My DIY HOOD (Planning Phase)

[greenie]

After looking around for light sets, I decided to DIY my own. My tank size 4x2x2ft. Tubes using Osram power compacts 55w ( Dulux L 55/860). The rough sketch is self-explanatory. Need your comments on heat issues etc..

Some sort of reflectors will be use, still sourcing. I'm using E-ballast to fire them up. Fans using those DC 12volts type.





Comments are greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[vinz]

The top is closed? Try to go for an open top design - meaning no covers on top. But you can keep the walls of the hood though.

If your tank is low enough for guests to see the top, then make covers that are easily removable. Keep them open unless you have guests.

For reflectors, get standard FL reflectors. Then use PL clips to hold the tubes to the reflector. Then you can just support the refletors.

[greenie]

Thanks Vinz, I'll consider your offer and thanks for comments. Anyway the hood top is not all covered. The fan side is covered 24/7 but can be open using hinges. For light supports, I try to use the 2G11 light holders.

The other 2/3, I might do as u suggest - keep it open unless visitors comes. Never thought of that.

About using 55w, if I can source easily at my local light shop, I'll go for it. What u guys think? Is 55w PL availability is as easy as 36w PL ?

One question vinz, where do u place your e-ballast, hood or somewhere else?

[vinz]

Hi greenie,

My ballast is somewhere else.

You might want to skip the hinges, when opened, I find that higned covers get in the way. Especially when you want to access things behind the tank from the top.

I like having the whole hood light weight and as un-encumbered as possible so I can easily remove it when doing major tank maintenance.

Don't forget that the hood adds to the height of the tank, so it'll limit your reach when doing maintenance.

Mount the fans and lights independent of the hood. Then you can move them around if you decide to re-position the lights. Easier to remove too.

Basically, consider 2 things:
- flexibility: ability to change configuration easily; hood not too difficult to remove if necessary.
- accessibility: the hood should not become a hindrance.

Have you seen the display tanks at NA Nature Aquarium (Opposite Thomson Medical Centre)? I like his "hoods". You might want to consider a variation of that.

[greenie]

Alright vinz, anyway nothing is cast on stone yet. Yes, definitely will look at those hoods (NA).

Anyway, this is what I meant.

[juggler]

Your design is nice. You can mount the eBallast at the back of the hood hidden from view.

Let me share what I did for my 5ft tank if you need some ideas. My tank hood is a wooden trimming with separate cover. I did not used the cover. And I placed my lights resting on this wooden perimeter. Light set made from 6"x4" air-con trunking and reflector. See pics below.

[vinz]

Koah Fong,

Nicely done. Looks so neat.

Suggestion: group the ballasts in the middle and cut a hole above them. Then mount one or two fans to cool them. Which do you think will work better:
a. the fans extract air from the trunking, or
b. the fans blow air into the trunking.

Alternatively, cut a hole at one end, put the eBallast and fan at the other end, and have the fan extract air. This should help to cool down the whole reflector as well.

[teejay]

hey, where u get the housing? and the fans?

how much r each of them?

[joe]

Woah KF, very impressive DIY light I must say!!! Care to share some tips on making one?

[juggler]

[quote:50931b90e6="joe"]Woah KF, very impressive DIY light I must say!!! Care to share some tips on making one? [/quote:50931b90e6]

Tips? Nothing much lah -- the picture should explain everything. Make detailed plans before starting; be safe and test out connections before encasing the parts together.

There's lots of manual work like sawing, cutting, drilling and connecting the wires though. But it suits what I need.
I will try to take a picture of how it looks on the 5ft tank. It sits nicely in the wooden trimming and not an eye-sore.

[greenie]

Juggler, great DIY Hood and lights.

Wonder where u get those reflector. Last time when I went to FU WO aquarium, the owner offered to sell my fren the light set on their display tank. Similar looking to your reflector. SEE HERE,3rd picture, the top tank.

teejay, u can get the casing at almost any hardware store. Those are air-con trunkings. The fans, if u visit SIM LIM Square, is abundant in many sizes.

joe, u reading the right thread. I'm gonna make one, though a bit different from juggler's. Just follow thru together.

So any more tips to share out there?

[vinz]

Go to any shop that specialise in lights/light bulbs. They will have the reflectors.

[greenie]

What the heck, since some ask, might as well illustrate the wirings of a normal ballast and electronic ballasts. Here I'm using a two output e-ballast.

[joe]

hi greenie, not able to see your pics since your 1st post :P

[greenie]

Huh!, how about the rest. Can see all the pics I posted?

[vinz]

Can see in the office, but it refused to auto-load when I was at home. For some reason some webservers sometimes refuses to serve images. Pacnet does it to me once in a while.

All you have to do is go direct to all the images individually and then refresh this window. You can do that by clicking the URLs I extracted below and then come back to this thread and refresh. That should work.

http://www.fujifilm.com.sg/storage/p...IDEHOOD6x4.jpg
http://www.fujifilm.com.sg/storage/p...HOODTOP6x4.jpg
http://www.fujifilm.com.sg/storage/p...ARSIDEHOOD.jpg
http://www.fujifilm.com.sg/storage/p...6c-Awiring.jpg

[greenie]

Thanks vinz.

[juggler]

Just an update. Here's how the DIY light-sets sit on the open hood on my tank.

[schema]

CLAP, CLAP, CLAP!

KF, is this the setup I saw, or izzit new 1, but anyway it is very well plan and executed.

Is the fan very noisy at night?
Mine 120mm is quite noisy but luckily I don't sleep next to my tank.
My lighting oso completed but night light giving me problem, try to post complete pic next time.

[juggler]

Mike: Thanks. Waiting for the pics of your setup too... did you post it already? The last time you saw my tank, the DIY lights were half done. The wooden trimming was not up then.

The DC fans are quiet. Didn't hear them running even when I am near. The bigger ones are 12V, 140mA. The smaller ones are 12V, 80mA.