Built the Canopy this weekend here are some pics

[andro]

I finished the canopy this weekend. I decided not to stain it until I move it from NJ to my house, this way it does not get scratched.

Here are the pictures, since my tank is in my apartment I had to place the canopy on top of the stand and then imagine what it would look like on the tank :-)

[andro]

Another

[andro]

This one shows the canopy on top of the stand with the doors open.

[andro]

This one has the canopy closed but the stand doors open. When the doors are open, I have full access to everything, I have no center brace.

[andro]

Because the stand is a bit larger than most stands, I have seen, mine is 3 1/2 feet tall and the canopy is 1 1/2 feet tall, I decided to get into one of the pictures to put the size into perspective, I am about 6' tall and my wife is about 5' 8"

[andro]

Because of the weight of the canopy (all oak), I built 4 legs, the 2 in the back are oak 1x6 and the two in the front are oak 1x2 and 1x3 glued together, this way I can cover the corners of the tank as well as fill in the 6 inches behind the stand so it makes it look cleaner. because the garage I built this in did not have a high enough ceiling, I could not put it together fully, I wish I did though.

The legs are attached with dowels, so I can take the canopy off if I ever need to, the lighting assembly is also removable just to make sure that I can get to repair anything if need be without having to take the whole thing apart. I have decided to keep the whole top open and put fans on the sides of the canopy blowing in and 2 on top of the metal halides drawing some of the heat off of them.

Here is a picture of the open canopy.

[Franks Reef]

Can't wait to see that baby with ocean between it!!!:cool:

[andro]

That makes 2 of us. I hope it fits :-p that would suck huh. I actually put up the braces to hold the canopy and put a piece of wood across so I could see how the tank would look sizewise, and it is kinda dwarfed by the size of the stand and stuff, looks like I might need a 90 gal. :-p Jenn would kill me.


-Ian

[Todd G.]

Looks great.
Wow.. ..plenty of room for equip.

Cheers.
Todd G.

[seaham358]

Good job...... Looks great. I like the way it opens in the front.

[fins369]

I really like your new canopy! Do you have any pics of the legs and how you attached them? Also is it open on top?

[andro]

With the exception of the reflectors for the halides, yes it is an open top. I forgot to take pictures of the legs, I will the next time I head down to Jersey.

[BORECKI]

That's a very tall stand! Shouldn't lack space for equipment:D .

P.S. my name is Boris, I go by BORECKI in the New Jersey reefers club forum. Hope you guys can squeeze in one more reefer when I retire and move up to the hudson valley.
Boris.

[andro]

Yeah, I would say it is pretty tall. I don't like kneeling in front of the tank to check things out, I wanted to be able see more of it while standing up.

-Ian

[chem-e]

Great job with the stand.

That cabinet looks really tall though.

Why did you decide to go topless? Is it just because of heat issues?

[andro]

I figured since the top is going to be about 7 feet offo f the ground it will be pretty hot up there anyway so anything to help would be in my best interest, I don't want to buy a chiller if I don't need to. I will have plenty of air circulation to try to cool things off.

[ADS]

Ian-
Nice job! That is going to look wild when setup. Are you going to stain it?
Adam

[andro]

Thanks Adam! I am planning on staining it cherry to match everything that we have now in our living room, kitchen and soon to be dining room. I am not going to stain it until I have it in my garage, because I do not want it to get scratched in transport.

-Ian