View Full Version : Anyone make their own hood fixtures?
ThePBM
08-10-2007, 5:46 PM
I feel like $30 for a small 10gal fluorescent hood is just ridiculous. Regular fixtures with bulbs go for about $7-8, so it beats me why a plastic lid accounts for the other $23.
I've got 6 10 gallon tanks and only 2 hoods. Only one of those hoods is fluorescent, the other is the old school 2-bulb incandescent. I'll have to read up on retrofitting that pos sometime.
So i have 4 10 gallons that need hoods. Also have 4 5 gals, but those aren't a priority at the moment. They're not keeping anything important, just white clouds in a 5 gal.
What materials should i use to build hoods? Wood seems like it would soak up water/moisture. I can buy starters/ballasts/endcaps/switches and wire up fixtures no problem. Just need to fine something to mount it onto for a hood. Any advice or links to old threads or articles would be appreciated. :)
It's much more economical to build your own. There are tons of ways, and a welth of information all over the net. Just search a lot and you'll get ideas.
I recommend these kits:
http://www.ahsupply.com/
legendaryfrog
08-10-2007, 7:11 PM
Im not too sure how to help you with the actual lighting portion of the hood, but i guess I should tell you I've had great luck using "black shelf wood" as the material to build my hood. its been doing great for the past 10 years.
i included a decent picture of how it looked on my 150g tank.
ThePBM
08-10-2007, 7:36 PM
most likely, i will be making a frame that will sit inside that little ledge on the trim of the aquarium. something to the effect of wooden planks, standing on their long skinny sides (not wider flatter side) so it stands about 4" tall from the top of the tank. then having a piece of wood, 1/2 or 3/4 in thick with an area similar to the footprint of the tank to sit on top of that frame. very simple design. will hinge it in the back to be able to lift that top piece. then just mount the light to the underside of that.
or i may decide to get a little fancy and ambitious and start with a wide flat piece (foot print of the aquarium size) right on top of the tank, and then cut a hole into that piece where the light will shine through and make a housing above that for the light. idk.
ThePBM
08-10-2007, 7:46 PM
here's the one that i will need to retrofit. it's a dual incandescent, 2x40watts max.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v385/PBM808/CIMG1843.jpg
legendaryfrog
08-10-2007, 7:52 PM
Im not too sure how to help you with the actual lighting portion of the hood, but i guess I should tell you I've had great luck using "black shelf wood" as the material to build my hood. its been doing great for the past 10 years.
i included a decent picture of how it looked on my 150g tank.
ThePBM
08-10-2007, 7:55 PM
is there a special place i can get black shelf wood? did it come in black or did you paint/lacquer it yourself?
You might be able to screw in a spiral compact bulb there.
I think a 32w Sunpaq or Smartpaq kit will fit in that hood. I got a Smartpaq kit a couple months ago for 30$ from ebay. It works well for me.
ThePBM
08-10-2007, 8:55 PM
You might be able to screw in a spiral compact bulb there.
I think a 32w Sunpaq or Smartpaq kit will fit in that hood. I got a Smartpaq kit a couple months ago for 30$ from ebay. It works well for me.
can you find me a current auction for the item that you speak of? i'm seeing to many kits and bulbs and i'm not too familiar. thanks.
j_chicago
08-10-2007, 9:02 PM
you can buy spiral compacts at Walmart for a few bucks, you can even get them in a 6500K for plants, I have done that for my 10g. You can also buy glass canopies from thatfishplace.com for less then $10 and buy the cheap fixtures for $10.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5984218 for 6 bulb pack
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/212052/product.web
These are the only current auctions I see on ebay right now.
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?query=32w+retrofit&MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&ebaytag1=ebayreg&srchdesc=n&maxRecordsReturned=300&maxRecordsPerPage=50&SortProperty=MetaEndSort
The Sunpaq kit has a parabolic reflector and locking end cap. The Smartpaq has a rectangle reflector that I think is slightly less polished. Both come with 10000k/460nm lamps. You might have to get a different lamp depending on your purposes.
If you really want to do this on a budget, I recommend going the route j_chicago mentioned. The 6500k spiral compacts I use work great for plants.
You can make your own hood easy enough. Most any wood will work if you finish it properly. You might also want to use ceramic sockets. The ballasts on spiral compacts get pretty warm. I'm not sure if It is really hot enough to matter, but I use the ceramic sockets to be safe. You may just be able to fit the spiral compacts in your current hood. That would be a really cheap upgrade that makes a world of difference.
legendaryfrog
08-11-2007, 11:22 AM
is there a special place i can get black shelf wood? did it come in black or did you paint/lacquer it yourself?
When i purchased it at home depot it already looked like that.
Although, when i went this morning to H.D, I couldnt seem to find it.
If its not available at your local hardware store, you can use just about any other wood there as long as you use a good stain.
OldMan1947
08-11-2007, 12:40 PM
I had a similar hood with the old incandescent fixture. A simple solution is the new spiral shaped screw in flourescents. The 75 watt equivalents are only 23 watts so as long as they don't bang into the reflector they should be alright. In my case I am keeping low light plants in my 10 gal with only those lights. On about 10 hours per day on a plug in timer. Total cost about $15 for bulbs and timer.
If you already have a good 2-bulb incand. hood, try some mini spiral flour's as suggested...you'll be amazed at the difference.
Another thing I've done: "Lights of America" brand (and probably others) 18" undercounter lights ($8) will fit UNDER the old incandescent cover if you gut it....15 W flour vs xxx incand...and cooler...
Seriously...just gut the housing and stick the light under it...small gap but OK!
Buy the glass hinges...get plexiglass or glass cut to fit...you can lay a few lights on top of the tanks if you need to.
OR...one 48" $8 shoplight will nicely illuminate 2 10G tanks...
--Don
ThePBM
08-11-2007, 5:39 PM
i was seriously considering the 1 shoplight for multiple tanks, but i've been trying to ask people on how the light spread is from the shoplight. i would imagine very widespread and not very focused. but still waiting to hear from people on that matter. cause a 48" shoplight is less than $10 at wally world.
redswi
08-11-2007, 10:05 PM
I have the 2-bulb shop light over my 55...the only mod I made was in the deflector...I basicly made a U shape out of a mirror finish sheet metal ...scewed to the existing deflector...and reinstalled the bulbs...it not only directs the light into the tank, but also cuts down on refraction.
I also changed the bulbs to a 5600k daylight
j_chicago
08-12-2007, 2:18 AM
I have 2 double shop lights above my 55 with 6500K bulbs all from walmart and under $40 for it all, and there is some light bleeding out, but I have plenty of light inside the tank. I just have the light toward the front go out at 8pm as the rear one turns off at 10pm.
kj5kb
08-12-2007, 12:35 PM
Glass or plexi tops on the tanks...hang the shoplight as low as possible. I just made an 'improved' reflector with roof flashing angle (edging?) steel roof edge, about 60-70 degree angle...spray painted white.