No more canopy! Hope this works...

[clamgal]

Hey, I'm trying to change the look of my tank. I am tired of the canopy. It is a pain. I want a more simple look. I would love a rimless, but it's not in the cards right now. So this is my attempt at giving my tank a sleeker look.
I am not a carpenter so be kind. I thought about using counduit, but I don't know anything about it.
I went to Lowes and brought this stuff home, and started to put it together. I will fit the retrofit in the box (very light maybe 3-4lbs) and hang it from the 2 "arms" - probably S hooks to make it easy to remove.
Before:
[IMG][/IMG]
hanging canopy box:
[IMG][/IMG]
ARMS:
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]
How it will hang:
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]
box with hole for wires
[IMG][/IMG]
and what it will replace:
[IMG][/IMG]
The arms will be attached to the back of the stand at several points for support.
Thanks for looking!
Hope it works

[allan]

I think the back 1x4 will eventually bow to the weight of your lights. Three or four pounds will place a significant stress on the corner and thus the long board that you're using for evelation. Perhaps if the back piece was turned 90 degrees to increase the strength of the support, then attached to another board perpendicularly to making mounting it to the stand more effective... JMO of course.

I think you would have a cleaner, more professional look, if you use aluminum bars? Or if you wanted to you could mount to the ceiling and use panduit to run the power cords to the lights. Panduit is the same as conduit only it runs on the surface of the wall rather than in it. Simple to use, just attach the flat piece on the wall where the cables will run, then snap the tubed portion on top. You can paint to match the color of your wall/ceiling.

[allan]

oops, just noticed that you're against a banister. You could mount a base that covers two or more of your studs, and then rig an attractive arm that holds your canopy, could even rig up an arm that will allow you to raise your lights for servicing.

Also, some corner strips in the crown molding section of HD and a chop saw you can cover the corners of your new stand. Paint them the same color as something else in your living room and it will tie in nicely. Uh, that's my wife talking about the color thing, not me.

If you don't have a chop saw I can cut the pieces for you.

[JimD]

Yeah, youre gonna need way more support for that hood.. Even with the metal angle bracing underneath and the sides, its still gonna droop and look uneven. Something like this might work a little better... Imagin one of the shelvs being the canopy, just place the shelf holders on the farthest part of the canopy so they dont block any light... You can get this stuff at Home Depot or Lowes.. Cheap...http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...a%3DN%26um%3D1

[jpond83]

defiantly going to bow

[Henny]

Update please...What did you end up doing? I want to remove my canopy as well and just have an open top. But I want to re-use my retrofitted lights and hang them from the ceiling some how.

[allan]

Should be easy enough to build a shell to house the lamps, trim and stain to taste, install quiet fans to keep temperature under control, quick stop at HD and you can get some chain to mount to the ceiling. wiring into the house for a power source in the ceiling, now that's the question. Think you would need an electrician.... unless you have a single story with crawlspace in the attic...

[jay3]

That size lumber will work, but only if hard wood lumber. Also not being able to have an attachement point at the top of the tank will create alot of motion in the hood should there be any vibration or ahytime you touch it. Why not just build lifts on either side of the hood so the whole thing rests on the top side rails of the tank. Would be easier.