# My DIY Hood



## nivekid (May 2, 2006)

I've been meaning to post this up here for quite a while. My DIY hood has been running on my aquarium for about 6 months now, and I must say a love it. It has a clean slick look to it. It looks like many of the $200 hoods, but for a ton less.










The hood is made from a $6 section of vinyl rain gutter that I got from Lowe's. I cut two sections of the gutter and backed them up together. After they were screwed together I installed my existing AH Supply 2 x 65 Watt lights and reflectors into each side. I drilled some small cooling holes into the top of the hood in regular lines, so they looked like they were planned. Also, I drilled a hole directly in the middle back side of the hood for the power cord.










After the wiring and reflectors were installed I added slid on the vinyl end caps that were made for the rain gutter. They were around a $1 each for 4. I bought some clear plastic legs made for a Corallife hood from the LFS for around $6. They were screwed into the end caps.










One of the nicest things was that the rain gutter had a perfect groove in it for a piece of glass to slide right in. For $10 I had a local glass company cut me a small piece of glass. All I have to do is remove the end caps and the glass slides in and out, convenient for changing a bulb, cleaning the glass, etc. So the total cost for the entire hood was about $26, not including the AH supply kit. Not a bad deal for what I got, IMO.










For the past six months I just left the hood the plain white vinyl, which didn't look bad at all. But just last week I bought some primer and rustoleum paint and gave it a nice metallic coat. Now l must say that it looks even better for around $7. Altogether I think the hood turned out nice. And I must say it looks better in person . Please let me know what you think.


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## taoyeah (Aug 8, 2007)

really a nice looking hood.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

I like that! Very nice solution!
(Note to self... Go to that new Lowes that is opening tomorrow 1/2 mile from my house)


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## ghengis (Jun 11, 2008)

Perfect proof why DIY is just the coolest thing! Really nice job, nive, well done!


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## nivekid (May 2, 2006)

Hey thanks all. It was really a simple project and it looks nice. The best part was that it saved me a whole lot of money.


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## nokturnalkid (Feb 27, 2007)

I did a diy hood like that but it didn't even come close to looking like yours. Never would of thought to use the coralife legs. Good job.


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## OrangeCones (Aug 15, 2009)

For those of us (like me) that never can get anything made of wood to turn out, I think even I could do this! I'm going to adapt it to a single reflector (so just one piece of rain gutter) for my AH light kit over a smaller tank. I also was going to use the legs sold for the Coralife fixtures on mine to a) allow the light to spread out more over the tank, since only one bulb and b) make it easier to get in there to prune, etc without having to take the hood off. 

Thanks for sharing a GREAT idea!


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## Hybridtheoryd16 (Jan 18, 2010)

Nice looks professional or store bougt


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## nivekid (May 2, 2006)

Good luck OrangeCones. It should be really simple for a single bulb fixture. Let me know if you have any questions.


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## OrangeCones (Aug 15, 2009)

nivekid said:


> Good luck OrangeCones. It should be really simple for a single bulb fixture. Let me know if you have any questions.


I will have to put the legs on so that they will straddle the left and right sides of the tank (not front and back like yours) because I'm only using one light kit and doing them front to back, I don't have the width. I like the idea of putting them on the endcaps though.


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## Daniil (Oct 30, 2009)

Really nice hood.
More ideas on DIY vinyl rain gutter aquarium light hood.
I have found this link: http://www.rcarchive.com/fish/hood/


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## OrangeCones (Aug 15, 2009)

nivekid said:


> Good luck OrangeCones. It should be really simple for a single bulb fixture. Let me know if you have any questions.


Where did you put the ballast units?


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## nivekid (May 2, 2006)

Good question. The Ballasts are directly behind the reflectors. This worked out because the curve of the reflectors didn't allow them to sit all the way in the gutters. I was worried about the ballasts overheating or overheating the lamps, but with some holes in the top I haven't had a problem. And these lights have been running for about a year now.


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## OrangeCones (Aug 15, 2009)

I ended up mounting mine on the back of the fixture, the 'flat' part of the gutter piece since I have only one bulb/reflector over the 20gallon tank. Can't see it from the front of the tank, so all is good  We're making a 2nd one and might try to paint the vinyl first. 

Even after leaving it on for 24hours, I had no significant buildup of heat, so am happy. 

Now hubby wants to put in 'moonlights' on the next one, so he can see the night-time swimmers. 

Boys with their toys!


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi nivekid,

Slick! I have done two DIY fixtures with AH Supply kits and love them but the wood fixtures look "odd" on the tanks with plastic trim and metal stands. Also, the wood to build them was more expensive than the one you came up with....good job!


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## Cliff Mayes (Jan 29, 2007)

Hoods do not have to be tall or heavy although it is a way of building them.

Thin Luan that can be cut with a ruler and utility knife and a 1 by cut into strips of 3/4 inch and assembled with glue is more than fine. Use screws to hold things together only until the glue dries. Think in terms of Kitchen cabinets for construction. I have been using this for over 3 years.

The kits, available from AH supply on the net, are great and cheap. Bulbs can be expensive. I await the LED revolution in lighting which for most of us is not here yet although it is coming.


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