same with the inside of the hood - use at least four coats. Remember the 1/2 x 1 inch trim I used to hold the glass in place? I had to use a freakin' small kid's paint brush to seal in between it. This sucked. Four... count 'em, four times. Link to comment
ross76053 Posted January 2, 2003 Author Share Posted January 2, 2003 Here's a shot of the plexiglass installed in the hood. Link to comment
ross76053 Posted January 2, 2003 Author Share Posted January 2, 2003 Time to screw in the fans on each side. Link to comment
ross76053 Posted January 2, 2003 Author Share Posted January 2, 2003 ...and the covers on the outside. Link to comment
ross76053 Posted January 2, 2003 Author Share Posted January 2, 2003 I added some wire management clips to the inside of the hood. You can place yours wherever you need them. Just be sure to pre-drill the screw holes. Link to comment
ross76053 Posted January 2, 2003 Author Share Posted January 2, 2003 I won't go into the fan wiring - that's another topic. If you need help, PM me. I do suggest/use shrink wrap for electrical wire. Keeps water out. Link to comment
ross76053 Posted January 2, 2003 Author Share Posted January 2, 2003 Here's a pic of my old (left) and new hood (right). Link to comment
ross76053 Posted January 2, 2003 Author Share Posted January 2, 2003 Here's a pic with the light fixtures installed: Link to comment
ross76053 Posted January 2, 2003 Author Share Posted January 2, 2003 And the finished product. Overall, turned out really well. Total time - about 40-45 hours. Link to comment
ross76053 Posted January 2, 2003 Author Share Posted January 2, 2003 Side view.... This has to be the longest one-man post in nano-reef.com history. Link to comment
Xavier Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 Looks great ross.. makes me want to have a full garage of tools.. my apt. neighbors would complain if I had all that out on my balcony! Actually, what I'm most interested in is in that last post of yours.. is that a Tiffany lamp next to your nano?? (how off topic eh?) Link to comment
jojopus Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 Ross, Is the glass you used just a regular old peice of glass, or is it tempered? I'm wondering because I plan on doing a similar hood and I'm not sure whether tempered glass is necessary, or do the fans really keep the glass from getting too hot? Also does the light passing through the glass cause any reduction in the lights quality? Link to comment
Xavier Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 I think you'll see a reduction in light quality/quantity through any material.. how much is dependant upon the quality of the glass... chances are it's not noticeable immediately, but build up of salt on it from splashes will begin to degrade the amount of light that penetrates the glass, then has to penetrate the water... Link to comment
cliffrouse11baseball Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 where can you find varathane sealer at??? Link to comment
cliffrouse11baseball Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 where can you find varathane sealer at??? Link to comment
ross76053 Posted January 3, 2003 Author Share Posted January 3, 2003 jojopus...the glass I'm using now is plexiglass - sorry I should have been more specific...I'll be sure to change it (was really late when I posted). I've heard different reviews for plexiglass used on a hood, with bowing, yellowing, etc. I bought the most expensive sheet I could find in hopes that this won't happen. We'll see. The fans DO keep the plexiglass from getting very hot. If the plexiglass doesn't work out, I'll go to a glass shop and have a custom piece of glass made. As far as the plexiglass reducing the lights' quality - not sure. I'm not too worried about it. I've got the glass far enough off the water that it doesn't get splashed. I will say this - my previous hood had the lights about 2 1/2 inches off the water. This hood has 'em about 4 1/2 inches off, and the overall color of the corals is much better. My frogspawn looks more green (my wife noticed), and my candy cane looks more blue. Oh, and you can get Varathane sealant at Lowe's Home Improvement stores. If you have no idea what "Lowe's" is, you can probably find it at most home improvement stores. The stuff is expensive - I paid $60 for a gallon, knowing I'd probably make more than one hood. But I've seen quarts as well for around $20. Link to comment
cliffrouse11baseball Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 Thanks I went to home depot and didn't see it how about polyacrylic or something like that... Link to comment
OxInYourBox Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 Damn good job on the hood and the write up... Maybe this should be made into an article and posted in the articles page. Unfortunately most people do not consult the articles before posting but enough with that. Good job again Ross. Interesting regarding the overall color with regards to height. I'm guessing the lighting has more distance/space to diffuse and doesn't quite nail the corals with the full blast so suddenly (distance wise) if that makes sense. Most larger tanks have a much larger distance between the corals and the lights. Once again good job. Link to comment
ross76053 Posted January 3, 2003 Author Share Posted January 3, 2003 Thanks I went to home depot and didn't see it how about polyacrylic or something like that... Yep, that'll work fine. I use the term "plexiglass" as a general term for plastic glass. Mine's actually a "Lexan XL10" sheet. I'm guessing the lighting has more distance/space to diffuse and doesn't quite nail the corals with the full blast so suddenly Exactly what I was thinking... Tried to explain it to my wife that way, but she looked at me like I was nuts. I've also discovered I'm now able to keep my tank at a constant 78 degrees. Thanks for the compliments! Link to comment
Vish Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 Thats an awesome job Ross. After looking at this, I do not think I can do this myself. I think I am gonna have somebody do it for me. Just a thought. Would it be possible to make the hood in such a way that you can adjust the distance between the light and the water level? Would it be too difficult? Good job man... Link to comment
Orange Crush Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 Great job! I'm thinking of trading in my minibow for a ten just to take on this project and play with my husband's new air compressor Just a thought. Would it be possible to make the hood in such a way that you can adjust the distance between the light and the water level? Would it be too difficult? In theory, and I'm no carpenter here, but I've watched my share of the New Yankee Workshop, and Amy Wyn is one of my personal heroes, but I'd say, if you wanted to make it adjustable (though I'm not sure why you'd want to do this...) you could mount the lighting on a seperate piece of plywood, cut to fit the inside of the hood. Then you could drill some um..shelf brackets? like your kitchen cabinets might have?...anyway, drill some holes at intervals and use those to move the lighting if you want to. Don't know about the wiring on this. I don't have any electrician personal heroes, cept maybe my husband. Link to comment
Xavier Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 Damnit OC.. I was gonna post almost the same thing.. could also put in some thin long wood braces spaced about 1/2" apart from top to bottom (or however far down), on both sides of the hood.. then like OC said, you could use a piece of plywood with your drilled lighting into it, then just slide the plywood "rack" from one slot to another to adjust it's height (assuming it's open in the back) Link to comment
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