I am a crap carpenter...

Dauthi

Dauthi

New member
I tried to build me a DIY canopy for my 20 long, tried that is. I give up!

Has anyone seen any 20L/29 canopies around for sale local or online? I don't need anything fancy, just something to hide my LEDs in and keep the fish from jumping out :)



Thanks
 
Dauthi said:
I tried to build me a DIY canopy for my 20 long, tried that is. I give up!

Has anyone seen any 20L/29 canopies around for sale local or online? I don't need anything fancy, just something to hide my LEDs in and keep the fish from jumping out :)



Thanks
Click to expand...


some 2x4 and plywood can make a simple yet effective one.
 
Oh, I have an "effective" one. To be honest it's fine by me, but my wife finds it unacceptable.

She would like me to get a store bought one :sad1:
 
You shouldn't need 2x4s on a 20 gallon canopy. You should be able to make it all out of plywood. Throw some trim molding on there, and she should be fine with it.
 
I may actually have one that I made a loooooong time ago - it was really nice though. Solid cherry. Needs some cleanup I think. I'll see if I can find it. It was for a 29 high.

Dan
 
Don't be to hard on yourself. I've worked in a few wood shops with guys who couldn't read a tape measure. Finishing is even harder IMO. Joes stands would have cost thousands in my last shop. They wouldn't have been built as nice.
 
I guess I can give cleaning up the one I built a try. My problem is in the cutting. I seem to get gaps all over from inaccurate cuts. I made it out of a 1X1 frame sheeted in 1/4" plywood. It's pretty solid and no light shows through, just ugly.

I should get one of my friends to help. He does speakers with a circular saw freehand and gets gorgeous results. I use a table saw with every guard known to man and get ill fitting crap. Frustrating...
 
when I build canopies including the one for my 120 with my leds I just use 1x10 pine board for the three sides and then like 1x4 on the top very simple and clean as you dont need a frame. you could even have lowes cut the boards if you worried about clean cuts. of course you may not need 10 inch you could use whatever height you want. If you can get away with black its easy to clean up paintable calk and some wood putty as prep then paint
 
I've never met joe, but i couldnt build a stand for what joe charges. Plywood and water are rarely a good mix. Diy almost always screams home built stand. If it were me, i take advantage of the local talent or repurpose a suitable piece of furniture or cabinet.
 
I say give G a call at ABC I'm sure he'd be willing to give you a diagram or at least explain some good solid ways of doing it I've seen canopies and stands they've build and they do excellent work. On top of that he's always very willing to help people in the hobby. Or because your in spencerport give John a call at marine oasis I bet he might have a canopy for a tank like that hidden in the basement or storage somewhere he always has weird odds and ends like that hidden treasures as i call them and he will probably sell it to you for cheap.
 
reefguy86 said:
I say give G a call at ABC I'm sure he'd be willing to give you a diagram or at least explain some good solid ways of doing it I've seen canopies and stands they've build and they do excellent work. On top of that he's always very willing to help people in the hobby. Or because your in spencerport give John a call at marine oasis I bet he might have a canopy for a tank like that hidden in the basement or storage somewhere he always has weird odds and ends like that hidden treasures as i call them and he will probably sell it to you for cheap.
Click to expand...

OP is from Farmington. G is great and close. Milie has a woodshop in the basement and i know she does custom wood\ acrylic work. John is liable to have have anthing from circus performers to hidden gems . Just depends on which way you want to go.
Joe is the only one i know who specializes in custom hardwood stands at way below fair market value.
 
gonna give it one more try first. I have access to a router table that I didn't know about before :)

Gonna go with the 1X8 pine boards and open up the bottom of the box with the router so it slides down over the plastic rim of the tank nicely. Well see how it goes...
 
Dauthi said:
gonna give it one more try first. I have access to a router table that I didn't know about before :)

Gonna go with the 1X8 pine boards and open up the bottom of the box with the router so it slides down over the plastic rim of the tank nicely. Well see how it goes...
Click to expand...

You could always glue in some 1x1 strips on the inside of the 1X8 pine boards to sit on the tank. Then you don't have to worry about using the router.
 
Pete, Joe made my stand and I could not have been happier. Great guy, great work, great prices. If your next attempt still won't pass Jen's approval, go with Joe... you won't be disappointed.

-mike
 
Dauthi said:
Gonna go with the 1X8 pine boards
Click to expand...

These won't be very dimensionally stable over time. Expect some movement across the grain. If you plan for this you can hide it, but if you don't, you might have big ugly gaps in a few months.

Then again, big ugly gaps is why carpenters invented trim. :D
 
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