Canopy

[J. Montgomery]

I've finally gotten around to finishing my canopy, and thought I'd share some pictures. I've had the canopy frame with lights over the tank since ~ February. I finally put the skin on the canopy, and man does that make a difference. The lights are no longer shining directly into my eyes!

Here is the front of the canopy. Its on a hinge (for feeding, etc . . . ) and the front is also easily removed (for placing frags, etc . . . ).
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t133/baronpsjosh/CanopyFront.jpg

I put the lights on a hinge also so that I can move them out of the way.
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t133/baronpsjosh/FlipTop.jpg

I added a second cooling fan to the canopy and wired it to the same variable voltage power supply as the first fan. You can also see some of the hooks that I've added to loop power cords over.
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t133/baronpsjosh/CoolingFans.jpg

Here is a shot of the canopy's backside.
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t133/baronpsjosh/CanopyBack.jpg

There are still a few more slight touch-ups that need to be done, but it's really come along way in the past two days.

[Charlie Davidson]

Josh, that is looking good! Man, I guess I need to "move" on mine..
You have me "inspired" now.. :)
Tommorow, after i pull the crab pots.. :D

[xxtriggermanxx]

Josh ,
it looks very nice but i have a few questions... how does the front open ? and is there any way to feed without opening the whole unit ?

[J. Montgomery]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10441044#post10441044 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by xxtriggermanxx
Josh ,
it looks very nice but i have a few questions... how does the front open ? and is there any way to feed without opening the whole unit ?
Look at the picture of the backside of the canopy:
The front door is connected to a piano hinge that runs the length of the canopy. The hinge allows the whole front piece to open up (like the door on a Delorean). That is how I access the tank to feed.

I can completely remove the front of the canopy by simple lifting it up. The 1 x 2 piece of wood that the front piece is connected to is not secured to the canopy. It fits snuggly into a groove within the frame. The "groove" that the top fit into is the same as the grooves on the bottom of the frame that the tank sits in (look at the bottom of the cooling fan picture).

If that makes an sense . . . I'll try to get a better picture that shows how they fit together.

[xxtriggermanxx]

no need ! i get it! very much like mine . I just didn't realize the front was attached to that first hinge. So when will we see it in action?

[J. Montgomery]

Uh oh, too late. I already snapped the pictures, so here you go:

This:
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t133/baronpsjosh/CanopyFrontHinge.jpg

Plus This:
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t133/baronpsjosh/CanopyFrontBracket.jpg

Equals This:
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t133/baronpsjosh/CanopyFrontJoint.jpg

Which is Inverse Proportional to This:
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t133/baronpsjosh/CanopyFrontOpen.jpg

[xxtriggermanxx]

Very nice work :thumbsup:

[surfnvb7]

nice job! i bet you got allot of nagging with the mess you made while building it...lol ;)

[J. Montgomery]

Time to build the frame ~ 2 days in February

Time to build the skin ~ 2 days in July

Time that I was nagged for having "all these piles of wood and messes everywhere" ~ 6 months! :lol2:

It really s*cks building stuff in an apartment (or in my case, the patio of your apartment). All the tools are hidden in one closet, all the supplies are in another room, its >90 degrees outside and mosquitoes are feasting on me. And since I drilled my fan holes in the wrong spots, I guess I'm not done just yet! Dooh! Maybe I'll work on that in another six months.

[Charlie Davidson]

Waa, waa, waa.. :lol:
Still looks good :)

[gnrlee]

Looks like you did some nice work there. You should be proud. I like the decorative blocks on the corners. My stand has the same touch. I have used the radioshack fans before. If you have them sucking air out of the canopy they will rust out quick. It's because they are pulling salt spray out of the canopy. Blowing in you should have more life out of them. Just a suggestion. Looking good.

[surfnvb7]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10443628#post10443628 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gnrlee
Looks like you did some nice work there. You should be proud. I like the decorative blocks on the corners. My stand has the same touch. I have used the radioshack fans before. If you have them sucking air out of the canopy they will rust out quick. It's because they are pulling salt spray out of the canopy. Blowing in you should have more life out of them. Just a suggestion. Looking good.

thats a very good suggestion.

i got some off of ebay b/c they were cheap, and they only lasted about a year before they seized up. i never took them apart to see if they were corroded though.

[J. Montgomery]

I hear ya. I got bo f'um pointin' inwards.

[Holstin]

nice canopy.