[aquascape ebay]

hi there

im planning on building a halide rig into a hood for my tank

the light rig is a 1800mm long unit containing all the ballast etc
there are 3 150w halides and 1 54w kelvin blue tube which is the length of the unit

as i understand mostly you would hang this type of unit from the hang cord with no hood

however im doin a free standing tank with the hood continueing up to the cieling

the hood area is 18" wide by 18" high by 72" long
at the front of the hood im planning on having the main service doors so this and the ends would need to be solid wood

at the rear i thought i could include wooden trellis (like the radiator cover type stuff you get at diy stores) and im hoping several 12" x 12" vented openings along the hoods length would be enough to keep the unit at a reasonable temperature?

any sudgestions would be super

 

[MarkMc]

How warm does it get in the summer? Do you have an air conditioned house? Do you have $500 to $1000 in your tank budget for a chiller for your tank?

 

[aquascape ebay]

How warm does it get in the summer? Do you have an air conditioned house? Do you have $500 to $1000 in your tank budget for a chiller for your tank?

theres no direct sunlight to the tank
the temperature is almost always 18 degrees
and no i dont have money in the budget for a chiller unfortunately.:icon_conf
i did see some other threads with people with halides inside wooden hoods but there was no indication of venting etc

 

[MarkMc]

Does the hood come right down to the tank? Metal halides generate a lot of heat. I think that might be a problem in this set up. Even with fluorescent fixtures you are going to need fans in the hood IMO.

 

[aquascape ebay]

Does the hood come right down to the tank? Metal halides generate a lot of heat. I think that might be a problem in this set up. Even with fluorescent fixtures you are going to need fans in the hood IMO.

ok i was imagening this problem
in terms of fans what would i need as i obviously dont want a noisy fan in my ear when im watching a movie etc

are pc fans adequate?
i would have said a bathroom extractor but they can be very noisy

 

[marrow]

Are these the double ended bulbs (HQI) or the single ended bulbs. I frequently see the HQi bulbs inside factory built hoods but nobody seems to stick a normal MH bulb into a hood. I have MH bulbs two 175s but they are above an open tank and not enclosed in hoods just individual cheap reflectors. The are hot but they dont heat the room noticeably and I dont require a chiller. Contained under a hood would be a different story. Temp swings here are huge but in the UK things are pretty temperate so with fans I dont think you would need a chiller. Depending on the size of your tank of course.

 

[GTR]

I think the only way 150W MH come are double ended.
PC fans should be fine. Placement of the fans will depend on where you have room. But even those have a small whine that can get on my nerves. I think MH actually burn truer at warmer temps whereas T5, T8, etc prefer cooler operating temperatures.

With 450 of MH in an enclosed hood you can expect some warming effect and a nice increase in your electric bill. My 90g doesn't have 1/2 the power demand in total.

SteveU

 

[aquascape ebay]

I think the only way 150W MH come are double ended.
PC fans should be fine. Placement of the fans will depend on where you have room. But even those have a small whine that can get on my nerves. I think MH actually burn truer at warmer temps whereas T5, T8, etc prefer cooler operating temperatures.

With 450 of MH in an enclosed hood you can expect some warming effect and a nice increase in your electric bill. My 90g doesn't have 1/2 the power demand in total.

SteveU

its not the actual heating of the tank in worried about its the overheating of the actual lighting unit?
would you say it would overheat even with the vents im adding?

 

[MarkMc]

its not the actual heating of the tank in worried about its the overheating of the actual lighting unit?
would you say it would overheat even with the vents im adding?

If your hood comes all the way down to the tank (you didn't say whether it did or not) then you WILL have a heat issue and yes it will warm up the tank! I for many years had 2 175 watt pendent fixtures over my 55 gallon tank. In the summer it DID affect the temp of the tank-greatly. I live in upstate New York-pretty temperate part of US-lots of shade trees around the house situated in a valley. So to answer your question: no IMO the vents by themselves aren't going to do it especially if the hood comes all the way down to the tank top.

 

[MarkMc]

Another thing to consider: pendents are made to cool via the pendent enclosure. That is: air circulating around them. Hanging them inside an enclosure without significant air circulation just to me seems like a bad idea. Most, if not all fixtures that are hood "enclosed" style with MH have fans built in. Most of those are designed for reef tanks and many reef folks use chillers because of the heat issues.

 

[aMichaels]

i see this being a very bad idea. you risk cooking your fish and even fire! MH put out a lot more heat than people realize, expecially in an enclosed space. To make this even remotely safe you should raise the hieghth of the hood remove the back totally and add in good fan. and even still your bound to have a temp increase in your tank with 3 150w MH bulbs. They will also affect your flouescent, not the bulb as much as melting any plastic.
I have a fan i hooked up to some HPS fixtures, they put out a lo of heat as well. The fan is small, not to loud, and powerful. Some HPS fixtures come with cooling fans but i this something i added to the fixtures after the initial purchace of the fixtures.
It's Made by xinruilian. thats about all i know. some internet research should come up with something. It works great for my HPS fixtures. But who knows maybe its worth a look.

 

[James77]

I have a reef tank with halide pendants built into the hood, and have never needed a chiller on any of my tanks.

You definitely want air circulation inside the canopy/hood, computer fans work fine. If you have heat problems already or in a very warm area, I would lean towards not getting halides. Otherwise any heat added to your tank is that much less that your heaters would be running anyways.

On my setup, 2x250 halides in a canopy,I only have trouble when my house temps are in the upper 80's, and once the AC is on, the tank cools down. I also have alot of other pumps running and adding their heat.

 

[FSM]

You should probably leave the back of the canopy completely open and put some fans in it.

 

[aquascape ebay]

ok so i have done some thinking and decided to make the hoods entire back completely vented plus a 2" gap all the way along the back top of the hood too so any hot air rising will expel from the gap and vent easily

now on to the fan!

has anyone used a bathroom fan before i looked in all the hardware stores today and with it not being summer they dont have any type of fan for sale the only thing i could find was a bathroom extractor from experience with them before just using them in a bathroom they seem to be really noisy but woiuld 100% do the job but its gonna right in our living room so may not be the best solution

 

[James77]

I would do a large computer fan, it will be more than enough airflow. Scythe are very quiet and push alot of air

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