DIY Canopy

[TexasState]

Here's the thread of all canopy thread:

http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=42300&perpage=25&pagenu mber=1

[TexasState]

Here's a design that I liked:
http://spreef.freeservers.com/photo2.html
It open from the top and the front. It's very easy to work on that tank since it open from the front. The only thing I would change is that the inside should be painted white to reflect the light, and run cooler.

It's my friend's setup in NW Houston. He wanted to get out of the hobby. So, this setup is for sale.

[Chris]

Here's a canopy that I liked... ease of access...

http://home.att.net/~s-pawlowskis/canopy.htm

8)

[M.A. Smith]

Quick question - seems on topic. We're moving in to a new home in mid-december, and I'd like to take the opportunity to replace my canopy with a new one (replacing the VHOs with metal halide at the same time). My old crutch (AQSS) seems to be out of business - so is there another decent vendor in town that can do hardware projects? Or possibly in Austin?

Hate to sound like a do-it-yourself wuss, but I tend to draw the line at me doing projects that involve lots of electricity and lots of water.

[Chris]

Don't see anything wrong with it. I like that one in particular too. If I didn't buy mine from Oceanic that idea was one of the top ones I was going to use... but my wood working skills suck :P

[TexasState]

>>so is there another decent vendor in town that can do hardware >>projects? Or possibly in Austin?

YOu can try this guy, db7863@yahoo.com
He advertise his work to the Austin Reef Club, but I have never seen his work in person. He promise to do it cheaper then buying from the fish store. He live in South Austin, but I think he past through San Antonio once in awhile. If you have motorcycle that need to be fixed, he can do that too.

>>So, does anybody see any potential pitfalls of this canopy design?

Seems like it's going to be very heavy. I think he try to sell it off, and took awhile to sell off his stuff. I like the design in Chris's link the best. In fact, that's how my neighbor here in SM had his designed.

>>replacing the VHOs with metal halide at the same time).

I would keep both actinic VHO and metal halide.


>>My old crutch (AQSS) seems to be out of business

I"m sure they're still out there somewhere if you want to look them up.
Last time I talk to them, they were trying to decide to keep their old phone number, or get a new cell phone number for their maintenant business.

[Tim Marvin]

How is the canopy looking? Are you going to post some pictures?

[TexasState]

In that link that Chris posted, I would leave the back of the canopy open instead of closing it in like that.

[TexasState]

I don't see any nail hole in my custom canopy, only screws, and I presume glue too(the outside seams look to be pretty tight together, I can't see any screw or nail from the outside.) Each corner of my canopy is re-inforced with metal bar for extra strenght.

For my old stand, I haven seen them using stapler, nail gun(w/ the nail head chop off.)

Ask Chris to see how Oceanic did his custom canopy.

The inside of my canopy is paint with white marine paint for reflection/ heat reduction.

[DeletedAccount]

Not always. Sink them to just below wood level so you can smear a small dallop of silicone on them to add in protection. If you counter sink them correctly you can smear a thin layer and not have that noticeable lump under the paint. The paint will chip off the metal quicker than it will the silicone. Just make sure to get the silicone for the bath and kitchen areas that is PAINTABLE.

[DeletedAccount]

come on! Men are suppose to think of these things!

[Chris]

I lost most of my skill when the blade on my variable speed scroll saw broke :oops:

Can't find my replacement blades :P

[Chris]

It's that electric tool that lets me be lazy rather than sitting there going back and forth the old fashioned way. 8)

[Tim Marvin]

What is it you guys are building? I still want to do an acrylic work shop.

[Tim Marvin]

Yes, you could also use some wood trim.

[TexasState]

What's the cost of re-doing it? PIne is cheap, oak is expensive to re-do. Like Tim said, add some border to give it a distinctive look. Grooved in to several tracks to make it look nice. Make sure you sand these particular part. No need to cut your self while you're working in saltwater.

[dow]

You could use some oak moulding around it where the gap is. This would cover the mistake, and , if you choose something nice, give it a very distinctive look. On the other hand, if you choose something cheap, it will fit in nicely with the single-wide tornado magnet crowd.
:beer:

[reef200]

Hi, i am a new member here and thought i would add my opinion. I built my own canopy and it wasn't that hard. Let me know if you would like some photos and i can post them. That is if i can figure how to post photos here.


Jerry

[Tim Marvin]

It is very easy to post pictures, but Chris will have to set you up first.

[Andrew]

I'm using oak molding on my stand to cover up edges (from the plywood look that exists on corners); got a 14ft piece at BLS for just over 7 bucks.
BLS has a warehouse full of wood, and is located on I-10 west. take camp bullis road exit, make a right (on camp bullis), and it's on your left, no more than 1/4 mile up the road. :D

[MikeP]

I'm in the process of designing a canopy for my 60 gallon cube - it's going to be square he only thing is if I go with one halide fixture I'd have to make it REALLY tall. Alternately I am thinking of putting my VHO's over it but there again the bulbs plus fixtures ends up being more than 24" so tank would look wierd.

[witecap4u]

Mike

For your 60 cube, if you want ideas for a tall MH hood and how it will look, check out my site. My tank is about the same size, only with the front corner cut off, so its a pentagon instead. My stand is 37" tall, and my canopy is about 12, but it all seems proportional.

I built this canopy to just sit on top of the tank, and not drop down to cover the trim, cause there is no overlapping trim on the stand...cs

http://66.25.197.135
http://66.25.197.135/website/salt/?

[captexas]

Josh -
Did you ever finish your canopy? Sorry I didn't check out this thread earlier, I might have been able to help you. For your gaps in the wood joints, you can use some wood filler. You can find it in the paint/adhesives section at Home Depot. It's like a paste that you can just rub in the gaps. After it dries you can sand it down and it will look fine. You can even stain and paint the filler so it blends in with the wood. On my stand that I built for my 75, I countersank some screws that held the exterior panels onto the main frame and covered them up with the filler so you don't even know the screws are there. If it is just small pieces of wood you are joining, you can use finishing nails. After you hammer them in, use a punch/tap to sink the heads in and then cover the hole with filler. Works pretty good.

I just finished building my canopy for my 75 if you want to come by and check it out. I used the same kind of molding that I have on my stand to make it match. Turned out pretty good. I also have a plain, simple canopy that I built for my 58 that is ok and could look better with a few mods.

Chris