180 gallons up in this!!!! NWKRC!

[WannaRace]

Congrats on the new tank!

BTW, whose SLOWbaru is that?

[Alexander]

thanks man!

haha not slow. I talked about in the other hobby thread. roommates. I get down with sport bikes myself.

[reeffreak]

Things seem to be moving along nicely.
You mention something in my thread about worrying about flooding.I see it has a close loop.I'm wondering can one setup a close loop without drilling the tank?Another Question,are those VHO bulbs?Well congrats,it looking sweet already.BTW,I hope the dualstrip works better for you then me.

[RigoSharon]

actinic does look great..you can make a cheap hood of wood..with two electric fans to pull out the heat..and reflectors also..man..you guys are having so much fun with your new tanks..i was considering at least a 55, but rigth now cant afford filters nor ligths system..i will have fun for the time following your threads guys..good luck to all!!

[Alexander]

reeffreak, thanks. it sure does have a closed loop. its great. I'm not sure about ways to do it without drilling. I know there was a thread about it in DIY, but it didn't really seem to go too far. yes my bulbs are VHO. and the coralife I have had hooked up to my 80 for a long time. figured I can't live without it now. so I had to buy another one!

Rigo I do need a hood for sure. for some reason allglass stopped making a black one for the 180 so if I bought it I would have to paint it too. and its like 300 dollars too. I would like to make one for sure, only problem is I have never done anything like that before. however I think it might be time that I experiment and figure out how to do it. as far as reflecors go.... what have any of you used before with VHO setups? like materials and where do I get them.

[RigoSharon]

s13..heres an idea how to do it...you can modify it for your needs...probably ill give you some ideas..

[RigoSharon]

sorry..here it is..
Metal Halides over my 55g Reef

[RigoSharon]

heres one that was made for a 29g..but ill give you some ideas and how to put the cooling fans..
Melevsreef.com - A DIY Canopy for Metal Halide lighting

[Alexander]

thanks rigo i think im headed to home depot today. ive got a little different idea but we will see waht i come up with for now

[fishbait]

here's a few quick ideas. you could build a simple canopy just to hold your lights for now. just take some 2x6's and build a square that will snugly fit around the outside diameter of your tank. then take a 1x strip, glue and tack it to the inside to form a lip to set on top of the tank. it shouldn't cost 20 bucks or so to build. it would at least keep the lights from shining out in the room so bad. you could even buy a piece of aluminum flashing to make a temporary reflector. it would'nt be the best reflector in the world by no means. but, it would be inexpensive and better than nothing.