canopy

[Steve Z]

I'm drawing up a plan for a canopy and have a few questions

how tall should my canopy be?" I'm planing on 15in. "
and should I make the top open up or would the front doors be OK?

[Sponsors]

[herosipet]

Originally Posted by Steve Z

I'm drawing up a plan for a canopy and have a few questions

how tall should my canopy be?" I'm planing on 15in. "
and should I make the top open up or would the front doors be OK?

Write down tank size and your plans of what kind of planted aquarium you will be doing. It maybe aquascaping or biotope. If El Natural You likely don't need it.

[herosipet]

Here is a thread that might help you.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/di...-question.html

Or go to search and type in canopies and youll find a lot of thread talking about canopies.
I hope this will help.
Cheers!

[Steve Z]

my tank is 30"by 12" by 18",but with the trimings around the edges it is
30 1/4"L by 12 1/2"W by 19"H

I'm going to have it fairly well planted so will the H of the canopy effect my lighting much?

[helgymatt]

HERE is how I built mine....
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...llon-hood.html

I don't know why you would ever need it to be 15" high. I think that would look odd.

[BiscuitSlayer]

Originally Posted by Steve Z

how tall should my canopy be?" I'm planing on 15in. "
and should I make the top open up or would the front doors be OK?

Steve Z -

I am in the beginning stages of building my canopy for a future 75 / 90 that I will be setting up soon (hopefully some time this year).

I am going to be building my canopy 12" to 15" inches on the outside height, but my inside height is going to be slightly less since I plan on dropping the edge of the canopy about 1/4 inch below the tank rim ( to cover up its cheeseyness).

I am also planning on having a door on each side of the canopy as well as having it hinged to lift the two front sections. I am doing it this way becasue I want to be able to feed the fish or lift out a small piece of debris without having to lift the entire front for something like that.

One of the reasons I want to go with a taller canopy is so that I can get into the tank and work on stuff without taking the canopy off of the tank. I am going to hinge it back 6" from the front, but since it will be rather tall, that will open up quite a bit of space for me to get into the tank.

Nothing wrong with planning things out possibly on the bigger side if it helps to service the tank, etc. I am going to mount retro fixtures inside the tank too, so that will cut down on the inside height.

If you have design questions, keep asking. Someone might offer some information that helps you build the perfect canopy!

[BiscuitSlayer]

Originally Posted by herosipet

Here is a thread that might help you.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/di...-question.html

Or go to search and type in canopies and youll find a lot of thread talking about canopies.
I hope this will help.
Cheers!

Ha ha ha... That is a good thread herosipet! The author really knew the right questions to ask.

[Vonzorfox]

Here is a few pics of my canopy. Only the top is diy but the lower section can be made fairly easy. So far I only have had to open it half way to clean the tank once a week but it's nice to be able to open it up fully if needed. I have a glass canopy over the tank to protect the AH supply lights. You can't see them but I have a computer fan on each end to vent the heat out in the summer. Just ignore the stupid gray sheet I had hanging behind the tank. That was a feeble attempt to keep the back of the tank warmer in the winter.

[BiscuitSlayer]

Vonzorfox -

That is a very nice looking (pine?) canopy. I like the way you double hinged the top. Very smart!

[Steve Z]

thanks for the help and the other post
I'm putting together a design right now I'll show you when I'm finished

[Steve Z]

this is a bit off the topic,but how do you insert a picture into a post from the computer

[BiscuitSlayer]

At the bottom of the thread, click on "Go Advanced" and then you can attach a picture. Look for the paperclip symbol and then you can upload a picture from there. Make sure you follow the size requirements for the jpg or gif that you upload or it won't work right.

This is kind of a guess as I have never uploaded a picture to the site. I always use an external source for my pictures and then use the img tags which can be used through the Advanced options.

[Steve Z]

I was able to put in this picture of my tank but on the Design it wouldn't work

[Steve Z]

I guess if i don't figure out how to put up the design here any time soon I'll have to describe it

[Steve Z]

I figured out how to post up my design thanks to khoile

The hood is 3" tall and is suppose to open up on two hinges in the back

the main body is 10'' and and the over hanging part is 2" and all together everything is 15
I'm planing on using 1by1s for the frame
any suggestions or things I should do different
I'll post the canopy with the skin and front doors on next post