Hood Design Take a Look

[stresco]

I am waiting for my new Metal Halides ballasts and bulbs to arrive, so i decided to draw up what i think my hood should look like when i am done with mounting the MH and the Moonlights. Let me know what you think.

 

[BillyZ]

no actinics planned?

 

[cj10488]

IMO the bulbs in the picture are quite close together.. you are going to want each bulb centered directly over each Half of the tank... Also make sure the fans are blowing out and not into the canopy.. That will help with cooling..

no actinics planned?

I agree some sort should be supplied but I believe you were planning on 20k radium bulbs right? If you were IMO actinics would not be needed as it would be an overkill in the blue spectrum

James

 

[stresco]

I am not planing on adding actinics at this time becasue I have decided to use 20k bulbs. I was considering retrofitting the ballast and sockets of my 110w PCs and using the 10k bulbs, i just bought. The design that you see is a rough draft and not to scale. I will space the bulbs an eqal distand from either side of the tank. You have to remember...this is only a 55gal tank, so the lights will be close together regardless.

 

[fishfreek]

The MH bulbs and the Moonlights are not tied to the same ballast are they?

 

[cj10488]

I am not planing on adding actinics at this time becasue I have decided to use 20k bulbs

thats what i thought..

As for the Fans are they going to be mounted on the back of the canopy?? If so I would rethink and mount them on the sides.. It will allow for better cooling..

HTH,
James

 

[stresco]

The MH bulbs and the Moonlights are not tied to the same ballast are they?

No...I dont have a drawing of the MH ballasts because they are going to be places either on a stand or on the floor. You can see the little box on the hood, that is the AC-DC Converter for the moonlights.


Tha fans are going to be mounted to the back of the hood because i dont want to see them. So far i have been doing a good job of hiding all the equiptment.

 

[Electrobes]

cj if the fans are on the side.. are both blowing out? or is one blowing in and the other out?

 

[cj10488]

cj if the fans are on the side.. are both blowing out? or is one blowing in and the other out?

I have mine both blowing out.. When I have one of them blowing in it doesnt cool the tank as effectively.. When I placed them on the back of the hood it heated the tank up more that I cooled it off as it was hitting the wall and therefor heating up the tank some more.. The only efficent way I found to cool the tank is with the fans on the side both exhausting the air out of the tank.. And yes I did play with this for many weeks as I have 2x250w and 2x55w on a 55gal tank.. It heats up quick..

HTH,
James

 

[stresco]

how did you mount the fans on the side of the hood? did you mount them on the inside or outside? what did you use to make the holes?

 

[cj10488]

how did you mount the fans on the side of the hood? did you mount them on the inside or outside? what did you use to make the holes?

I used the fan itself and traced a hole the size of the inside of the fan.. I then drilled a hole in the center of the marking and used a JigSaw to cut the entire circle out.. I then screwed the fans into the hood.. I can take pics of the side If you would like..

HTH,
James

 

[stresco]

I can take pics of the side If you would like

That would be great. I got the ballasts, bulbs and fans in today. I should get the sockets by Friday so I will be ready to start working on the MH by Saturday. I am still waiting for the LEDs, but i have the needed hardware for them.