Apology accepted.....good luck with your project.
I decided to mod a 150HPS security lamp and put it inside a DIY cooltube as the self enclosed 250MH was way too loud, hot, and space consuming.
However, I'm still planning on keeping the ballast inside the box....I'm assuming putting it at the top of the box is best in terms of preventing dangers from water spilling on it and since it's the hottest element of the whole production I figure its best to keep the furthest away from my babies. Is there anything I'm missing in my thinking?? The ballast is inside one of those RadioShack project boxes that I drilled a ton of holes in for cooling.....however the thing literally gets hot enough to fry an egg on.....though its completely silent, which I love.

RIght now, I have 90cfm Hydrofarm Active Air squirrel cage fan mounted at the top of the box sucking air through one side of the cooltube and then blowing it out the box and into a Can 2600 carbon filter. I've been able to keep temps under control but the sound the fan makes moving the air is pretty loud.....not the fan itself (which I can't even hear) just the air that it is moving. As a result I'm thinking of cutting a hole in the drywall on the back upper side of the box and running ducting up to my attic (about 6 or so feet) and putting the fan and carbon scrubber up there. THe only problem is that in the summer it gets crazy crazy hot up there.....is it alright for my squirrel cage to be operating in these temps?? I'm talking maybe 120-140 fahrenheit?? OR would it be safer to just keep it how it is and try to mask the noise somehow???

Thanks for any help, it is much appreciated.

Peace and Love