my DIY canopy

[jlfnjlf]

I am just putting the finish touches on my DIY canopy. It has 4 80W T5 lights and 2 250W MH lights. The T5s have the individual reflectors, and the MHs have the basic spider reflector (for now).

Door closed.

Door swings out.

Door is connected to hinges with 2 ball bearing drawer slides. Door will slide on to top of the canopy. The top of the canopy will be at 7 feet so I am not concerned about the slides sticking out when the door is open.

Peek at the lighting.

All the lighting is mounted on a cradle.

Lighting cradle is mounted to the canopy with 2 ball bearing drawer slides. The lighting cradle will move back 6 inches to access the tank.

T5 ballast mounted 1 inch off the lighting cradle.

MH ballast also mounted 1 inch off the lighting cradle.

Top of canopy with ballast fans.

I just added the second coat of polyurethane one more coat and I am going call it done.

Thanks for looking.

John

 

[kevin95695]

"Cradle": Same as "gantry"?

I think I just wet myself.

 

[Pico1]

:eek1:

 

[matttaylor]

Very nice John, you just made mine look like a kindergartner did it.

 

[KMP]

john, that is incredible! what are you going to be running in there for lighting? what size tank is it going on - the 100g?

 

[Brian Prestwood]

Very nice!

Are those solid wood panel$?

 

[juaninsac]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9328882#post9328882 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by matttaylor
Very nice John, you just made mine look like a kindergartner did it.

Ditto. :lol:

 

[FishGuy5]

Beautiful!!!

 

[jlfnjlf]

Thank you all for the complements.

Matt,
I enjoy wood working, and have been doing it for some time. I would not be too concerned with your canopy. I could point out all the flaws on mine because I made them. I am sure the flaws you see are because you made them and they are not as visible to anyone else.

KMP,
For lighting I will be using:
2 XM 250W 20000K MH bulbs
2 Giesemann 80W 11000K Aquablue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent bulbs
2 Giesemann 80W Pure Actinic 03 T5 HO Fluorescent bulbs

Brian,
The entire canopy frame is made of solid clear pine, and the cradle from plywood. The sides and front are made of 1x8's doweled together.

John

 

[Avalanche Wolf]

Well atleast we know who Bob Vila cheated off of on the woodshop class exams !

That is spanking John !!

 

[Avalanche Wolf]

PICTURES DO NOT DO THIS JUSTICE !!


This is one slick setup and a beautifull piece of furniture !! Excellent job on it !

 

[ctrlaltdelete]

Dang....Nice!!!!!!! I would love you to make one for my 125.

 

[Justin74]

Hey John, very nice project you put together. One thing I noticed though was the flourescent endcaps are side to side, are you sure you left yourself with enough room for their 2.5" wide individual reflectors?

-Justin

 

[jlfnjlf]

Justin,

The space between the reflectors is about 3/16 of an inch. I needed to allow for maximum space between the T5 pairs for the MH lighting to avoid the T5 reflectors making shadows in the tank.

John

 

[Justin74]

Cool! lucked out then

Ya thats the issue Im facing with my canopy. I'll be lucky to squeeze one reflector in


-Justin