DIY Canopy Design?

[Hotrod324]

About to make a canopy for my new 5.5 gallon nano. Not a carpenter by any means but could definitely pull off a canopy. Let me know if you have any cool designs you dont mind sharing

 

[Fish'InMN]

I just made a canopy for my 15g based on some pictures from Melev's site. Here is Melev's design, here is a picture of the one I built for mine before it was finished. Here is a full tank shot, you can see pretty well how the canopy turned out in relation to the stand, and here is an inside shot.

When I built my canopy, I simply went to the local BORG, picked out a nice 2' x 4' piece of 3/4" plywood and had them cut it to the dimensions I needed. I went during the middle of the day so they were not busy by any means and were more than happy to do my exact cuts at no extra cost. I had a large piece that was left from the cuts, I used this as a level base to build the canopy on. A square, wood glue, wet rag and duct tape was all I needed, and it turned out pretty well I think.

Is it just a standard AGA, 16"x8"x10"? I would look to use 1/4" plywood, though you will probably have a hard time finding a nice flat sheet of 1/4", or even 1/2". If ultimately you cannot find a decent sheet of plywood, MDF board could possibly be used, but you would have to seal it quite well. I am building a remote sump cabinet out of 1/2" MDF at the moment, and I plan to do 3 coats of polyurethane inside and out and then put down some Formica inside as another barrier.

I'm not sure what type of lighting you'll be using, presumably PC on that size tank? Use the dimensions of your lighting to build your canopy and you should have no trouble at all.

Cheers,
Marty

 

[Hotrod324]

Yeah those are the dimensions. I do plan on using PCs to light it and was thinking about getting this one Gonna try to make the canopy outta mostly scraps from the garage so we'll see how that goes. You only use woodglue? If not what did you use in addition?

 

[Fish'InMN]

I used solely wood glue as I do not have any finishing nails. There is almost no weight on the hood itself, so I highly doubt it will fall apart.

You're going to build a canopy around a fixture? I guess on a tank that small, that will work out just as well. Instead of making a removable front like Melev's design has, you could probably just glue it all together since you would be able to lift it off without worrying about the lights.

Good luck, and post some pics!

 

[Hotrod324]

Ive been looking for small retrofits but havent had any luck. I would like to be able to lift the hood and have the lights attached to it so they will be outta the way for me to do whatever so i would prefer a retrofit attached to the top and would probably use some finishing nails just cause i got em. Thanks for all you help thus far