Finally...

[ReefMole]

...'finished the DIY canopy and stand...and the initial cycle. Now to slowly start adding stuff...


...second try to post a pic :

[DC321]

Nice work!

[Skipper]

Hey, ReefMole. Really nice!!:)

[alf3482]

Looks Great!

[cacplkings]

Reefmole,

What kind of wood did ya make it with and what was your total costs? Reason I ask, I am contemplating doing my own for a 120g in the near future.

Chris

[ReefMole]

Chris,

I used furniture grade oak plywood (3/4"x8'x4') for the sides, top, front, and door. I left the back open on both the canopy and stand. I built a frame (pictured) out of 2'x4's and 2'x3's to provide the support; the 2'x4's support the weight of the tank and the 2'x3's hold it all in place and add some structural support. I have an acrylic tank so I added another solid piece of plywood to the top of the stand to support the full underside of the tank.

The canopy doesn't hinge open; my tanks only a 40 gallon so it's not a big deal to just lift it off when doing maintenance. If you had a larger tank you could easily add a couple of hinged access doors on the front or have the top open.

I nailed the plywood front, top, and sides to the frame and cut the plywood edges at a 45deg angle so they would fit together without the edge of the plywood showing. I finished the top edge of the plywood (top and bottom edge of the canopy) with a 1/4 round piece of solid oak trim. The oak plywood is purely for looks (doesn't provide any structural support) so I would have used 1/4" or 1/2" thick if it wasn't that the price of 3/4" was only 2 or 3$ more for the same size sheet. The plywood was much less expensive and lighter weight (and easier to cut) than solid oak...by looking at the finished stand though you can't tell that it's not solid oak.

I used a 'MinWax' one-step polyeurethane finish to stain the stand. It's an all in one stain and protective coat. By finish sanding, adding one coat, steel wool'ing, and adding two more coats I got an extremely durable (water will bead up on it), easy to apply, and inexpensive finish.

The rough cost for everything was as follows:

8x4 furniture grade oak plywood from Loewe's = $45.00
1/4 round trim from Loewe's = $15.00
MinWax one step polyeurethane finish = $10.00
2x4's and 2x3's from Loewe's = $15.00
Hinges = $ 4.00
Angel Fish knob from Home Depot = $ 5.00
Deck screws and nails = $15.00

Total =$109.00

I had to buy a circular saw from Sears so that added another $39.00 to my cost ;)

Given the fact that any stands I looked at locally were built poorly out of pine with an oil finish, looked shabby, stood 1.5' tall, and were expensive...or were out of oak and even more expensive, I had no choice but to build my own. By building my own I was able to save an easy $4-$500.00 AND have a custom stand that was the color I wanted and that stood 36" tall...I can actuall fit a couple of 5 gallon buckets and supplies underneath and it's at eye-level when I'm sitting on the couch.

Anyway, I hope that helps. I took pictures of the whole assembly so maybe eventually I'll put up a DIY page on the internet or something.

Good luck with the stand.
Scot

[Chrisrush]

Do you have any pictures of the canopy before you put the plywood on? Is your tank a 40g breeder?

Chris

[ReefMole]

Chris,

I think my tank is called a 40 'regular', it's 36x15x16. I designed the canopy to hang over the front and sides by about 1.5" so you can't see the water line. Also, the stand comes up about an inch to hide some of the deep sandbed. I did a pretty decent job on the stand but the canopy was a 'quickie' hack job with leftover wood from the stand project. Like I said, it doesn't even hinge to open...I left it open in the back so I can access my hang-on skimmer's cup for cleaning and feed the fish. I just remove it for maintenance. I didn't build a full frame for the canopy; I just used some wood screws and scrap pieces of the 2x3's and plywood for support and to set how much of the sides and top would hang over. Hopefully you can understand by looking at the picture. The 1/4 round trim I used was 1/2" on one side and 3/4" on the other. I used that to my advantage on the top of the canopy by cutting a top piece that would hang over 1/4" so I could nail it to the edge of the front and sides (3/4" plywood). I then 'finished' it with the 1/2" x 3/4" quarter round and it fit perfectly. The canopy really isn't a very good example of woodworking ability but it looks really nice on top of my tank...the underside and back are pretty rough as you can see though. Hope that helps -Scot (AKA ReefMole)

[ReefMole]

Here's another view (minus my Schnauzer that seems to always find her way into my pictures).

[DukeDog]

Looks good! By the way whats your dogs name?
Jeff

[Doug]

Hi ReefMole,

Excellent work!!!

Doug

[newbie1]

Reefmole,
nice job!
How did you put the trim on the wood,
with glue or did you nail them on?
I'm trying to build a top for my 29 gal.

Thanks

[Diatom2]

Oh great now I want ANOTHER tank so I can have a stand like that. :D

[ReefMole]

newbie1,

I just nailed it on with finishing nails, countersunk them, and filled with wood filler. I didn't bother to glue it...it was sturdy enough without the glue and it only took a few nails to secure the trim.

[ReefMole]

Oh, and I forgot...the dog's named "Minky". When she's not getting in the way of my photography she's begging to watch TV (really!). I'm glad she hasn't taken an interest in the fish swimming around....yet....

[Chrisrush]

Looks good Scott. That's the plan that I was thinking about building for my tank.

Chris

[kames]

Nice tank and stand!

cacplkings, my husband just completed our DIY canopy for our 120 gallon. All told he spend ~$150 using oak panneling and red oak trim on top of a frame. He posted the saga with details and step by step construction at http://steve.virtual-voodoo.com/reeftank/canopy.html

[Skipper]

kames:
Your husband is to be commended. He did a great job on that! Very nice.

[ReefMole]

Nice canopy Kames....that's how I "SHOULD" have done it. Something tells me that due to the enjoyment I'm getting out of the hobby I'll have another opportunity in the future to get it right...when I move and upgrade to that 150 gallon!