DIY Canopy

[dhemp34]

i've been trying to get some basic measurements for my 125 canopy. I'm a novice builder and the one i've built i have used all the wrong woods. If you could what type of wood did you use and what measurement did you use in your build? If you have any rough draft blue prints i'd love to take a look to see how i can rebuild and restructure my original build. Heck i'd pay for your plans thats how much i like the canopy.

 

[CaptainAhab]

diy aquarium canopy - Yahoo! Search Results

 

[melosu58]

I broke this post off the other thread and started a new thread.

 

[JPKeenan]

Best bet would be to go with a stud grade 2x4 for the frame. Depending on your skill level only use a veneer of "good wood".

One bit of advice I would make (from when I did carpentry work) would be to get a good waterproof poly-u or other type of water sealer for the underneath and make sure it is dried outside before putting it on your tank. This makes sure the wood has been sealed as well as the sealer not leeching out chemicals.

One thing you DO NOT want to use is pressure treated lumber. The type of stuff you would use to build a deck. There are a ton of nasty chemicals in them that you do not want inside your house, let alone in close proximity to your tank.

 

[Sicklid]

Stud grade 2 x 4? That seems a bit more than you need and could really make that thing heavy as a son-of-a-gun... The one time I built a panel over frame style canopy, I used furring strips which are roughly 1 x 2 and I swore that I would never do that again!

I understand the desire to overbuild stuff for the sake of durability, but they really just need to be a box with some form of decorative/finishing trim...

 

[jsoong]

A canopy can be as simple as a plain box, or as fancy as you can make it.

Wood to use:
Solid hardwood is the best, but will be pricey & you will need a fair amount of woodworking skills to get good results. <Or you pay $$$ for pre-dressed hardwood.>
Solid pine would be a good material for beginners. Available in many different dimensions & reasonable, it is also easy to work with. Avoid glued jointed panels/pieces. The glue is not water proof, & might separate unless you seal perfectly.
Stud grade spruce is reasonable, but you will have to spend time going through the stack to find straight/unblemished pieces or own a jointer/planer to dress the wood. <I usu. get 2x6's & then cut/plane them down to size ... for a canopy, I made the frame with ~1" thick stock.>
Exterior grade plywood or furniture grade plywood can be used, but be sure to seal all edges & faces or it will de-laminate.
Avoid particle boards/chipwood/hardboard, etc ... they will absorb water & swell & breakdown. Also avoid any pressure treated wood products, <Arsenic & cyanide in chemicals ... kill fish!>
Whatever you use, make sure you seal the finished canopy well. I use 3 coats of exterior poly. Marine spar finish is another option. <Better, esp. if you have SW.>
You may also consider plastic/acrylic panels for "skin". I used 1/4" acrylic panels for my lids, looks good & I can also see my fish from the top.

Measurements:
Make your canopy so that the inside dimensions are bigger than your tank's OUTSIDE dimensions. Then have cleats inside the canopy so it will rest nicely on top of the tank. I make the canopy about 1/4" bigger all around so there is easy fit & no worry of pinching with wood movement, etc. With a lipped canopy like this, it cannot shift & fall off the tank, plus the lip covers the plastic trim of the tank. <My canopy looks better than the plastic!>

The height of the canopy depends on the lights you have inside. Make it taller than the lights so that there is a couple of inches (at least) between the light bulbs & the water surface. If you use MH or other hot lights, you will need to allow room above the lights for air movement & room for fans & cooling equipment. <Hot lights mounted directly on wood surface = fire hazard!>

 

[JPKeenan]

oops, my mind has been on making stands not canopies... my bad....

For a canopy can get away with a 1x4 or 1x2... A 1x2 though would be a bear when fasting with screws or nails due to splitting... Best bet with the thinner woods is to use a drill and a small bit to make pilot holes.

You guys know my secret.... If I post before my first cup of coffee I am three steps below a retarded rabbit when it comes to intelligence!

 

[dhemp34]

Hey great advice....I used a cheap plywood as per directions from a DYI search on yahoo... i also your pine wood boards(about 10 bucks a Piece for the siding.)...let me clarify I'm Novice but not all the way new..lol..my wood selections is very new things of that sort..such as i used a pine board to make my canopy hatch door and it was good for about 3 days the it bowed creating a 1 inch gap on each end of the board??? I was so mad

 

[thincat]

oops, my mind has been on making stands not canopies... my bad....

For a canopy can get away with a 1x4 or 1x2... A 1x2 though would be a bear when fasting with screws or nails due to splitting... Best bet with the thinner woods is to use a drill and a small bit to make pilot holes.

You guys know my secret.... If I post before my first cup of coffee I am three steps below a retarded rabbit when it comes to intelligence!

+1 on the cofee!

 

[dhemp34]

so i need to create the frame using 1x2's see the diy blueprint intrstruc i used said to nail the wood board on the outside together...although i wasnt to keen on that i didnt know any other way....thats primarily my question. what would do i use and how do i contruct a solid nice canopy..the DYI i researched obviously cost me over 100 bucks and its a piece and so i'd rather be able to post pics and get prof. advice from fellow fish folks

 

[InfernoST]

I used straight clear pine 1 by's in different widths to build my canopy. It's light enough for me to handle by myself even with the DIY lighting system in it (Which I also made removable from the canopy) for the days when I have to replace any bulbs, ballasts and or cleaning.

 

[ccCapt]

I used 3/4" cabinet grade plywood for mine with no frame. I wanted my canopy 15" high to accomadate the MH lighting I'm using and AFAIK, you can't get a piece of any wood 15" wide. I have neither the skill or tools to join 2 pieces to make a 15" wide board.

This is the canopy before I put on the doors, stained, painted and sealed it.

 

[InfernoST]

Larry what is AFAIK?

 

[spoonman]

As Far As I Know

 

[jsoong]

so i need to create the frame using 1x2's see the diy blueprint intrstruc i used said to nail the wood board on the outside together...although i wasnt to keen on that i didnt know any other way....thats primarily my question. what would do i use and how do i contruct a solid nice canopy..the DYI i researched obviously cost me over 100 bucks and its a piece and so i'd rather be able to post pics and get prof. advice from fellow fish folks

I wouldn't use nails .... bad holding power, splits wood & looks ugly!

Depending on how high your canopy is, you might want to use 1x3's for your frame. <I used solid 1x8" for my sides, then joining that with 1x across the front & back. At the back, I use 2 1x3's, one at the top & one at the bottom, leaving a good sized gap all the way across for ventilation. My front is tapered, so a single 1x joins the front.>

For joinery, I used glued rabbeted joints. reinforced with screws. The rabbeted joints keep the canopy square & prevents shifting. For the top, I simply inset a 1/2" plywood into the frame. I rabbeted the top edges of the frame so the plywood edge is covered with solid wood. The plywood is more stable than solid wood, so when glued into the frame, keeps it flat.

1x's can cup & bow when exposed to moisture, esp. when you don't get furniture grade wood. So it is important to design your joinery to minimize it. I would not use a single piece as a flap door. <You need to use frame & panel construction if you want a flat wood door.> I cheated & use acrylic instead. Also, I use "5/4" stock (1.25" thick nominal, usu. 1-1 1/8" after dressing), this is more stable than the usual 3/4" 1x stuff.

 

[InfernoST]

Thanks Spoonman, my brain stopped functioning there for a minute.

 

[dhemp34]

Whew,

I've opened a can of OSCIDI (oh shoot can i do it). LOL...I guess i'm really novice here..cuz you are talking over my head at this point. 1x's etc???..lol...maybe in the end i'll end up cheaper with a store bought because i dont want to pi$$ away another 100 bucks on a build that goes wrong

 

[InfernoST]

Whew,

I've opened a can of OSCIDI (oh shoot can i do it). LOL...I guess i'm really novice here..cuz you are talking over my head at this point. 1x's etc???..lol...maybe in the end i'll end up cheaper with a store bought because i dont want to pi$$ away another 100 bucks on a build goes wrong

It's not that bad. I used a Brad nailer with 1 1/4 & 1/2 inch finishing nails, 1 1/4 inch deck screws (must drill pilot holes 1st or the wood will split), waterproof carpenters glue and 1"Thick x 4"wide x 8' long, 1"x2"x'8, 1"x2"x8' clear pine. Mind you that a 1 inch x 4 inch x 8' piece of wood is actually 3/4 inch x 3 1/2 inch x 8'. The 5/4 wood Jsoong is talking about is exactly 1 inch thick x 4 inches wide and is a stronger piece of wood as well as being more expensive but good stuff and IMO not necessary for a canopy. The stand I bought from the manufacturer for my 120 is made of 1 by's and is holding about 1500lbs of weight and is put together with glue and staples with no screws in sight. Considering it's only a canopy you should need to go any larger than 1 by's (3/4 inch thick). I didn't make up any sketches or I would give them to you, I just copied the stand design and went to town. Here are some pics of my build, I hope it helps.
The Start

Top frame and panels installed, picture of the back side

Font side

Almost there

Open Back side

With Doors made but not yet installed

Completed on tank

 

[ccCapt]

2 different methods of construction with a similar result.
I hate you guys with all the fancy tools...lol. Great job and very nice work Keith.

 

[InfernoST]

2 different methods of construction with a similar result.
I hate you guys with all the fancy tools...lol. Great job and very nice work Keith.

Thanks. If I had a drawing I would of posted it instead but the photo's should give him a good idea how to do it. The tools are courtesy of the handy man special we bought and rebuilt which worked out great because the wife didn't complain once about buying the tools we needed due to the 300K we saved doing it ourselves.