MH hood
- Thread starter Dave VG
- Start date
RyanM
New member
You can mount them in a wood enclosure but I would mount a fan on it. I had a 250 running in a small box made of wood sitting on my old hood. It did get hot but never hot enough that I was affraid of it. If you want something a little nicer then call a local sheetmetel shop. They could bend you a channel out of thin sheetmetel any size you want then just cap the ends. You can make the caps out of wood. Was an idea I was going to do but never had a need for such a fixture. If you go with a glass bottm for it make sure its tempered or it will shatter from the heat. Tempered glass has to be cut then tempered so you have to order the size you want then they temper it. There is a min charge of $25 for any piece being tempered. At least here thats what it costs. It would cost $25 each if you made 2 boxes or 1 big box would be only $25 once if that makes sense. Pretty cheep to make a real nice fixture hanging or sitting on you tank.
BSamuelson
New member
I am using non-tempered double strength glass (3/8") in my Lumenarc III with 250W and have not had a problem but I may just be pushing my luck. I do have a descent sized fan blowing on the outside. I believe the key will be to have a fan for some air movement. There is a big drop in the final temperature if you have some air moving through.
Dave VG
New member
Thanks guys. I was thinking about metal Ryan. We have a metal shop at work with a couple of different sized breaks that are capable of 48" bends. I may give that a shot. I think I’m leaving it open. How far over the tank do you think it should be? And do you think two fans ducted out the top would do. I plan on mounting the fans at the end of the moguls pulling the air over the bulbs and pushing it thru a metal vent pipe and out the top.
RyanM
New member
If you leave it open and make it out of metal then you should be able to go with no fans. Or at least make it then see how it goes. If your hanging it make it adjustable so it can be raised or lowered. I try and keep my 250s around 10-12 inches off the water. At that height and open not under a full hood may not be much of a heat issue.
