Custom hood questions

[Peach02]

Essentially I’m asking four questions, any advice is greatly appreciated

1. Could a waterbox 7226 could support the weight of a custom hood that would just be 1’ high max, have some T5’s and Led’s a door and a slider on it?

2. do you just sit a hood on the tank or do you mount it to a wall etc

3. How do you add splash protection to the lights?

4. Do you need a tank cover if you have a hood?

 

[jordlr]

Im not familiar with the construction of the Waterbox aquariums but i thought id add my input as i have a hood on my tank.

Firstly id ask if the tank has any bracing and the thickness of the glass? My tank has 10mm glass and some internal bracing around the internal rim.

My hood sits directly on the tank glass rim not touching the bracing. Because the hood is a downward force evenly spread the tank will hold this with no problem. The weight of a hood pushing on the glass unless vastly over engineered will be a less than 100grams an inch on the glass. Far less then someone leaning on it.

My hood is a rear vented hood, meaning its constructed so that it only has the 2 sides, the front and a lid. The rear has no panel so is open for ventilation. I also have 2 sheets of lexan/plexiglass sat on the bracing with an air gap at each end to protect my lights, stop jumpers and reduce evaporation but still allow airflow across the water surface and throughout the hood.

When i initially setup i had an ATI 6x39w T5 fixture in there but even with the units fans and some additonal fans i added to the hood at the rear to expel the hot air, it would still overheat and auto dim to protect the circuits. Because of this i switched too LED's and mounted semi flush with the lid so the heatsinks were exposed but light contained. You could negate the hot air issue by having vents in the top of the hood using some car/auto grill mesh to disguise/cover the holes but if the T5s are going to be exposed direct to air and not in a unit they may not need this. If you choose not to use covers i would certainly use some extra fans within the hood to circulate air and prevent moisture buildup.

 

[Peach02]

Firstly id ask if the tank has any bracing and the thickness of the glass? My tank has 10mm glass and some internal bracing around the internal rim.

The glass is 19mm with no internal bracing.

 

[Peach02]

#reefsquad any input?

 

[jsker]

1. Could a waterbox 7226 could support the weight of a custom hood that would just be 1’ high max, have some T5’s and Led’s a door and a slider on it?

I rimless tank, I would not suggest resting the hood directly on the tank

do you mount it to a wall etc

If you have a stud wall, wall mount would be the best.

I would think us the Dimond type clear light covers. Then one would have a defuser built in something like this link

4. Do you need a tank cover if you have a hood?

a mesh top works well or depending on the size of the tank, egg crate light covers work well. I do not have a cover or a hood and I have only had one carpet surfer so far. Waresse are notorious for jumping. I have a six line and he stays med tank all of the time.

 

[Peach02]

I rimless tank, I would not suggest resting the hood directly on the tank



If you have a stud wall, wall mount would be the best.

I would think us the Dimond type clear light covers. Then one would have a defuser built in something like this link



a mesh top works well or depending on the size of the tank, egg crate light covers work well. I do not have a cover or a hood and I have only had one carpet surfer so far. Waresse are notorious for jumping. I have a six line and he stays med tank all of the time.

Okay thank you. Do you know of any t5 led hyprid fixtures that you can mount to the side of the tank instead of hanging?

 

[jordlr]

I rimless tank, I would not suggest resting the hood directly on the tank

Can i ask why you say this? What is your reasoning?

The weight of the hood pushes down through the pane of glass, this is of very little stress to the glass, especially at 19mm thick. Compared to the forces pushing sideways from the hundreds of kilos of water trying to escape it is negligible. Compare it to coke can or cabinet door. Push down on top of it and nothing will happen. Push on the side and it will flex.

I guess if the hood will be regularly slid forward and back for access then it may pull at the silicon seams slightly but again, compared to the water forces at play this will be negligible.

 

[jsker]

Can i ask why you say this? What is your reasoning?

The weight of the hood pushes down through the pane of glass, this is of very little stress to the glass, especially at 19mm thick. Compared to the forces pushing sideways from the hundreds of kilos of water trying to escape it is negligible. Compare it to coke can or cabinet door. Push down on top of it and nothing will happen. Push on the side and it will flex.

I guess if the hood will be regularly slid forward and back for access then it may pull at the silicon seams slightly but again, compared to the water forces at play this will be negligible.

The tank was not designed for a hood to be resting on the top. The extra stress on the glass, thus extra stress on the seams and as you suggested the movement of the hood could cause a the seams to fail not the glass. What you think is not going to happen, will happen it is better to play it safe in my book.

There are many ways one can suspend a hood without detracting from the over all view of the area.

 

[Peach02]

The tank was not designed for a hood to be resting on the top. The extra stress on the glass, thus extra stress on the seams and as you suggested the movement of the hood could cause a the seams to fail not the glass. What you think is not going to happen, will happen it is better to play it safe in my book.

There are many ways one can suspend a hood without detracting from the over all view of the area.

Do you know of any methods that I could mount T5 and LED to a peninsula style 6ft tank without hanging (fan in the way)

 

[jordlr]

Id say some legs (custom made if need be) but not without putting anymore stress on the glass than a hood will.

 

[jsker]

Do you know of any methods that I could mount T5 and LED to a peninsula style 6ft tank without hanging (fan in the way)

Anchor a plate to the wall and run two pipes fastened to the plate. One would have to calculate the weight so that the hood would not sage on the end. You can have that done at a weld shop and then have the piece powder coated. Powder coating is relativity cheap here to have done.