spontaneous combustion

[jasutton]

Worried my fish tank will become a very EXPENSIVE pyrotechnics display...

here is the deal: i have about 300W of t12 VHO lighting in a homemade hood...problem is i didnt put fans in the hood. so i am now afraids the the hood (which is a max of 1" away from the endcaps) will catch flame...

the hood is wood with oil based varnish/stain on the outside for aesthetics...which it accomplished but also increased the potential for flare up.

I was thinking about drilling holes into the top for ventilation...think i need to??

thanks all

jamie

[optical]

you and your lighting! sheesh! just kidding dude... how hot do the bulbs get? would it burn your hand if you touched them? your reflectors should shield most of the heat i think. you do have reflectors right? i would keep an eye out and see if the wood is blackening at all, but i think you'll be ok.
as far as the oil varnish goes, its the vapors that make it flamable, so once its dry, it wont be any more flamable than it was before you put it on.
can you post a few pics of the new lights?

[jasutton]

i know this darn lighting is the bane of me. no reflectors, the bulbs have internal reflectors so i didnt pony up for them since i eventually want to switch to MH.

The bulbs get hot, and one would definately burn their hand on them. However, the tank has not increased in temp (a lot of evap though) and the wood has not changed color.

i will try to post some pics as soon as possible.

so you dont think i should worry? I was still coniemplating drilling some vent holes.

[Poseidon]

A few holes in the top to aid in ventilation certainly won't hurt. Not to prevent a FIRE, but to make the bulbs last a little longer, and once the weather gets hot, I am sure it will help with temp.

It is easy to keep a tank @ 78 when ambient temp is 68-70, it is something else to keep the temp stable once ambient reaches your tank temp.

[charlie]

Got ant pics of your hood. If I could see the thing, it will help me out a little.

[jasutton]

Holes won out...problem is i only had about a 1 in drill bit so i put about 50 of the little buggers in it...not the neates but you cant really see the top of the hood anyway. Its doing its job so far the top didnt even feel hot afte ri had the light on for awhile

thanks for all your help guys

jamie