DIY Hood Concepts

[stacy_vennes]

I'm interested in using shocks on mine, the locking latches I have now are failing, where did you get those and about how much ?

Thanks

go to a used pick and pull type junk yard look for a audi a4 and use the ones on the trunk lid and go to napa or a good parts store and get mounts it was 30 bucks for us in colorado springs when we built it there but make sure you have a very strudy hinge our piano hinge failed to hold the pressure from them but good luck and have fun with it makes opening the hood quite easy and then we don't have to worry about it closing on us lol

 

[RocketEngineer]

Where can I find the magnets you use to hold the doors on with ? Also do you water proof the inside ? Great ideas, thanks

The ones I have are called "Clean Room Catches" and I got them from McMaster Carr. They are fully sealed and come with a stainless steel plate.

All the lumber is waterproofed to some extent. The poplar/pine pieces are given two coats of Kilz Latex Primer. This has survived two years on the 75g hood with no issues. Since I regularly go into the tank elbow deep, the front board has seen plenty of salt over the years but still looks good.

The oak gets a triple coating of polyurethane. The advice I got years ago was to use gloss as it is the clearest and looks the best when done. I went three coats of poly with a light scuff from a green Brillo pad just enough to take the shine off the previous coat and get good adhesion.

HTH,
RocketEngineer

 

[stugray]

Here is one:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1484647

Stu

 

[cdrewferd]

Stugray, that's an awesome looking hood. Giving me new ideas for mine. Maybe steel is the answer.

 

[michaelkittrell]

Has anyone ever put a power strip in their hood? Maybe above?

I assume the heat/moisture would make in the hood a bad idea, but I've got a peninsula setup (72x18) so there is no "back" of the tank. One heavy duty power cord running into the hood would be great.

===

I was going to build it out of 5/8 pine to match my stand. I picked up the wood a few months ago. Now, I'm thinking that it will be really heavy on the top of the tank... and that I'll have to support it from the ceiling... espeically if I put the MH ballasts on top.

If I go thinner, I'm worried it'll warp due to heat. I threw away the hood I got with the tank because of that. It wasn't constructed very well to begin with, but years of high heat and moisture probably didn't help.

===

Another idea I had was adding a curtain that could be retracted or raised... for those blackout situations fighting Cyano... or to reduce stress in the tank when I'm not looking at it, thermal insulation?

 

[awais98]

Hi Jesse,

Nice shiny hood and stand. I m also in the process of making one, I need black color too.
What is that skin material that you put there? formica? Where did you get it

Thank you

Mine falls into the "other" category.

 

[jlanger]

Has anyone ever put a power strip in their hood? Maybe above?

This answer may be too late by three months, but I have a power strip located inside my canopy. It's just a three outlet extension cord, but it serves the same purpose.
I have a canopy that is hung from the ceiling and I didn't want any cords visible between the canopy and tank. So I ran the power from above.
The cord is plugged into an outlet I put on the ceiling. And the strip is mounted inside the canopy.

I have a build thread that goes into more detail about its construction here:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2266751

 

[Misled]

What is that skin material that you put there? formica?

Thank you

1/8 inch plexi painted black.

You're welcome.

 

[cichlidtx]

Here's mine I did a couple years ago. I eventually add some support to hold the canopy up instead of the 1x2.

 

[Jonnyhot]

I'm thinking on building a floating one , does any body have idea?pic?

 

[sirreal63]

Here are a couple of my current one, it is about to be re-done into what I envisioned when I did it. Do a search on floating canopy and you will find many others people have done.

 

[overexposed]

Lots of great ideas in this thread! Keep the photos coming!

 

[RocketEngineer]

From my build thread:

Sorry about the plastic container. It had all the small pieces of rock in it and has since been removed.

The front panels mount to the back of the hood using two magnets per panel. The magnets are designed for wash-down applications and are totally encased.

The strike for the magnets mount on the back side of panels and two poplar blocks support the weight.

I really like how easy it is to get into the tank and put the panels back up when I'm done. It also helps that they are small enough to remove and replace one handed which is an improvement over my other hood.

 

[nynick]

First of all, I suck at DIY of any sort. Having said that, I have been tinkering with the idea of a tall canope that would house an algae bed lit by 1w led strips ontop of the tank lights. A power head and a spray bar inside the hood and have a plastic/acrylic slanted base with a removable lining for cleaning and to make it work like an algae scrubber of sorts. I assume the out tube will have to go all the way down into the tank to limit splashing?

Any of you handy guys have any opinions on this? As stated, I am aware of being a DIY disaster so no feelings will get hurt if you think it is the dumbest idea you have ever heard. Just so much unused space up there.....

 

[sirreal63]

PaulB has something like that on his tank.

 

[mr.maroonsalty]

The blank with rabbitted stiles and bottom rail; it's easier to poly like this:

Light bar and fish screen; the cut outs recieve 46.5" t12 fixtures:

Fixtures installed less those in use. The fans are mounted on a small block angling them towards the water. Wires are easy to cable tie to the plastic hardware cloth.

Mounted and finished:

Open:

It still needs a counter weight system; the measurements on the right were estimates for a four block set up.

 

[Timidfish]

Quick question on these hoods, do they sit right on top of the glass? or the rim? and how do you keep it from being too much weight on the sides? I am wanting to make one but am waiting to get my lights in so I know how tall I need to make it, to cover everything up. Thank you.

 

[MidwesternTexan]

Quick question on these hoods, do they sit right on top of the glass? or the rim? and how do you keep it from being too much weight on the sides? I am wanting to make one but am waiting to get my lights in so I know how tall I need to make it, to cover everything up. Thank you.

Well, the last question was about 5 months ago..

I stumbled across this thread as I plan a canopy for my 180.

I think the tank itself, with weight beared on the perimeter- can handle the weight of the canopy well.
I've never heard of a tank 'caving in' due to the canopy weight.
That being said, I'll try to minimize my weight, as it will be supporting my LEDs, etc.

 

[FuGu2]

some really nice hood designs!

 

[AquaticFins]

A brief question for RocketEngineer or anyone else who is doing a sliding light rack without hardware...would you do it again?

What kind of tolerances did you have to leave to avoid problems with expansion due to humidity? Do these racks still slide well after a couple seasons of exposure to salt and moisture?

Obviously the species/type of wood that you use will make a huge difference in how much expansion you see, but I'm curious how that method has held up in this environment.

Would it have been worth the $20-30 for stainless steel/marine-grade slides instead?