Yet Another Diy Tank Hood

[dgwebster]

Ok, I am extremely fed up with my tank hood. It was kinda "botched" together to make something functional.

To decribe it, it is a box that holds a light tube. I have to lift it of, lift the light tube and then finally lift a 5mm sheet of perspex (condensation tray-esk thing) to get any kind of decent access to the tank. Apart from that, the only aperture is about 2"x2" for cables etc to go through and is not ideal for tank maintenance or for feeding the fish.

So I have been browsing through the various DIY posts here and have taken some really really good info and design parts and are about to create my own, custom hood that will take into account a condensation tray.

I wish to make it a beautiful piece (though I have to wonder about that, just how well will I do) that will have the same standard 2"x2" hole the majority of the time, but incorporate a functional condensation tray that will allow access to the tank and include a daylight & moonlight system whilst protecting this system from any "sources" of water or condensation without the need for mechanical cooling or airflow. The tank is a 48"x15" glass tank.

Will diary the progress along its way here, so this is it, the first post.

So far, what I do have is:

1 large sheet of 6mm MDF - I have opting for the thin board to keep the weight down and hopfully to make it look decent as well. It was also free. I also plan to make this a "dry run" and upgrade to a decent wood type in th future once I am happy with the style. I should mention, I change my mind more than a nun on a bike with no seat.

A bunch of tools.

Sealing Paint (for finishing off to protect the dodgy wood.

Paint brushes


(ok to be fair, I have gotten nothing new for this project.)

Time to go work on the design.

 

[Biff0r]

subscribed and waiting for next installment!

 

[dgwebster]

Ok, the final design has been decided.

The unit will have two 30cm wide hinged openings to give access to the condensation tray below. The condensation tray is going to be cut and modified to have the section below each opening on a "runner" to allow it to be slid out of the way.

In the back, it will have spacing for a bare minimum of the flourescent tube and twin 12" blue cold cathode tubes for a bit of DIY moonlight. I am currently working out an inline switch into the back of the hood to operate said moonlight system along with a POT to allow control over its desired brightness.

Joints are going to be done via either comb or dovetail (large section dovetail, or whatever they are called) joining - the "template" test one out of the 6mm MDF may just be the simple comb joint in order to simplify working with such small material.

The only issue of concern that I do have is that the existing shet I have is at its biggest, 1222mm - the exact same as the tank. My hope had ben to make it slightly larger than the tank so it would lip over the edge. I may make a trip to the local DIY store and see what I can pick up in a larger sheet size. Failing that, I may profile an edging with a router to go around the edges.

The final part I am trying to figure out for now is whether or not to try and include a space for holding a standard automatic feeder hidden within the hood. It's entire purpose would only be for those long holidays, but useful none the less to include. It's design requirment would be that it again, has to remain sealed when not in use and provide easy access for adding/removing or maintaining the feeder.

 

[Biff0r]

how are you getting on?