DIY MH hood

tngator19

tngator19

Member
I am going to build a hood with a MH system I got off a auction site. How high off the surface of the water should I keep the light. and should I have it going to open water or a glass top, I have no criters that can get out yet, but might get a eel one day, and have herd dad's storys of his eels and octs on the floor behind the couch (beforeI was born, when he could afford a aquarium, lol). Also my tank is a 46g bow front would 1 250w MH 20k be enough for corals and anennomes?I could throw my current 2x 30w 50/50's back in the new hood if need be. And also does anybody know any good sites for us DIYers with plans and ideas, if so you can email me at tngator19@aol.com. thanks, and can I say "I LOVE THIS SITE"
 
msd2

msd2

Active Member
Originally Posted by tngator19
I am going to build a hood with a MH system I got off a auction site. How high off the surface of the water should I keep the light. and should I have it going to open water or a glass top, I have no criters that can get out yet, but might get a eel one day, and have herd dad's storys of his eels and octs on the floor behind the couch (beforeI was born, when he could afford a aquarium, lol). Also my tank is a 46g bow front would 1 250w MH 20k be enough for corals and anennomes?I could throw my current 2x 30w 50/50's back in the new hood if need be. And also does anybody know any good sites for us DIYers with plans and ideas, if so you can email me at tngator19@aol.com. thanks, and can I say "I LOVE THIS SITE"
Most mh manufactures say 10-12 inches from the water. If your tank is acrlyic 12 to be safe to avoid warping the top. To avoid overheating your tank w/the mh I would go topless, its also one less thing to reduce your light output. I personally would say yes a 250mh w/your existing bulbs would allow you lots of flexibilty for animals. Just watch your heat, mh produce lots of heat and you may need a fan or two to keep the tank at a acceptable level. You may want to rethink the 20k bulb, my experience has been that the 10k produce better growth and if ur looking to make the tank blue colored replace ur 30w bulbs with actinics.
 
tngator19

tngator19

Member
Would it be ok to place the 30w's up 12" with the MH bulb, also I was thinking about installing moon lights would they be ok 12" off the surface.
 
msd2

msd2

Active Member
Originally Posted by tngator19
Would it be ok to place the 30w's up 12" with the MH bulb, also I was thinking about installing moon lights would they be ok 12" off the surface.
my entire canopy is 12 inches from the top of the tank, so yes it is. The moon lights actually look better imho because it gives them more room to dispirse from a beam of light.
 
msd2

msd2

Active Member
I suppose it depends on how u make the hood. The hood that came w/my tank sits about 6 inches tall and I had to make a spacer, I used 1x12 board and painted them black. so on the front and sides is 1x12 and the back is 1x6 to allow for air flow. Basically if the top is closed it goes down into the tank and some light excapes out the back. I guess if u suspended the light over the top of the tank it would throw light everywhere.
 
tngator19

tngator19

Member
ok thanks for the info. I think I have an idea how to make my hood. I have been wonering how to make one look good on a bow front, but I had a brain storm while reading this. Being a carpenter it shouldn't be that hard. just got to keep it clean and simple. Thanks again.
 
tngator19

tngator19

Member
I will. I stincks when you have the idea in your head but you still have to wait about a week for the light to get here, lol. So i can get the mesurments and such. and one more ?, I am getting 10 LED moon lights in a DIY kit, would it be better to spread them out under the hood our group them to look like a ball, kind of the way the moon would look from under water.
 
msd2

msd2

Active Member
Originally Posted by tngator19
I will. I stincks when you have the idea in your head but you still have to wait about a week for the light to get here, lol. So i can get the mesurments and such. and one more ?, I am getting 10 LED moon lights in a DIY kit, would it be better to spread them out under the hood our group them to look like a ball, kind of the way the moon would look from under water.
I spread them out, and I actually also put in some red led's just for effect. I like the way it turned out. Just make sure you get the ones w/the large viewing degree, I think all of my moon/night lights are 30degrees.
 
tngator19

tngator19

Member
well I got my MH light and ballist yesterday, and got it temperaraly set up, had to put a towl up to block the light that is shining out the sides it gives us a head ach. But it makes the tank look real blue by itself is that the 20k in it or are all MH real bule. I will start on making the hood today if it stops raining. Think I will put the floresants closer to the surface, maybe a few inches up and then see where I can fit the moon lights. I got 10 LED's comming in the mail so I should have plentty of moon light shining.I will try and post some pics when I get it all done.
 
tngator19

tngator19

Member
This is a stupid question, but how do you post some pics on here. I have tried to drag and drop, and the insert image button above but don't know what to type to get it to show up. Thanks.
 
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