DIY Canopy(complete) & Stand (Complete) Step by Step with pictures

[Spacefly]

Here is my first attempt at doing a DIY Canopy this is for my 10 Gallon tank
You can modify the measurments for any sized tank.
hope you like it.

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Shopping list includes,
wood for frame is 6/8 inch molding from lowes
and some crafting wood planks, looks like pine to me.
saw
Nails or screws, your choice.
wood glue
pair of hinges
not included are tape measure, or other form of measurement, and a level.
Figure you have these already, like I do.
total cost was around $15
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You should get an idea on how to assemble these just from the pictures, I will provide my measurments but they will likely vary on your tank.

1st picture
measurements are 20 1/8 Inches long, and 2 7/8 for the other pegs.


2nd
newly added parts measure at 8 11/16


3rd
Another 20 1/8 piece is added to the frame


4th
These last two parts of the frame are 3 5/8

5th
Now that the frame is complete you can start adding the outer planks, I started on the top section.

6th
Then I added the sides


7th
now i add the front part, and hinge it to the outer shell




The rest is optional, you can leave it the way it is and add lighting, or stain and seal it, i prefer to stain it.

Stained box


As far as lighting goes, I used a 2x 13watt brightkit from AH supply, I just love the ease of their lighting, you can either mount it directly or use a variation, I had an old hood lying around and used parts of it for mounting my lights/Ballasts.



And finally, all setup over the tank

And thats that, I enjoy doing these DiY projects, hope you liked it, the tank has been newly setup to house my RC shrimp, so it hasnt quite filled in yet.

When I get the time I'll work on a stand, right now its on an old magazine rack.
Enjoy.

updated now, with a new AH supply reflector, I love these things, so much brighter.

[ikuzo]

nice work, you have great carpentry skills. for lighting, i'd go for the incandescent fixture that allow 2 x 15 watts compact fluorescent or even 4. i built my lighting hood similar to yours but using CF instead, and the tank length won't fit 2 x 20 watts. the 26 watts you have won't allow you to grow high light plants. i suggest put some reflector to increase the lighting output there.

[tropicalfish]

The AH Supply reflectors I have heard are very good.

[Formiga]

Woohoo! Great timing, I just started a stand tonight and a canopy is next! This will looks like it'll help my efforts!

[Spacefly]

Originally Posted by tropicalfish

The AH Supply reflectors I have heard are very good.

They are indeed very good, I'm on a budget atm, hence the DiY. so I didnt splurge for the delux bright kit with reflectors.Ive got another AH supply reflector on my 25 hex, they work wonders. when I'm not so strapped on cash I'll pick them up and install them.

[tropicalfish]

What lights do you have over your 25 gallon hex? I am trying to light up my 10 hex and it is very hard. I am trying to go for open top starting today, I only DIYed my existing hood to hold 2 spiral 10W bulbs.

Sorry for hijacking, your canopy looks good.

[Spacefly]

Well, my 25 hex was another project in its own, This was my first tank when I was a kid, and I had this tank in my attic.
One day I just decided to get back into the fishkeeping hobby and decided I wanted a planted tank this go at it.

The seals were bad, and the lighting was out of date, so I decided to polish it up a bit, Resealed the tank(what a pain that was, especially on a Hex shape) Refinished all the woodwork, and retrofitted the existing hood with some AH lighting, I used a 36Watt brightkit on this, I wasnt really going for WPG since this was my first planted tank and I didnt really know too much when I started, plus I wanted the most i could fit into my single strip hood.

Here is AH supply lighting


and here it is in my single strip hood

With the reflector and ballast I am guessing that I put off atleast another 10wpg. I have no problem growing Medium light plants in there.


As for an open top hex, are you going to leave it open, or are you going to make an enclosure for it? with a Hex shape they can be quite a pain to make, alot more angles, but its still doable. If you are going to leave the top off, I would suggest a canopy of some sort, or a coralife canopy that can be mounted to the tanks top frame.
If you dont want a premade one there are plenty of great guides here if your looking to make a DIY hanging or mounted canopy.

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Updated this tank as well, switched to a 55watt added some PC fans, and put my old reflector on my shrimp tank, also installed some cold cathode moonlighting, looks sweet!

I will post it when I can.

[daFrimpster]

Where do heater cables, CO2 lines, filter tubes etc, enter the tank? The back seems to be closed.

[tropicalfish]

The back looks open to me.

[Spacefly]

Originally Posted by daFrimpster

Where do heater cables, CO2 lines, filter tubes etc, enter the tank? The back seems to be closed.

Back is open, and has enough room for all of that.

I'm running a power filter with the intake sponged off for my shrimp, plus a heater and DIY co2.

[Spacefly]

Well, I finally decided to go ahead and build my stand, so here it goes.

First I started to build the top and bottom parts of the frame, I used wood from home depot that was 2x2 and cost $1.75 per 8ft length.
I picked up 4 of them because they are not that expensive you only need 3 but its good to have some extra incase you mess up, or for other needs.

It measures in at 20 inches long, and 10" wide.



Next I started mounting legs to connect the top and bottom parts, they also measured at 20 inches, I wanted the stand to be about 2 foot high, you can make these whatever size you wish.



Now that the legs are all on, I mount the next part which will be the top/bottom of the frame.



After that is done, I went ahead and put a beam down the middle for double doors.



I also added some more support to the sides.



I did stain this afterwards, but no pictures just yet since its drying atm.
Next I will start adding the outer parts, but thats for another day

"Thats it for now, more to come soon!"

[Spacefly]

I started to add the outer sides to the stand as shown.
This was 1/4" plyboard from HD, was $4.00 for a sheet of 2x4, I picked up two.
So far its cost about $15.00 not including the putty, nails, and screws, plus my own tools for cutting and leveling.



I also added the top portion, plus I added a few small strips to the front







Starting to look like a stand now,I went ahead and filled all the cracks with wood putty,so thats now drying.

more to come soon

[Spacefly]

Today I sanded all the putty from the nail holes,and cracks that needed to be filled. Then I started adding trim.


This is normal baseboard moulding that I added to make it a bit fancy.
The cuts are angled using a miter saw/box


The top part is raised 3/4 of an Inch so the black plastic that holds the tank together is hidden when I mount it.


I then added 90degree moulding for the corners of the stand to cover up the creases.

I also cut out the doors, and I plan on doing some more wood filling tonight.
Next I will make a shelf, and put a bottom floor to the Inside.

Thats all for now!

[Spacefly]

It was quite a hot day today, but I was determined to get the bulk of this complete, so I opened the garage doors and got to work.

Today I added a shelf,bottom,and doors.



Took some measurments, and cut the pattern using a Jigsaw.



It was a tight fit, so I cut it in half and filled the cracks with putty.



The bottom is now complete.









Have a beer, relax, your almost done!



To mount the shelf I used 4 L shaped brackets



You can mount the shelf wherever you want, I mounted it to fit my DIY CO2 bottles, and room up top for other things.



And heres the doors I added, nothing complicated, just cut boards of wood, would have done a better job with them if I had the proper tools, but this is a very basic stand anyway.





Thats it for today, tomorrow I will do a last bit of sanding and get it ready for staining, Its almost complete!

[Spacefly]

Still doing some staining, but will post what It looks like so far.









Should have this complete in a day or two, still need to add a coat of polyurethane, I will post the rest when It's completed.