Help me design the perfect hood.

[seminolecpa]

So I am very seriously considering now moving up to a 120G tank (standard dimensions 48X24x24 i believe), not sure if I am going to go glass or acrylic but leaning acrylic at this point with an external overflow. Want to build it tall enough to enclose 2 luminarcs (probably minis) to hold 250W Se bulbs on rails so that I can slide them out of the way for working in the tank as well as leave room for a couple of VHO bulbs and possibly a couple of t-5's. Was thinking of 2 or 3 doors in the front on hinges maybe from the top. Anything else I might be missing or suggestions?

 

[tuberider]

Top of the canopy with actuators that lift the whole top vertically, two doors on the front for access, my dream canopy for service.

 

[Gomer]

Jeremy, I shit you not, I've been mentally planning out a design like that lol.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Well if the canopy as attached to the stand (or walls/ceiling) then doing a rail system to slide it in and out isn't too hard, however if the canopy is sitting on the tank only you'll need it to clamp onto the stand otherwise it will tip when you push your "light rail" back to access the tank.

 

[seminolecpa]

Prety sure it would be sitting on the tank. Wish I was any good at sketching things out on something other then excel

 

[seminolecpa]

Here is a first stab at a crude sketch of my basic thoughts via excel

 

[Gomer]

Do I need to do something like this for you too Bryan?

http://www.bareefers.org/discussion/gallery/837_20_06_08_8_11_42.jpg

 

[seminolecpa]

Sorry accountants only know how to work with excel. That is friggin sweet.

 

[Gomer]

What I meant was, I can take your ideas and dimensions and render something up to see if it is what you really want. I tend to do things like this for spacial reasons. On paper it looks like there may be room, but once you see it in 3D, space may or may not work out well.

 

[Tumbleweed]

Hey Tony that design looks familiar. Bryan for the lumenarc minis the 2 of them sit very close together and will not give you enough room to slide them out of the way. What about having it with 2 doors in the front, nut having the lid section hinged so it can me lifted out of the way when needed?

 

[seminolecpa]

Tony, if it isn't too much of a PITA that would be greatly helpful. You are right something more 3d would be much more helpful as you are looking at actual space and depth etc.. For example, just looking at that hood in your sample picture I would say the luminarcs are way to close to the water and you are likely to have the "laser beam" effect I had when I tried it on my current hood.

If it is simple to use I would love to learn how to use it so I could throw some variables in it as it would give me a good idea of what to change now. My ultimate ultimate reason for kicking the tires is to determine what is most practical to meet my goals {having something that gives me room to work in the tank, optimize the lighting, and keep some semblance of style}. Doing something like this as well as getting other people's in progress opinions of best practices {what has worked best and what has failed miserably} will hopefully keep me from once again trying to massage something that wasn't designed properly in the first place.


Not sold on the 2 door thing just have seen some that have looked nice and seemed to work well. Brian, when you say hinged lid to you mean from the top or the front (like the one in the diagram Tony listed)?

 

[Gomer]

the program I use is simple for me, but may not be for you It is called Rhino. You can download an evaluation version here which has some limits like limited saves (not a huge issue), no cut/paste (PITA it you want..say 2 lumenarcs):
http://www.rhino3d.com/



I also run flamingo (http://www.flamingo3d.com/) but that isn't necessary. I own both programs so I can do whatever. Do you have any tank specifics beyond 2xlumenarc, 2xVHO, 2xT5?

 

[seminolecpa]

The tank itself will be a standard 120g tank. I am pretty sure the acrylic and glass tank of that size has the same rough dimensions (48x24x24). Leaning toward doing a 120 eurobraced acrylic with a external sump. Want to allow for probably 2 4" icecap fans at a minimum and probably a semi open back for ventilation and air flow.

The hood would likely be its own piece that would rest on the top of the tank. It is really my main concern. I have lots of flexibility with the stand as I don't have to worry about a sump or really any other equipment other then ballasts and power strips. My plumbing runs through the floor into the garage 1 1/2 inch drain and a 1" return if I remember correctly.

I will play around with it and see what I can do. Damn excel for not allowing for spacial drawings.

 

[Apon]

Bryan, you remeber Tongs tank? its a 120 glass and has a hood with 2 mini's and VHO. I would add a few more inches so you have more room to reach your arm in it so you can reach the back of the tank.....unless you are able to remove the hood, its a pain to get in there. Eileen also has a 120 and I do to. 4x2x2. maybe I should just sell you mine?

 

[Elite]

Not a fancy drawing like Tony's but maybe something like this?? 15"-18" tall would be good enough for the mini pendant. If you need to work on the tank, just raise the whole thing up...

 

[Tumbleweed]

This is the idea that I had. Thanks Phong

 

[pixelpixi]

Bryan, it won't get you something nicey shaded, lit, and rendered... but Google SketchUp is awesome for mocking up things like this. I have maya and renderman at work but I still prefer sketchup for stuff like this. I just recently used it to mock up the layout of the furniture in my new office.

There are some tutorial videos on their site that step you through the basics. You'll be building 3d models in under half an hour.

 

[Vincerama2]

[quote author=Elite link=topic=5097.msg62823#msg62823 date=1226036302]
Not a fancy drawing like Tony's but maybe something like this?? 15"-18" tall would be good enough for the mini pendant. If you need to work on the tank, just raise the whole thing up...

[/quote]

Elite, my DIY hood is somewhat similar to you picture, except I don't have doors in front and the top is articulated in two places. One hinge is in the middle, the other is in the back.

What I discovered is this;

The middle hing is great beacuse I can flip up the front and half the top, giving me great access to the tank.
The hinge in the back is stupid because my lights are mounted between the two hinges, so the read hinge is only usefull if I need to move the lights out of the way BUT the top is so heavy that it is impossible to actually use this hing without the hood toppling backwards!

So your picture is great IF you move the hinge to the middle of the top.

V

 

[Gomer]

Ive pictured a hood mounted to the wall which is on a counterballanced rail You don't see the hardware unless you are looking behind the tank. It keeps the load off the tank, and has vertical lift. I'll think I'll plan out something with 8020 :-D

 

[seminolecpa]

hmm. A middle piano type hinge might work if we are still talking about rails for the luminarcs as the only things that would actually be mounted to the top iteslf would be the t-5's and VHO's the luminarcs could be slide from side to side to allow for accessability. Could then use a piano hinge on the back along with a side locking type hinge on the sides for the back part (can think of the correct name) that would essentially act as a strut to hold up the entire hood if need be. I would agree under this type of model, the doors in the front are useless and perhaps even compromise the structural integrity of the hood itself. Wondering though under this scenario, wouldn't the back need to be solid and thus provide some air flow problems?