Anyone Raised Their BioCube Hood?

Mushroom Boy · Sep 10, 2016

i have a Steves LED retrofit in my BC 29. I'm trying to find a way to raise the hood to get the lights about 4" higher off of the water. I'm thinking of making a 4" wood expander that goes between the top of the tank and the bottom of the hood, with the same rounded profile and then painting it to match. Anybody done something similar?

cromag27 · Sep 11, 2016

I have a rapidled kit and it fits perfect.

Anyhow, you can also use abs. it's very rigid and you can use a heat gun to bend it.

Mushroom Boy · Sep 11, 2016

Thanks cromag. The kit fits perfectly in the hood, I just want to raise the whole hood by about 4" without an air gap. Are you talking about sheet ABS? Hmmmm... hadn't thought about that, sounds like a good idea.

cromag27 · Sep 11, 2016

Yup, same material the false wall is made from. your local plastic supplier will carry it.

Mushroom Boy · Sep 11, 2016

Awesome, thanks!

milehighpilot · Sep 25, 2016

Did you make the riser?
And curious question why?

Mushroom Boy · Sep 25, 2016

Sort of

I got the sheet ABS cut to fit and then tried to bend it to match the profile of the hood. It didn't really work out all that great. It fit in the hood nicely, the challenge was getting the sheet ABS to stay on the ledge at the top of the tank. It was unsteady at best, so as of now I've removed it and will try the wood route when I get some time. I want to get the lights a little (4") higher to get a wider, more even distribution of the light.

milehighpilot · Sep 25, 2016

Interesting idea. I don't think I've ever seen it done. I've been stalking biocubes since I got mine 6 years ago. I got the nanocustom 5.6 upgrade and never even thought about raising the hood.

Mushroom Boy · Sep 25, 2016

Yeah, I'm hoping the wood route (thicker material) will make it more stable. In my case, raising the hood just that small amount made an amazing difference in the aesthetics.

pretindica · Jan 13, 2021

Has anyone successfully raised the hood on the biocube? I too am looking to do this after a Steve's LEd upgrade. I want to raise the hood a couple inches from where it is now without losing the sleek look.

Has anyone tried to 3d print a riser or spacer that would match the exact shape of the aquarium and the hood so it essentially just sits on top of the aquarium and the hood sits on top of the riser. This would help with the stability and the help the look match exactly to what exists already.

If anyone has not done it, would anyone with a 3d printer be willing to do this for me? I will pay for it.

Or could anyone possibly do the 3d rendering that way i could get it made locally?