Show off your custom canopies!!!

[bigdeeezy]

hi there everyone...i am actually new to this forum and i wanted to see all the talent that are out there. I just wanted to see all of the custom canopies (made by yourself and not "custom" bought) to see what ideas everyone has. I am planning on building one myself and just wanted to get some ideas...Now lets show us them canopies!!!

[t11t5]

Here is my 37 gallon tank. The canopy is made out of oak. I left the top open so I could put the light over it and not worry about heat issues. I biult it to cover up the tank edge. The light folds back out of the way so I can work in the tank.
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Here is my 150g reef tank canopy. I built it to cover up the fake oak looking edge. Its the same design as the 37g tanks. My light is on a custom rail system made by me. The light slides back out of the way for easy tank maintenance.
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[Phyxius]

Here is a stand and canopy I made for my 90g. I made another for my 65 that I sold kind of like it




and the other for my 29g grow out tank

[ctreefer]

My new 37 cube. I have a sliding back "light drawer" so I can push the lights back for better access to the tank.
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And same idea for my 29:

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[Satori]

Here's how I did mine. I just built it out of 3/4" plywood, with the same dimensions as the tank, and then put wood trim on to hang down over the edges of the tank and keep it in place. The whole front opens up on a piano hinge on top. 2" of the top also opens with the door to give a larger opening. For accents, I just used wood name plate blanks from the hobby section at Walmart.

[bigdeeezy]

all i have to say is WOW!!! t11t5 thats crazy how you built the custom rail on top for the lights...i wanted to build something simple like yours

phyxius did u make your out of plywood also? wat kind of paint did you use to paint the inside?

all of these so far are very nice...keep them coming guys

[Phyxius]

bigdeeezy,
All of mine have been made with oak plywood (plywood with oak veneer) and the trim pieces are all solid oak as well as the door frames. I painted the inside with Kilz oil based enamel and then 3 coats of Marine Enamel. Still looks like the day I did it and salt residue wipes right off.

[FishAreFriends2]

Wow thoes are some nice cannopies killer skills does anyone have a canopy thats like made for a bowfront or a weird shapped tank?

[t11t5]

Thanks bigdeeezy. It works great.

[dhnguyen]

Here's mine. A bit different than most since it's an open canopy
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...5&pagenumber=1

I wanted an open look to the setup

[thirty5]

I just finished this a few days ago. I need to get the wires finished. THey will not be visible when i am done.

[bigdeeezy]

these are very great looking canopies guys...especially the ones who made a matching stand or custom making one to have the same design as your stand...wat kind of wood did u use for yours thirty5?

[REEFY1]

here is mine

[rkcca]

Here's the anti-canopy. However, a bit cusomized.

[thirty5]

Originally posted by bigdeeezy
these are very great looking canopies guys...especially the ones who made a matching stand or custom making one to have the same design as your stand...wat kind of wood did u use for yours thirty5?

Mostly 7ply plywood and the front is just a thin piece of luan that i was able to bend over a frame that i made, hinged with a piano hinge.

[jmait769]

Here is my stand and hood. Standard build on the stand and you can read the build thread for the hood here.





Jay

[bigdeeezy]

jmait769 looks very nice...i like how you have it free floating on top of the tank instead of having it rest on the tank and causing stress on it...very great idea!!!

[dhnguyen]

Originally posted by rkcca
Here's the anti-canopy. However, a bit cusomized.

That's pretty cool. Mine has the same concept as yours

[bigdeeezy]

i would like building an open canopy like some of you guys but the tank is in my room and it would probably blind me every night and make my room hot as hell...LoL

[dhnguyen]

"blinding" not withstanding I find enclosed hood/canopy more of a heat issue than open ones IME.

[bigdeeezy]

what i was thinking of doing was having a semi closed canopy in which the lights are blocked from the sides with an open top for ventilation

[dhnguyen]

That would work I think. One other advantage to an open top is that you can view the tank from the top down. Most people neglect/ignore this part but IMO the tankview from the top down offers one of the most spectular view on the corals and the colours you see top down is amazing and very different than what you would see from the front and sides.

[jschottenfeld]

Here is my canopy and stand that were just completed. The doors all around the top provide great access. Fans will push cooler air under the MH lamps and exit out of vents inthe top.

[truthdesigns]

Heres my canopy The bamboo is a printed decal :0)

[Clown34]

This is my 150 when I just set it up over a year ago.



Flip up front for easy access.



Dayton 55 CFM fans to cool the 1080 watts of light. One is pushing and the other is pulling. Moving a good amount of air.




Gas springs to hold the lid up for easy bulb changes.
I went with the Hamilton 6' retro kit with 3 250w MH and 2 160w VHO's