My DIY Tank Hood

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Zamboniman

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Feb 16, 2007
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Calgary, Canada
I finally got fed up with my lights sitting on top of my tank and having to move then aside every time I needed to get into my 90 gallon tank. I decided to take a stab at putting together a tank hood with room for my lighting and some of the features I had thought about. Here's a few pics of the just completed hood after painting but before installing the lights. Saved myself a bundle from the LFS offerings.

I'll post some more pics after I get the lights hooked up and when it's on the tank.

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fastforward

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Feb 12, 2007
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Man, that last shot makes it look sort of like a coffin :eek:

Very nice work, though. I just built one for my 60 gal a few weeks ago and after seeing yours I'm kind of regretting my design.
 

Zamboniman

AC Members
Feb 16, 2007
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Calgary, Canada
Man, that last shot makes it look sort of like a coffin :eek:

Very nice work, though. I just built one for my 60 gal a few weeks ago and after seeing yours I'm kind of regretting my design.
:D LOL! I thought exactly the same thing when I first saw the pic! Hopefully it'll look a bit less like a coffin when it's on the tank.

I looked at a few different designs, both here and at my LFS. Post some pics if you can of what you came up with, I'd like to see it.
 

fastforward

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Feb 12, 2007
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:D LOL! I thought exactly the same thing when I first saw the pic! Hopefully it'll look a bit less like a coffin when it's on the tank.

I looked at a few different designs, both here and at my LFS. Post some pics if you can of what you came up with, I'd like to see it.

I'm feeling entirely too lazy to go take pics of something I'm not even espescially pleased with ;)

However, it's basicly the standard box made of 3/4" plywood. Where the problem was is I was building it to match the rounded corners on my acrylic tank and I only wanted the front to flip and not the whole top. Therefore, the seam was right in the middle of the radius. I couldn't find any hinges thin enough to keep the gap small so I ended up using 3/16" steel rod as dowling and setting it into the hood and flushing the dowling with the front face. The whole front face of the hood just slides on and off. It also had two cutouts with inserts over the back to allow easy access to my HOBs.

It seemed like a good design at the time but really it's a huge PITA as it turns out. It was kind of a spur of the moment thing I cranked out in a few hours one Saturday so I guess that's what I get :D
 

5xevy

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Jan 3, 2007
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Upstate, NY
I like the sleek black and the design you chose...even down to the silver knob. I also like how you can open it all the way. Mine opens only about halfway. Well done!
 

Rbishop

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