Diy Hood Insulation..

[Fish are friends]

I will be making a new hood for my tank and i was wondering if i could use sheet polystyrene to line it with so it is water tight. the sheeting is about 2mm thick so still thin enough to not change the dimentions at all.

 

[Mikaila31]

Why would it need to be water tight?

I can't really say much since I don't really know what you are building. All the hoods I have ever built I work in good ways to passively cool them. Lining the hood is gonna make it get much hotter, your ballast and bulbs may not last as long.

 

[Fish are friends]

water tight is the wrong word... it might be a safer way the seal the wood as opposed to paint since i dont know what paint i can use and the lighting is one of those lighting control units so no ballast near the hood.

 

[cynic]

Has the tank not got a condensate on the top?

 

[Fish are friends]

Has the tank not got a condensate on the top?

no condensate .
Thankfully the condensation is minimal. only reason i am looking at the polystyrene is its cheaper then paint and i have no clue what paint i can use.

 

[cynic]

Hmmm, in my tank i have 2 sliding glass panels that stop evaporation so the lamps and wood of the hood i made bone dry. No need for any sealing.

 

[Mikaila31]

Yeah I have glass lids on all my tanks to stop evaporation. For the hood though I would just use regular cheap spray paint or a stain and some polyurethane/urethane clear coat if you want it too look nicer. Regardless if there is a ballast in the fixture heat can still become a problem. Just remember wood expands and contracts due to temperature fluctuations. One of the wood hoods I built stays completely dry due to the glass lid. The heat though has been enough to may a tiny crack on one end grow to be a couple inches long. Heat can also warp a hood overtime. So normally the cooler you can keep it the better.