hood design

[CMcNeil]

ok ive figured out what im doing for lights on the tank and have the halides and vho ballists and endcaps.i was going to try and pack four 24"vhos plus the halides into the hood.i have tried and tried on my autocad to get this setup to work but its just too deep from front to back.i was expecting a little over the 18" but i cant go 20",this would put one of my rear vhos hanging over the back trim of the tank.so kind of a waste of light.so ive decided to just go with two 46 1/2"vhos actinics and the two 250 halides.here is what the frame work for the hood will look like and the positions of the lights.

 

[mflamb]

Looks like a good plan.

 

[ryan115]

have you thought about adding T5s instead of VHO's, you could pack several more lights into the smaller space,

 

[ReefArtist]

That looks good checkinhawk. These are going to be hanging from the ceiling right? If so just make sure you can move them out of the way so you can get in and clean. If it's going to be sitting on top like mine, make sure the area that raises (Feeding door) you can get your hand in and out. I had a little problem with my feeding door which I also use to pick up corals from snail/crab knockovers. My light was to close to the edge of my door. I just moved my T5 back about 1 inch and now I don't hit the reflector.

Just to let you know - everything has been fired twice now and is looking good.

 

[guntercb]

I think you are going to find you have plenty of light. That is close to 700 watts for a 90 gallon tank. I am not an SPS expert but I would think you could keep anything alive under that.

You are making your system jam up!!! Keep it up.

OT - But how do you like QuickCad?

Cheers,
Chris

 

[CMcNeil]

ryan i did think of going with t5's but i already have the vho ballists and endcaps,so i dont want to spend more money if i dont have to.reefartist i have decided to make a regular style hood.i have my design set and started to build it today.gunter the quick cad is great,it takes a little practice to figure it all out but it is easy after that.i only paid $50 for the cad program.

 

[guntercb]

CheckinHawk,

Yeah, I use AutoCad at work and would love to have it at my house, but the price of AutoCad is out the ballpark. I can do 50 bucks. The screen shot of Quick Cad make it look fairly easy to learn.

BTW, I think VHO have better actnics so I think you are best to do the VHOs if they are for the actnics.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[CMcNeil]

i have a full version of autocad i got from a college kid i know.i never used it lol,it was too much for me,that and it had no instructions.the one i use really can do alot,more than you would ever expect from $50 program.and yeah i was told that the vhos are better actinics.besides why buy new ballists and endcaps and bulbs,when i can just buy bulbs and be done.

 

[hexedagain]

Have you allowed room for cooling fans? That is, if you plan on using them.

 

[CMcNeil]

yes i plan on getting fans,or just or big fan.i found this fan at grainger http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/itemDetailsRender.shtml?ItemId=1613541607

 

[o2zen]

That is a lot of noise but it moves a ton of air. Think of two of those running - way loud I would think.

 

[ReefArtist]

Those are sweet checkinhawk, 6" that should cool things down. I have 2- 4" fans on top and 2-3" fans in the back now and they aren't doing the job I thought they would. I sit right beside the tank and the noise is not that bad. I have the two top fans come on only when the MH is on so the ones on the back are on all the time. I might have to look at the 6 inch fans for the refuge.

 

[ReefArtist]

Hey checkinhawk, just to let you know I added a larger (non-permanent) fan in my refuge area and the temp dropped by 3 degrees. Right now around here the selection of fans are slim pickings, so I'm waiting until around March when the companies get the cooling supplies in before I purchase.