"Lets Talk about Hoods"

[Scooterman]

I've seen a few neat hood designs in the past, thought maybe we could gather up some photos, & have a reference place just for hood designs. How about posting a few pictures of your hood, information on how it was made, what would you do different next time. Things I'm interested in is, the actual dimensions, framing, doors, hinges, Reflectors, light fixtures, mounting & location of fans, & wiring this all together.

I'll start with mine, I'll have to take some pictures & post them later but I can start with the progression. I guess in most cases it tends to be read, read then experiment, live & learn type thing. I started out basic, made changes, then made more rearrangements, location of fans, lights etc. this last time I made several changes with the addition of new lights, so I'll take a few pictures & post before and after shots, hopefully by then we will have a thread full of information lol!

 

[Scooterman]

Here is a few before shots, sorry all I had, after millions of shots of my tank.

 

[Nautilus]

Mine is getting made right now but will post when it is up and running.
OH thanks for useing my banner

 

[Scooterman]

Now If you could get this one to work, I'd be grateful!

 

[NaH2O]

Scooterman - it hasn't been added as a logo yet....MDM is going to be doing that soon.

 

[Llarian]

Here is a few before shots, sorry all I had, after millions of shots of my tank.

That's almost exactly what I am hoping to build for my tank. I don't suppose you could whip up some basic instructions for how you built that? I'm not much of a carpenter, at least as far as desiging things or figuring out what's needed to build them.

-Dylan

 

[Scooterman]

Well mine was built for me, one thing for sure, I would of made it taller. If I have time tonight I'll try & put up more pictures with some dimensions. One problem with that design, is the ability to place fluorescents & MH lighting, as you will see, my MH is actually the wrong way, parallel instead of perpendicular.

 

[reedman]

Here are a few of the feaures I incorporated into my canopy redesign.

1) I made the front panel open upward so that I have the entire tank surface in front of me without any obstructions.

2) I put the top on a hinge so that I could change bulbs easily and take top down photos.

3) I used braces similar to those used on the top part of tool chests. They lock out when open so that I don't have to be worried about getting hit in the head with the canopy (don't need anymore loss up there).

4) I made the canopy deep enough to allow for perpendicular mounting of my MHs.

That's about it. It turned out quite nice. I'll try to post some pics over the weekend.