my 2.5g hood construction

[baj]

Hi All,

Just wanted to share with you all my 2.5g hood construction. I started out with 2x13w but upgraded to add 2x18w soon after. Ive had this hood for 2 months now.

The canopy is crappy DIY work, I havent primed the wood or anything, so one of the sides is showing some staining due to salt creep, although it hasnt warped yet. The canopy is open top, so the reflector is open to air and is cooled by a small table fan which is not mounted on the hood itself.

 

Here are some pictures:

 

 

As you can see I didnt have proper sockets for the 18w bulbs, so I DIY'ed my own little socket with holes cut into the side panel of the canopy, the bulbs are held into place with a piece of acrylic which is screwed into place, so it can be removed if necessary. The 2 13w bulbs are mounted on triangular wooden blocks so they are placed obliquely in the hood, this is the only way I could squeeze all 4 bulbs in the 6" width space of the hood. The mounting of the 2 13w bulbs can be seen here:

 

 

 

And here is how the inside looks (please pardon the splash stains, the hood needs a wipe down)

 

 

 

I am very happy with this config, Ive been keeping SPS for 1 month now and none of them have lost color, and the growth is great too.

 

 

 

For more pictures of my tank and corals, please see my thread

[pigtails=handles]

Tank looks good

But the hood could use a little help

If you need some help in that department shoot me a pm

other than that keep up the good work and keep sharing pics

[baj]

I am very happy with the hood, but thanks for the offer