DIY Hood I made today?

versivix · 08-21-2005, 08:05 PM

I had a glass hood which I just bought two days ago. I laid my aqualight retrofit 2x96watts (Actnic and white) right ontop of the glass....Around five hours later, the glass hood craked and glass fell into the tank. Thank god it held my lighting up and didnt fall into the tank, I wonder what would have happened? Anyway, I decided to build my own hood out of wood. I spent the day doing so. My questions are:

1. My lighting now sits about 5 - 6 " from the water. Is this too far or just right?

2. I spray painted the wooden hood with black spray paint. Will the wood box get hot enough due to the lighting and start on fire? I figued the spray paint would help ingnite it? Anyone know? If I start the house on fire my girlfreind would be quite pissed.

3. Has anyone accidentally dropped their lighting in their tank? What happened?

tims · 08-21-2005, 08:17 PM

Dont look too bad at all!
i would recommend a few small add ons.
paint the inside white and seal it. you dont want it rotting.
is the back open?
adding a fan to help cool the lights will be very good!

dropping a light in to the tank can ... kill you , kill your fish/ corals. start a fire, burn down the house..these are all possiblities hopefully it would cause a trip. and the electric would shut off.

wharyat · 08-21-2005, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjbaran@gmail.com

If I start the house on fire my girlfreind would be quite pissed.

Just a little.

The hood looks great.

The lights can be any distance from the water, I've seen within an inch on MH. To be safe keep it at an inch or greater.

You may want to think about ventilating the hood, computer fans work great. It shouldn't get hot enough to ignite the wood or paint, but the lights (regardless of type) need to be kept at a low temp to operate efficiently and last their intended life.

On the inside of the hood, look for some white paint (reflects rather than absorbs), a good marine paint is the best, but spray paint would be fine.

Never dropped my lighting in the water, but I'm sure I would have fried ballast, corals, fish, house.

wharyat · 08-21-2005, 08:25 PM

Beat me to it Tim!

versivix · 08-21-2005, 08:39 PM

Thanks for all the advice gentleman...I am going to listen to you and paint the inside white...I would also like to put a couple pc fans inside...What are you guys using to power the pc fans? I know they use the pronged connectors but what do you hook them up to to get them power? A computer power suppy?

VWD · 08-21-2005, 08:57 PM

Nice hood and You can get a cheap 12 volt power supply for it the type for CPU speakers , cell phone. very easy to find..

versivix · 08-21-2005, 09:22 PM

Would this 12v power supply work?

http://www.baproducts.com/asccustomp...ProductID=3070

If so, I would then use a computer fan ( i have some of these)? Would I have to splice the wires on the fan to fit this power supply? Could I use speaker wire to splice the computer fan to the 12v power supply?

VWD · 08-21-2005, 09:25 PM

Yes I think it will work but You can get samller and cheaper at radio shack. maybe walmart.

versivix · 08-21-2005, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VWD

Yes I think it will work but You can get samller and cheaper at radio shack. maybe walmart.

hmmm, I just checked radio shack's website and couldnt find one on their site. Maybe, Ill just go tomorrow and check it out...

reef_noob · 08-21-2005, 09:46 PM

Also, you should make sure that everything is plugged into a GFCI outlet. If you don't have one...get one...they are relatively easy to install and they can save your life.

versivix · 08-21-2005, 09:48 PM

I actually have stuff plugged into an APC battery backup? Not sure if that will save my life though?

reef_noob · 08-21-2005, 09:54 PM

Nope it won't, A GFCI outlet monitors for shorts in the line and shuts down if it senses one. This could happen if you spill a lot of water onto a power strip or something like that. Believe me, I never thought that would happen to me until it did. Luckily it wasn't a lot of water and my GFCI tripped. I'm not sure if it would trip in the case of dropping lights into water but I suspect so. They are mandatory on all new homes in bathrooms and at counter level in kitchens. Basically, if you have a plug that can potentially be exposed to water then it really ought to be a GFCI outlet.

versivix · 08-21-2005, 09:57 PM

Thanks reefnoob, I will look into that and see what I can do. Although, I hate playing with electricity!@! I cant stop thinking about the lights falling into the water...I can just see it happening...Not that it will but, you know....Do all of you have your lights exposed to water as well? Do you guys use glass hoods? SHould I put another glass hood down just in case something would happen and the lights fell into the water?

reef_noob · 08-21-2005, 10:09 PM

Don't use glass, it traps heat. Use eggcrate. It's easy to find and you can cut it to the exact size you need. With your lights raised, you shouldn't have any problems with it melting.

aussiereefer82 · 08-21-2005, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reef_noob

Nope it won't, A GFCI outlet monitors for shorts in the line and shuts down if it senses one. This could happen if you spill a lot of water onto a power strip or something like that. Believe me, I never thought that would happen to me until it did. Luckily it wasn't a lot of water and my GFCI tripped. I'm not sure if it would trip in the case of dropping lights into water but I suspect so. They are mandatory on all new homes in bathrooms and at counter level in kitchens. Basically, if you have a plug that can potentially be exposed to water then it really ought to be a GFCI outlet.

Reef_noob is right. Get GFCI's for every outlet, read my thread about water and electricity not mixing. I was very lucky!!