BiscuitSlayer's 75 Gallon Stand and Canopy Build Journal... 56K Beware!

[lauraleellbp]

oooo I ate at Red Lobster last weekend... I know EXACTLY the shade you're talking about, and I love those deep, rich colors

[BiscuitSlayer]

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

oooo I ate at Red Lobster last weekend... I know EXACTLY the shade you're talking about, and I love those deep, rich colors

LL -

If only you had been sitting with me! At first, my wife looked at me like I was a complete idiot! I kept pointing at the table like a first grader saying look... LOOK!

Then I had to explain what the hell I was talking about. Then she was like, "hmmm... ok yeah that is REALLY red!"

As swiper would say, "Oh mannnn!"

Not what I was looking for as far as a response, but I know how I want to proceed going forward.

Two tears in a bucket...



She'll learn to like it. Just not sure she can get past the golden oak of the charging station. She really does like that color.

[lauraleellbp]

Sounds like a "Golden Oak" project "just for her" would be a great bargaining chip for something for you in the near future...

BTW- Did you guys work it out to come to Plant Fest?

[BiscuitSlayer]

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

Sounds like a "Golden Oak" project "just for her" would be a great bargaining chip for something for you in the near future...

BTW- Did you guys work it out to come to Plant Fest?

Actually, the charging station was pretty much my baby. I did let her have a controlling vote on the color because it was HER kitchen and the color most closely resembled our floors and other oak accents.

The stand on the other hand is my baby and I pretty much have the controlling vote.

Plantfest on the other hand is a dead topic in my household. We could have went, but this year we wanted to work in taking the kids somewhere for summer vacation and it wasn't in the cards for me to go to plantfest.

I could have gone, but my kids are at an age where they will remember or start to remember family trips, so the verdict was to plan a trip around them. Since we have 3 little ones, I wanted to make sure that I will be with them for the whole experience.

To make a long story sort... we are planning a trip for their September break when we can afford it better and when we can enjoy it better as a whole.

I will do plantfest at some point though. I am looking forward to getting together with you guys. A good bar and some fantastic plant talk with you guys will make the whole trip memorable for a lifetime. I can't wait for the day!

[Torpedobarb]

damn.... you are really good with woodworking! I need a canopy for my 75 gallon when you are done! let me know when you are taking orders!

[waterfaller1]

Originally Posted by BiscuitSlayer

Update of sorts...

Well..it would appear to me that things you do are "absolutely gorgeous" too. Look how neat and clean..very very nice. When is this tank going to get started? Oh..and to answer your question... yes, one thing in particular comes to mind~ it looks and smells just like everyone else's......

[BiscuitSlayer]

Originally Posted by waterfaller1

Well..it would appear to me that things you do are "absolutely gorgeous" too. Look how neat and clean..very very nice. When is this tank going to get started? Oh..and to answer your question... yes, one thing in particular comes to mind~ it looks and smells just like everyone else's......

Thanks waterfaller! I can build stuff, but aquascaping escapes me.

This tank isn't going to get started anytime soon. I have blown my budget for the tank and other equipment for this year. Hopefully I can get it started next year unless I happen to get lucky.

I would need to get:

Lighting (probably T5 retro kit along with a pair of 55W ahsupply PC fixtures)
Another Filter (probably XP3 or 4)
The tank
Substrate


I figure roughly $500 unless I happen to run into some fantastic deals. Should be pretty close though.

I also am thinking about going with some digital in-wall timers to run my lights. I would need three of them to control actnics for dawn/dusk, daylight, and moonlights at night.

I am considering running an isolated circuit from my breaker pannel directly to the tank. I have plenty of circuits left open and it is a short run (breaker box is about 15 feet away downstairs from where the tank will sit). Since I have a lot of time before I can get it rolling, I might just go the extra mile in the preparation.

[lauraleellbp]

Next Year!!??? You think I"m going to be that patient? What about all the "little people"? What about your fans? Where's the love???

OK seriously- time to get creative and brainstorm some funding sources. I think you may have nailed one right in post #138

Build and sell those things on Ebay!

[BiscuitSlayer]

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

Next Year!!??? You think I"m going to be that patient? What about all the "little people"? What about your fans? Where's the love???

OK seriously- time to get creative and brainstorm some funding sources. I think you may have nailed one right in post #138

Build and sell those things on Ebay!

LL -

Yeah... Too many things going on and not enough money to fund all of them. One reason for the lack of money is me trying to pay down my boat loan a bit with principal payments. One less payment per month would be fantastic. I am also trying to save some money to take the family somewhere (somewhat cheap) for a few days.

I am trying to brainstorm some ideas for some extra cash. I am an IT guy by trade (Systems Administrator/Engineer), so sometimes I freelance for small companies that could use my services. I haven't done anything to proactively go out looking for them though.

I do need to figure something out as I need to get this tank functional soon!

[BiscuitSlayer]

Major update:


I have been working on the canopy very hard and I have made some signifigant progress towards completion. Sorry for the long delay with regards to updates. I have had some problems staying focused and keeping my eye on the ball.

I added a couple of support boards that will suspend the canopy off of the top of the tank. For these pieces, I used standard 2 x 2 s made out of pine. I drove enough screws through them into the canopy top so that warping will be a non issue. If the wood does happen to warp, it will have to happen between about 1 inch spans or towards the end of the wood that doesn't attach to anything.




Here is a shot down the length of the support 2 x 2. I am showing some detail on this because how important it is. It is imperitave that the support be level and true so that the canopy sits level on the tank rim:




I marked a line on a scrap piece of wood and used it as a template for the support pieces. This gave me a constant measurement through the entire length of the support pieces. In the following two shots, you can see the scrap piece I am talking about and the line that I drew for refrence:






My next step (probably out of order) was to mount the piano hinge to the two indepentant sides as well as the main structure. I routed a groove the width of the hinge half down the two independant sides. I used this as a guide for how I would mount the hinge to the two independant sides:






Then I put the two halves together and attached the hinge with the screws included. Man, what a lot of screws:




After I mounted the hinge to the trailing inside edge of the independant sides, I mounted the other half of the hinge to the top of the rear half of the canopy. Sorry for the lack of detail on the following shots:

Closed:




Both sides open (hinge hasn't been cut yet):




Then I cut the hinge (not all the way through) so that I could have the two sides lift independantly. I don't know if the pictures will be clear enough to show the detail on this, but the point was to not cut the hinge all the way through. I saw where it could be cut partially, and I improvised. The picture below, you can see where I made the cut with the hack saw through to the hinge joint. I also used a cutting attachment on the Dremel tool to smooth it up and make it nice. This is a picture of the hinge split in half:




Next you can see I notched the hinge a bit bigger so that one side wouldn't hang up on the other side and cause an opening and closing issue with each side of the canopy.




Now each side lifts independantly. YAY!




Both sides closed:




Length view of the hinge mounted with the canopy closed:




I then made the small doors for the canopy for minor cleanups and feeding the fish. I used the same method that I used to make the large doors for the stand. A simple dado down the length of the mitered sides with a floating pannel in the center of the door.




I tried to mount the door with a single hinge, and as you can see in the image below, I reversed my decision. These hinges are meant to be used in pairs and that was apparent with the slop in the hinge. It was crazy. Luckily, the holes are on the inside of the door and you will have to open the canopy door to see it. I am going to fill the holes with the oak colored wood putty that I have been using and then sand them down.




I then mounted some of those magnetic catches so that the door will have a tendency of staying shut. They work very well. If you look at the top right hand side of the opening, you can see the magnetic half of the catch:




Here is the basic metal plate that mounts to the door:




Here is a shot of one of the canopy halves with the mounted door:




Thats about it for now. I might post some more pictures of some detailed sanding work and use of the wood putty that I have been using. I am basically using a plastic putty knife to work it into all of the cracks and nail holes so that it can be sanded down and look somewhat uniform. It is fairly noticeable before the oak is stained and polyed, but after it is finished, it somewhat dissappears into the grain and character of the wood. You can still se it, but it is far less noticeable.

[Bowles42]

The canopy is looking great. Way better then the rudimentary one I made for my 20 long.

[turdb0]

On the topic of canopies, have any ideas for a locking prop rod that can keep the front part of the canopy propped up when it's opened? I didn't see anything at Home Depot. I hate lifting it up and having this fear that it's going to slam backwards down on the other half of the canopy. I think i need one of those gas-filled struts that some cars have for their hoods or rear hatches.

[Craigthor]

If yo ugo with those inwall digital timers get extras and make sure you have easy access to them. I used them before but after about 6 months of usage they start to screw up and had to be replaced, I would just exchange them as they were defective but it got old and I quit using them after awhile. I got them from both Home Depot and Menards they were of the Intermatic brand.

Craig

[neonmkr]

turdb0, they make a safety prop for kids toy boxes that might work. Look for it near the hinges & handles @ Menards, Home Depot, etc. BiscuitSlayer,
it really is more fun to build it yourself, isn't it. When I get some photos of my project, I'll have to post them.

[BiscuitSlayer]

Originally Posted by Bowles42

The canopy is looking great. Way better then the rudimentary one I made for my 20 long.

Bowles -

Thank you for the kind words. I have a lot of time into the stand and canopy for this project. That might be one reason why it is coming out pretty decent. I could have thrown something together quickly, but I am not really in a hurry as I don't even have the tank yet.

Originally Posted by turdb0

On the topic of canopies, have any ideas for a locking prop rod that can keep the front part of the canopy propped up when it's opened? I didn't see anything at Home Depot. I hate lifting it up and having this fear that it's going to slam backwards down on the other half of the canopy. I think i need one of those gas-filled struts that some cars have for their hoods or rear hatches.

turdb0 -

One of the best things you can get is a gas filled shock for this purpose. I have plans to make a toybox for my kids using one of these. They are kind of expensive, but you can't slam anything or get your fingers pinched in a folding support:

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=11237

My canopy design doesn't really need a supports because the two sides rest squarely on the back half of the canopy. I designed it that way on purpose, but I wasn't sure how it would actually work until I got the hindge working. The tank will be 18 inches wide and the inside dimentions of the canopy are the same. I figured roughly 1/3 of that on a 12" high canopy should give me enough access to get into the tank without taking the canopy off of the tank. It should also allow me to keep the lights on while I am working. This allows for 6"+ of the front of the canopy to rest squarely on the back half. I figure the worse case scenario is that I cut a couple of pieces of wood to act as stop blocks when I have the sides open. This would basically lock the canopy open while I am working in the tank.

Originally Posted by neonmkr

BiscuitSlayer,
it really is more fun to build it yourself, isn't it. When I get some photos of my project, I'll have to post them.

neonmkr -

It is fun and it is gratifying knowing that I will have exactly what I want rather than something that isn't quite optimal.

Originally Posted by Craigthor

If yo ugo with those inwall digital timers get extras and make sure you have easy access to them. I used them before but after about 6 months of usage they start to screw up and had to be replaced, I would just exchange them as they were defective but it got old and I quit using them after awhile. I got them from both Home Depot and Menards they were of the Intermatic brand.

Craig

Craigthor -

That isn't what I wanted to hear. I have seen some people state that it is not reccommended to use those digital timers with flourescant fixtures. I wonder if that is the reason why.

The timers I have been looking at are the following:

http://www.amazon.com/SmartDisk-LEVI.../dp/B0008500ZC

I have found them cheaper than the amazon link.