Building a canopy, any special considerations?

rovster

rovster

New member
Hey all, I was wondering if there was any special considerations when building a canopy. I think stands are pretty straight forward, but the whole canopy idea has me a bit perplexed. Obviously building a wooden box that sits atop the tank with a few doors seems simple enough, but are there any special considerations with design that I need to be aware of?

Things that come to mind:

1. Weight? I'm not using 2x4 but how much is too much. I've seen some builds that were framed with what looked like 1x2 or similar and skinned from there.
2. Doors and access. Regular hinges, piano hinges, flip up doors? What is best. I'm used to accessing a rimless tank, the thought of a canopy is a bit daunting, as I imagine it limits access significantly. What can be done to overcome this?
3. Lighting? How to attach. How to make it so that changing bulbs is not exceedingly difficult. Can it be made in a way that the light rack can be slid out of the way to improve access?
4. Peninsula vs Standard? Seems standard lends itself more to a flip up or piano hinge, while most peninsulas have more "regular" doors.
5. Plumbing? If returns are goint to be run to the front corners, is it better to run the pipes along the "roof" of the canopy and then back down in the corners, or along the tank top?

I appreciate any insight to the above questions. Also, if you know of any canopy "builds" worth looking at feel free to post links. Thanks a bunch!!:beer:
 
I feel compelled to add another point. This canopy is going to be big, 7'-8'x3' any special considerations with this size? Cross bracing/beams? Supporting beams? Top bottom or both?
 
rovster said:
I feel compelled to add another point. This canopy is going to be big, 7'-8'x3' any special considerations with this size? Cross bracing/beams? Supporting beams? Top bottom or both?
Click to expand...

Mine is almost same size.. yea.. need a cross brace.. read my thread, you will see why (I had to go back and put one in..)
 
I made mine with 2" x 2" PVC and aluminum lanai framing. It's all pretty light and the aluminum at 6' long is very stiff. I wanted easy access so I did cloth screens on the sides and front. Yes, the lights do 'lit up' the fabric, but it's blue and I like the look.

BTW, this photo was taken when I had 1000 watts of MH and 160 watts of t5. The leds I use now don't light up the fabric nearly as much because leds direct the light down with lenses.

 
I would think that a canopy that big you would probably want it attached to the ceiling above not resting on the tank because of weight
 
ThisGuy12 said:
Also you may want to consider adding in exhaust fans to move the warm and fish smelling air out.
Click to expand...

This is something I've been trying to incorporate into my canopy but how do you do it without it looking ugly and without losing a furniture look.
 
JaySchulz said:
This is something I've been trying to incorporate into my canopy but how do you do it without it looking ugly and without losing a furniture look.
Click to expand...

Add vent's then put covers in them..

20150405_214256_zps5dnijxwk.jpg


20150509_113947_zpsnvdgs2vi.jpg


I have 6 vents on top, and 2 on each side.

.
 
Garage.jpg


I am building a cabinet. The link to the thread is listed below.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2482139&highlight=cabinet&page=2

It's very slow going because I have so much other stuff to do. Never the less, I am just now finishing off a canopy install so I will offer up a few random thoughts.

I too made a million missteps. My rule of thumb for me is, if any part of the design was taken from the computer or written on paper it will be perfect. If I winging it, I get it wrong, more than twice. Take your time and draw out every detail if you can.

A 7 foot long, 8 foot deep, 3 feet high (?) canopy will indeed be very heavy. I would agree that you might want to put the weight on the wall, hang from the ceiling or transfer the weight to the floor somehow or a combination of them.

I used Kreg Jig products from Lowe's and that made things so easy and with professional results. I used higher end ¾ inch ply wood Home Depot (one sided birch, just below marine grade, not offered there,) I got the wood cut there and got pretty good results. There were a few re-cuts that I paid for. The top was high end ply. I didn't want water to make the wood swell, more common in lower end ply. Then I edge banded or sealed the edges. The inside will be sealed.

The ¾ inch sides are strong without support. My top did not need bracing but you will probably need it. You may want to put the brace(s) on top of the canopy and add crown molding to hide it. That way you won't see them on the inside. I use a brace across the bottom of the front and added pre-made doors to the opening to save weight. This worked well. Plastic painted black might work for a top. It would be made of anything or nothing at all. Your canopy doesn't have to be all in one piece or one piece except for the door(s). The top, sides, front and back, if you use one, can all be separate parts with weight dispersion and attachment methods that are all different.
I attached the hood to the wall with lift off hinges, 10 to hold it up and 2 that can be remove if needed but are there to hold it down. I used stainless steel gas struts and the force might cause the hood to lift off if I push down at the wrong point. The struts were very pricy but have a 50,000 cycle rating. I don't think that you could use this idea at all.

However you decide to gain access to the tank, think about the fact that the part that opens might change in weight over time. I don't plan on much moisture getting into the wood but I may add equipment or something else to it. Choose your lifting scheme to include future changes.
 
Sorry I meant 7' or 8' by 3'. I may go peninsula and if so I may do a gull wing design. Between this thread and scouring other builds I'm starting to get some really good ideas. I appreciate the feedback and welcome any future suggestions or links to things you feel may be beneficial. Thanks!!
 
Yea I read it wrong. If you use ¾ inch would, you probably don't need bracing but in any case, please post what you have in mind and we can throw around some ideas that may or may not fit in with your plan.
 
herring_fish said:
Yea I read it wrong. If you use ¾ inch would, you probably don't need bracing but in any case, please post what you have in mind and we can throw around some ideas that may or may not fit in with your plan.
Click to expand...

After some thinking, what I had in mind was framing things out with 1x2 with 1x3 or 1x4 in the corners. Possibly some heavier stock along the short ends and some cross bracing across the top. Skin would be I guess 1/2"or 3/4" with trim on top. I'd like to make a combination of normal "doors" on a panel that swing open for easy access but that can also be lifted out of place for more access if needed. I like the internal dowel idea to hang a light rack that will have a foot or so of travel in either direction for both access to tank and access to change bulbs. Maybe I'll draw it out when I have more time. Thanks all!
 
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