# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Hood vs No Hood for 120G



## Jim Miller (Feb 3, 2003)

I'm debating between a hood and no hood for a 120G that I'm planning for the house after we move this summer.

The tank 4x2x2 will have 8sqft of surface area and be located in the family room. With that much area of warm water exposed I'm thinking that the first reason for a hood would be to limit the evaporation and resultant humidity increase in the room.

Another way to deal with the humidity would be to have a glass cover over the tank. I see hooded tanks without glass between the lights and the water. Do non-glass folks just hope the condensation won't bother the fixtures?

Another issue would be the potential glare from the lights without a hood and potentially reflections from the tank onto the ceiling which might be distracting.

I guess I'm tending toward a hood equipped with some sort of fans to remove some heat and potentially a glass as well.

The downside is that with both a hood and a glass cover it will be more of a hassle to maintain the tank unless I can find a clever design.

Comments and suggestions most welcomed.

jtm

Tank specs in profile


----------



## Jim Miller (Feb 3, 2003)

I'm debating between a hood and no hood for a 120G that I'm planning for the house after we move this summer.

The tank 4x2x2 will have 8sqft of surface area and be located in the family room. With that much area of warm water exposed I'm thinking that the first reason for a hood would be to limit the evaporation and resultant humidity increase in the room.

Another way to deal with the humidity would be to have a glass cover over the tank. I see hooded tanks without glass between the lights and the water. Do non-glass folks just hope the condensation won't bother the fixtures?

Another issue would be the potential glare from the lights without a hood and potentially reflections from the tank onto the ceiling which might be distracting.

I guess I'm tending toward a hood equipped with some sort of fans to remove some heat and potentially a glass as well.

The downside is that with both a hood and a glass cover it will be more of a hassle to maintain the tank unless I can find a clever design.

Comments and suggestions most welcomed.

jtm

Tank specs in profile


----------



## ddaquaria (Nov 12, 2004)

I vote no glass cover with hood. Of course you have to create the design. I have 3-120s (same size as yours) in my computer room. I use 2-MHs on all my tanks. I built a canopy that is attached to the wall in order to hold the lights as well as blocking the blinding light caused by the MHs.


----------



## imported_trilinearmipmap (Feb 11, 2003)

I suggest no hood.

I have a 75 g tank with a wood canopy. the tank depth is a couple inches less than yours. The problem is reaching into the tank, over the front edge of the canopy. I have quite long arms but I can barely reach the gravel. This makes routing chores like pruning, trimming, replanting etc. a real pain in the butt. As a result I don't do as much landscaping/maintainence as I should.

I made up my mind that if I ever get another large plant tank I will get one without a canopy. Preferable with hanging (pendant type) overhead lights. You want easy access to your tank and canopies are a nuiscance.


----------



## Jim Miller (Feb 3, 2003)

I can understand that having additional height to reach over would be a non-starter. I'm only 5'9". I'm going to look for a hood that tilts back on a hinge perhaps assisted with some small gas springs.

McMaster-Carr has small gas springs and they're not expensive, at least compared to all this other stuff!









jtm

Tank specs in profile

[This message was edited by Jim Miller on Tue February 11 2003 at 01:35 PM.]


----------



## chbak014 (Feb 3, 2003)

i think you should think about a hood if you are going to keep fish in there that are prone to do suicide leaps of faith. hahah. just my .02
-charley

http://www.geocities.com/charleybak/aquarium.index.html


----------



## Guest (Feb 11, 2003)

You can adjust the height of the pendants to whatever level.
Looks better, you 'll have the same evaporation but the glass lids will lower that some. I don't like glass lids. 
Open top especially on this shape tank is a good choice. 
I switched to 4300K bulbs which are brighter than the 5500K bulbs by a large factor and the yellowish color is softer and more natural, not as harsh looking. I use the area around the tank as an indoor garden and place my house plants around it. This reduces the effects oif glare which is really the main issue against the MH's.

I think folks that do open tops are always pleased with the end result.

MH closed hood are way too big and bulky, I'd use PC's only for an enclosed hood.
These can be made DIY very light cheap and good looking out of 1/4" popular wood etc you can get at Home Depot etc.

6 x 55watt is good.
2-6700K and 4-5000K.
Nice color mix and spread for fish and plants.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


----------



## Jim Miller (Feb 3, 2003)

Tom

Thanks for your input. I don't think I will get an open tank past the wife so PC closed hood with fans will likely be the course.

Thanks for the light color suggestions as well.

jtm

Tank specs in profile


----------



## Jim Miller (Feb 3, 2003)

Tom

You mentioned that you don't like glass lids. Can you give me some of the issues with them?

tnx
jtm

Tank specs in profile

[This message was edited by Jim Miller on Wed February 12 2003 at 11:36 AM.]


----------



## JamesHoftiezer (Feb 2, 2003)

Glass lids can get in the way during maintenance and have to be cleaned often.

P.S> I have a semi-open hood. I lose 2-4g of water a day to evaporation. I have a water line run to the tank, so its no big deal. The humidity doesn't have an effect in my house, but trying to top of the tank every few days will get old even with a python. Just something to keep in mind.

James Hoftiezer


----------



## Jim Miller (Feb 3, 2003)

Right now I'm thinking I'd split the hood into two 2' sections (left/right) and attach a ~2'x2' section of glass to the bottom of each section. This would let me raise each side independently and the glass would move with the lamps.

This would give me access to half the tank while leaving half the lamps lit so I could see what I was doing. Each half of the hood would have three 55PCs. Of course I could raise both sides if I wanted to.

By having the 2x2 piece of glass raise with the lamps it shouldn't be too hard to clean the glass each week when doing maintenance. I'm assuming that the lamp side of the glass will stay relatively clean since it will be in a relatively moisture free environment with the lamp heat and cooling fan flow.

I'm planning to do an overflow drain permanently plumbed as well a fill line from the cold water line. I've got access to the underneath of the floor where the aquarium is and plan to do this before the basement is finished. I'll run the drain to the utility sink in the basement. No pythons. Wife would have a cow.









I'm sure I'm missing something, but I welcome all suggestions.

tnx

jtm

Tank specs in profile

[This message was edited by Jim Miller on Wed February 12 2003 at 03:58 PM.]


----------



## JamesHoftiezer (Feb 2, 2003)

Sounds like a plan. 
The more details I hear, the more it sounds like an early design for my hood. I really like the idea. I skipped it on mine because of orientation. I knew I was going to be doingmost of the maintenance fromt he front. On either side is a 36" gecko terrarium.

James Hoftiezer


----------

