DIY Hoodie

[Seige]

I hope to make a hood for my 55 gal tank this weekend to add more lighting. I currently have 2 46" T5's and will likely upgrade to 6.

Need advice on 2 things...
1) Are their any specific paints, varnishes, protectants that are recommended or not recommended?

2) Any advice on light ballasts for T5's? What do I need to get?

I really need to get this built this weekend. My corals need more light. I have a almost unused band saw and some other gear so as soon as I figure out what to get I'm good to go.

[SDW]

May be too late, but if you haven't already finished, when I redid my hood I did not find anyone who gave good info on protectants. I just used some marine grade varnish on it and then let it sit for what seemed like forever waiting for fumes to minimize before putting back on. In the end, it still smelled like varnish, but I couldn't stand it any longer and put it back on anyway....without problems Hope this helps, and don't forget to post some pics

[Seige]

May be too late, but if you haven't already finished, when I redid my hood I did not find anyone who gave good info on protectants. I just used some marine grade varnish on it and then let it sit for what seemed like forever waiting for fumes to minimize before putting back on. In the end, it still smelled like varnish, but I couldn't stand it any longer and put it back on anyway....without problems Hope this helps, and don't forget to post some pics

Not to late. Still working on the design.

It won't look like much. Just a box. No doors. Front, top and side slide out.

2 Lighting units have to stack since their too wide with the hood frame around the edge.

[Seige]

Not sure if my fairy wrasse will jump. It's been through a lot so far and just hides in the rock. Somehow he manages to swim right through 1 rock that I thought was solid. lol Guess not...

Any recommendations for jumpers. Their won't be any gaps in the hood but do I need to worry about a fish jumping and landing on part of the internal hood structure? I presume yes...

I'm thinking maybe a fine netting just below the lights. Will it get caught in the netting though?

[Poseidon]

Here is a link my DIY fixture:

Perfect Pix Photography- powered by SmugMug

I used sheet Al (Alloy 5053) from McMaster-Carr Then I used scotch bright pads to give the fixture a brushed look. So far it is working EXCELLENT, and the sunlifts really make working on the tank much easier.

[Seige]

Nice work Poseidon...

[Poseidon]

Thanks! I think it turned out pretty good too.