Canopy for a 29 Gallon Tank

[The Saltwater Kid]

I'm interested in making a canopy for my 29g. Any idea's? How much should I expect to spend? The bottom line is itdoesn't have to look like the Taj Mahal it just has to work. I am thinking about going with wood over acrylic or metal, what kind of stain would you use to prevent the salt from rotting it out? I have a Current Sattellite light system and would like to make a seperate chamber within the canopy to hold that about 4 inches off the water and I want hinges on the back of the canopy so i can lift the whole top up and get into the tank and at my lights as necessary. Like I said above I want to spend as little on this as possible because i can't afford much right now but I would like to get an Anthias for my tank and they are jumpers. I tried the eggcrate but it made my tank too dark so I have decided to go with a cheap (hopefully) DIY canopy instead. Any thoughts, suggestions and/or opinions would be greatly appreciated!