# Working blind in the tank



## Deni (Jul 6, 2005)

This is probably a really dumb question, but there's a concept that I can't wrap my brain around, even though it doesn't seem to be an issue for anyone else. 

I see hoods that are all in one piece, which seems to mean that in order to do any planting or maintenance or even feeding of the fish, you have to remove the whole hood. Aside from dealing with the weight of the hood, how do you see in the tank to work with no light? The lights in the room don't help. They just reflect off the aquarium glass.

I looked at the 96w quad Coralife bulbs, which would be wonderful to have, but the unit is 7.25 inches wide and my 12-gallon is 10 inches and I don't think I can reach my hand into less than 2.75 inches to work in the aquarium. every other setup I've been able to find that has enough light has the same issue. 

Since I have never seen this addressed, there must be something I'm missing.


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

I usually just set the hood sideways of angled across one end of the aquarium, then move it to the other side when necessary. My 50 gallon, with a full, custom made hood I simple proop up with a sturdy stick that is notched to add a little extra stability.


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## freydo (Jan 7, 2006)

i made a custom hood that allows me to do maintenance in the tank, while keeping all my lights on.

My DIY Hood

but there are some canopies that you can buy that angle out of the way during maintenance. i can't think of any names, but others here will know.


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## Deni (Jul 6, 2005)

Thanks!

Dennis, do you have a glass cover between your lights and the water?

Freydo, I see you don't use a cover. I guess I've read too many scary warnings about keeping a barrier between the electrical components and the water. I also like the fact that your hood is quite high, which gives some room to maneuver under the lights.


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Nope, no cover.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

I design my hoods so that the front (or rear) half of the the hood swings up and rests on the half that is on the tank. This allow plenty of room for maintenance and keeps half of the lights on while I work in the tank. I don't use glass covers on my tanks with hoods either but may start due to evaporation in the winter months.


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

Or, if you have fish that don't jump, go open top!


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## Deni (Jul 6, 2005)

Open top has its own problems with lights. Hang from the ceiling? Clamp to the side of the tank? Use an anti-gravity device? ;-)

I know that the small tanks I have will probably be more of a problem than if I had room for bigger ones. I'd like to do a piano hinge in the middle so that I could have half the lights on at a time, like MatPat. Not possible with the 96w quad bulb, obviously, but maybe I can work it out with something from A&H.

Thanks for all your input. It's a big help.


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## MoonFish (Feb 12, 2006)

freydo said:


> i made a custom hood that allows me to do maintenance in the tank, while keeping all my lights on.
> 
> My DIY Hood
> 
> but there are some canopies that you can buy that angle out of the way during maintenance. i can't think of any names, but others here will know.


I made mine to open 1/2 way, just a bit more than that. two bulbs are on top when it is open and two shine into the tank. Taking the top off is very annoying, been there before. I can't think of another way that i would want to build one, yet.


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## Deni (Jul 6, 2005)

The ones I have started out to be Eclipses. The 12-gallon had an Eclipse1 hood, with two lift-up doors on top. The one at the front, which you have to lift up to access the aquarium, has the light(s), so when you open it the lights are shining in your face and the tank itself is dark. The door at the back has enough room to feed the fish, but most of the room is taken up with the filter which is molded into the hood. It can't be moved even temporarily to work in the tank.

The other one is a little Eclipse6. There's a little door in the back that allows for a little bit of access to the tank, but only after dumping the filter system. The lights are in the front. I haven't decided whether to try to retrofit the hood with enough light to grow things or to leave it as an 8w "natural" tank or to dump the hood altogether and try to come up with some sort of DIY hood that will fit the bowed front. I've considered an open tank, but have run into the problems I mentioned earlier about getting light there.

As a result of the problems with the hood, I pretty much lost interest for quite a while, just doing the minimum so my white clouds didn't die. Finally I took the white clouds to the LFS, dumped the Eclipse1 hood and thoroughly cleaned out the tanks. They've been sitting empty for several months. 

It really helps to get input on this. I don't want to invest a bunch more money and then find that the equipment that other people say is the best thing since sliced bread is completely unusable by me.


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## freydo (Jan 7, 2006)

if i had fish/equipment that does a lot of splashing, then i probably would think of a cover, but since i don't, i'm not worried at all. the issue i see with having a cover is that with acrylic or plexiglass, it will warp in a short time. with glass (as well as acrylic/plexiglass) being so close to the water, you will eventually develope some buildup on the glass that will/can reduce your light levels in the tank. that's my opinion.

the flip lid on my canopy is only 4" wide, but i have approx 5" above the tank of useable space. even with that, i still get good light coverage towards the front of the tank. and... when i open the lid, i don't get blinded by the lights 

i like the DIY canopy route, because i can control the dimensions and the amounts of light fixtures i want to use. and it's way cheaper than buying a pre-fab unit, which up here, can go for a couple hundred dollars for good quality easily. i think overall, i spent about ~$50.00 canadian pesos on materials (wood, lights, ballasts, etc) a few hours of my weekend time, presto change-oh, i have something i'm proud of... and it came in a colour i chose 

i would love to buy some of the lighting fixtures i've seen, but i can't justify the cost to myself, no matter how much convincing i try 

deni: if you want, i can help you come up with some plans for a DIY canopy for your tanks, maybe even something for your bowfront tanks. something with a flip lid, so maintenance is easier and not so dark 

just let me know.


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## Deni (Jul 6, 2005)

I appreciate the offer, freydo, and I may take you up on it, especially with the bowfront. I've got an idea for the 12-gallon that I'd like to try. I would never have come up with it without the ideas I've seen posted here. Thank you all so much.


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

Deni said:


> ... Clamp to the side of the tank? ...


Exactly.


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## freydo (Jan 7, 2006)

Deni said:


> I appreciate the offer, freydo, and I may take you up on it, especially with the bowfront. I've got an idea for the 12-gallon that I'd like to try. I would never have come up with it without the ideas I've seen posted here. Thank you all so much.


if you want me to help you come up with some plans, i would just need exact outside dimensions of the tank... length... width at corners... width from midpoint of bow front to midpoint of tank rear.

from there, i work on some ideas for you. just let me know.


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