Hood suspension Ideas needed

[StirCrazy]

Ok I am looking for Ideas on how to make a hood that is removable by raising it or spining it out of the way. It is going to be large and heavy so I don't want to have to lift it by hand.

the new tank is going to be between 6 and 8 foot long and between 30 inches and 3 feet wide. It is going to be used as a room devider with one end against a wall.

a couple possibilities I have been toying with is some kind of swinging pole on the one end, or wires suspending it from the roof that will also act as a lift some how.

Steve

[mark]

Had bookmarked a hoist on reefs.org

http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=28493&highlight=hoist

Might try a search there for others.

[Jack]

steve. i used aircraft cable and suspend my hood like that. it's really cool. i used carabieners for easy disconnect but i wish i had a pully system to raise and lower it... its just in a fixed position but im not going hardcore on my parents ceiling. my room has the removable ceiling tiles so my hood hangs from the frame work of the house. pretty simple and it looks slick

[Pansy-Paws]

My husband rigged up a pulley system for the canopy of our 72 gallon bowfront. The canopy is made of plastic and is quite flexible, so we felt that a lifting system was needed to ensure it wouldn't break at some point while removing it. :smile:

Here's a picture of the entire setup.

http://pansy-paws.com/aquarium/images/overall.JPG

With the pulley system, the canopy is easy to lift off with just one person. It probably weighs about 40 lbs with 440W VHO inside, but the size makes it more cumbersome than the weight.

The cable pulls from the left side, and ties to the wall. A wire runs from each of the four corners to the centre pulley assemply to give the lift process balance.

http://pansy-paws.com/aquarium/images/leftside.JPG

The centre hoist assemby is where the four corner wires meet, with a double pulley up to the ceiling.

http://pansy-paws.com/aquarium/images/hoistassembly.JPG

Given the hot weather of late, you can see that we've also added a large fan to blow down onto the water surface (we found that sump fans just weren't enough). :cool: You'll also notice that the canopy has metal rods along the front and back. We found that the canopy bent severely when trying to lift directly from the four corners, so the rods prevent that.

http://pansy-paws.com/aquarium/images/fan.JPG

http://pansy-paws.com/aquarium/images/canopy.JPG

The main weight of the canopy is taken by an eyebolt through a 1x6 piece of oak, which was screwed into the ceiling joists. The clearance is about a foot and a half, giving ample room for cleaning and reef recontruction.

http://pansy-paws.com/aquarium/images/topfitting.JPG

http://pansy-paws.com/aquarium/images/lifted.JPG

The entire assembly can also be removed if we have guests over and want the aquarium area to look less cluttered, but after a while, we don't even notice it. :eek: :eek:

The work took about two weeks, with my husband living at Home Depot figuring out the various options and fittings needed. :mrgreen:

[StirCrazy]

hmm neet Idea but I decided that I didn't want wires and such going to the roof.

Instead i decidede to desing a traditional looking hood with huge access doors.

this is the frame design
http://members.shaw.ca/steve-sherri/new_hood.jpg

Steve