Can I see some canopies?

[chrismhaase]

Mine is a duplicate of Marino's, so here is an inside shot. By the way whats up Marino. Here is a thread link for my build.
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...readid=1123028

Outside


Inside

[djohnston]

Originally posted by dc_909
djohnston,


That canopy looks like a transformer

LOL, I guess I never really noticed, but it kinda does!

[djohnston]

Originally posted by aztbs
on the roll down screen - nicely done!! I have been meaning to do the same for when we are watching movies and want to lose the tank reflection on the TV. lol

Thanks! I suppose there are a multitude of uses for it. But it sure helps cut down on the algae build-up on the front of the tank.

[poppin_fresh]

FYI... I still need more ideas! Please post em" if you got em'!

[customcolor]

im finishing mine (wiring lights) and will post soon. by thurs night i hope.

[poppin_fresh]

Originally posted by customcolor
im finishing mine (wiring lights) and will post soon. by thurs night i hope.

I'm going to hold you to that, you better!

[liveforphysics]

I noticed you said you will be using T5 lighting.

The beauty of T5's IMO is the ability to drop the whole canopy concept.












When you dump the concept of a canopy, you may no longer need a chiller, your gas exchange improves, cleaning and working in the tank becomes a pleasure, and best of all, no more bashing your head and elbow on the canopy trying to pull big corals out

This setup swings cleanly out of the way in about 5 seconds.

I had a canopy suspended from a cable/pulley system before, and it was semi-acceptable, but I would never go back to anything else after this design.

[dhogan]

Check out my hood construction here: http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...5&pagenumber=3

[customcolor]

no water in the tank yet but here is a non flash pic of my 125 in progress



notice the tempory pvc prop. i need a locking hindge. the shocks i have put in to the hood help alot with lifting the canopy up but just not strong enough to keep the heavy hood up any more. i may get a acuator.



3 175watt 1500k and 2 cf 50/50(soon to be tru aninic) and a led bar for moon light



some of the wiring and one of the shocks



and how i mounted the cf's

[customcolor]

to see my whole build go here

[bassetbros]

Originally posted by hllywd
I bought this used and went from this...



To this....





Tim

What is your new canopy made of? I've been looking for that same type of material. Does it come in sheets or did you attach individual pieces of 1X4's to a frame? Is it some type of panneling or wanescoat?

Thanks and God bless,
Basset

[ctreefer]

while much smaller than your canopy will be, here's my nano 29 gallon with 3 t5s.[IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG]

[hllywd]

Originally posted by bassetbros
What is your new canopy made of? I've been looking for that same type of material. Does it come in sheets or did you attach individual pieces of 1X4's to a frame? Is it some type of panneling or wanescoat?

Thanks and God bless,
Basset

They are (or were) individual 1x8s. I ripped them and molded the edges. The next time I'd take the time to set up the router table to make a better finished product. I stapled (1 1/4" X 1/4 crown finish staples only on the interior surfaces) and glued everything.









Those aren't great but should give you an idea. It's finished with two coats of sprayed Sherwinn Williams laquer.

Tim

[hllywd]

BTW 3/4" Maple plywood in two pieces for the top and a 48" piano hinge. Still need to come up with an idea to keep the front from folding all the way over.
Also I built the entire canopy then ran it through the table saw to separate the front and back sections, the hinge was already installed so everything fit perfectly the first time without really trying too hard.

Tim

[poppin_fresh]

I'm really thinking hard about not building a canopy, but rather a light box like liveforphysics's. I cant do a swing-a-way, but maybe a hoistable setup on cables.

[avp]

liveforphysics, that idea rocks. I was looking at hanging a t-5 fixture since I like to remove the top to work on the tank, but the swinging arm idea is very cool. Can you post some pics on how you did it and the hardware used?

thanks,

-avp

[maroun.c]

Very nice canopies everyone.
One thing 'd like to know fromt hose who cannot comepletely remove the canopy fromt eh front side at lease is how to maintain the tank (water changes, adding rocks or taking rocks out without ruining the wood structure by spilling water on? also what is hte average life span of the wodd in such humid and hot environment? any info about treatments for hte wood or any tips before I construct mine would be greatly appreciated.

[dhogan]

Originally posted by maroun.c
Very nice canopies everyone.
One thing 'd like to know fromt hose who cannot comepletely remove the canopy fromt eh front side at lease is how to maintain the tank (water changes, adding rocks or taking rocks out without ruining the wood structure by spilling water on? also what is hte average life span of the wodd in such humid and hot environment? any info about treatments for hte wood or any tips before I construct mine would be greatly appreciated.

The outside of my stand has been coated with several coats of polyutherane, while the inside has been coated with Marine varnish (same stuff used on boats), this prevents any damage. My hood can be removed, but only because it is a small tank. But I don't need to remove my hood, I just open the front to feed my fish. Adding rocks was a mess, but I cleaned up water on the outside once I completed it, and now that I'm setup I won't be adding more rocks. I also conduct water changes underneath where my sump is, so I rarely must access the top.

[andbigdaddy2]

More canopy pics Plz

[AZDesertRat]

[saltyreefguy]

did most you guys have prior experience in making stand/canopy?
i was looking to buy a set, but i sure would like to make one myself, being a diy person myself, is there any good books on aquarium and canopy making books, especially taller canopies for mh lighting? thanks..

[Chrisrush]

Good Morning everyone,
I am looking to install 6 x 24w T5s over my new 60g cube and I had a request. If anyone has any pictures of slim canopies, either a floating type or suspended, I'd like to see them. I'm thinking about retro fitting the 6 T5s into a small 4" tall wood canopy, but the tank will be open top and rimless so I don't want to distract from that. Any ideas or pictures would be great. I'm talking with my stand builder this week, so I'd like to give him a rough idea before then.

I like what liveforphysics has done, but I need something finished in a wood frame, plus I don't have the space for the swing arm.

Thanks,

[ccscscpc]

Wow...those are some awesome canopies.....you guys should build some on the side and sell them...I bet you would get a bunch of people on here willing to buy.....Nice Work!!!