canopy help please

[michealprater]

Im planning on building a canopy for my 100 gallon Clarity Plus flat back hex. I couldnt find any plans on the net. Could any of you guys help?

[loganj]

Well...I don't know where there are any plans available for that particular tank. If you want to send me some measurements, I can probably design one for you. Need an idea of what you want it to look like also. May take a few days as time is short and projects are many right now. Be glad to help you if I can though.
Logan J

[michealprater]

ill try to post measurements as soon as possible to help you guys help me. It will be kinda of hard to get them accurate due to it being a flat back hex. It will house 4x 96w pcs, 2 250w mh and 2 regular florecent bulbs(for extra actnic, just for looks) the tank is 60 inches long and 24 inches deep if that gives you an idea of how high the canopy needs to be. plus ill need a cooling fan on each end.

anyone know where i can get the best deal on 4 inch cooling fans?

[fishfreek]

I hear radio shack has some really good 110V 4" fans that you can wire inline with your ballasts so they come on when lights are on and off when lights are off.

What are the color specitrum of the blubs?

Could you maybe do a little drawing from the top down showing the lenght of all the sides.

[michealprater]

the back panel is 59 1/2".
the side panels are 13" each
the front center panels is 42"
the two hex panels on the front corners are 10" each

http://www.aquariumsource.net/catalo....php?cPath=1_5

that is a link that will give you an idea of what the tank looks like.

it is basically a hexigon cut in half.

[loganj]

WOW, I bet that's a beautiful tank! I'll try to come up with some ideas ASAP. Maybe at work this weekend if it's slow. Have to figure the angles and stuff. What look are you going for? Black, stained wood....? Also, what does the stand look like? Pic of tank and stand would be great.
Logan J

[michealprater]

I want to go with wood painted black. The stand is unfinished. The tank is just sitting on the frame right now. I plan on covering it with particle board and painting it black. Ill try to borrow my moms digi and get some pics up soon. Thanks for the help Logan. Dont inconvienece yourself though. This project is not something I'm in a major hurry to do because of the money. I want to paint the inside white and get a nice reflector. Plus I will have to get the stuff to retrofit the regular flourecents into it. I already have the pcs and the halides. I have to get the cooling fans also. I can only run my halides for limited time right now because of the heat they generate, so I usually just run them when people are coming over so I can show off. In the meantime the pcs are doing just fine for my corals.
thanks again!

[loganj]

OK, I'll try to hammer out a rough plan this weekend at work if it's not too busy. Black will make it easier and cheaper since a high grade of wood won't be needed to make it look good. I'll have to sit down and bust a couple of brain cells figuring the angles ...haven't had to do anything like that in a while. I'm guessing you'll want it about 12" high so you can get those halides off the water a little? Probably use 3/4 plywood. You could use 1x12 lumber, but the plywood will be less likely to warp from the humidity. Since it'll be painted black, a well sanded piece of plywood should look nice. If I may make a suggestion on covering the stand? Particle board won't give you a nice finish. Since this is just a covering and will not bear weight, check into some lauan board. This is very thin plywood...about like raw paneling. It costs no more than particle board and will look much better. Give it a good sanding with a finish sander and prime it with two coats of a good wood primer. Lightly sand the primer just enough to smooth it out good. Then you should be able to paint it and have a nice shiny finish. You could even make some trim by cutting the angle on some lattice board. Trim out around the bottom of the tank with some 1x4's or even 1x6's and you'll have a professional looking job.
Logan J

[michealprater]

thanks for the recommendations. Ill probably use plywood on canopy and stand.

Michael,

How do you want to access the inside i.e. The whole top raising, the front coming up on hidden hinges? etc.. I will post a diagram of what I mean...very soon. I am going to take it your width on the tank is 18"?

Tim