tinman

Hi, I was thinking of DIYing a metal halide hood. However, I don't want to screw anything into the wall or ceiling. The tank is a 5ft X 18inch X18inch. Here is a rough draft of a design I was thinking of. Any feedback will be appreciated.

http://www.pbase.com/image/44282970/original

MiamiAG

Tinman,

What type of metal halide are you going with? Will the ballast be remote?

The hood you plan to build looks to have some weight to it, you will make it sturdy by going with 4 rods? The rods will be rust resistant in some way?

Sorry for all the questions.

tinman

I was thinking of going with shop fitting metal halides. The ballast will not be connected to the hood but situated below on the cabinet.
You're right about the weight issue. But i think much of it depends on the type of material to be used to make the hood. I think going with 4 rods would be the safe thing to do.
As for the rods being rust resistant, i think the shelving brackets i plan to use are of stainless steel. Or is there a better alternative?

No need to apologise. The more questions you ask, the clearer i am on how viable this plan is.

MiamiAG

OK. There are plans for DIY metal halide at Reef Central. You can do it relatively inexpensively depending on whether you want to go with a magnetic or electronic ballast.

Points to remember and deal with are 1) heat (use a chiller or build in fans for cooling) and 2) light spread (you need to use a good reflector to channel the light straight down into the aquarium).

Of course, wiring safety is very important. Are you comfortable with that?

Also, how many watts are you going with?

tinman

i was planning on using an electronic ballast.
I don't think heat will pose much of a problem since air will be able to pass freely through it - Unless that isn't sufficient...
The metal halides I'm getting already come with a reflector.
I was going to go with two 150watt, 10,000K lamps.