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DIY 20GL Tank Hood

1K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  PlantedRich 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey You guys,

I wanted to post on the forum the aquarium canopy I am building for my 20 to house the tanks. I do not have very many photos to boot since I was caught by suprise when my father said he had time yesterday to work on it. We were going to work on it tonight orignaly.


The Basic Box construction. I had to leave shortly after this photo but I know dad was measureing the tank to see where exackly the lid was going to open and where the filter was positioned to cut a hole for that.


My father who helped me build the thing. I am not really a wood worker though I did build a 10 by 10 completely fenced top to bottom aviary with a shed for my ferrets. you know, 40+ yrs of exp vs 25.


The box taking shape. We used soft wood from our scrap pile to make the lid as light as possible. Mind you, I am going to come home today for a major sand, wipe, paint job. (oh, joy. Most females do not get excited over DIY things)

Materials: Ply Wood, Pine used for the inside braces, a handfull of wood working screws, and white gloss paint.
Lights: CFL in Fixtures to the inside.

Hopefully it turns out okay. Im not striving for perfection because this was a scrap diy but I am hoping it will make the tank bright by sheilding the light entirely. We shall see!
 
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#2 ·
Looking cool. I like that you are going with cfl's, 2 13w will be plenty. I have a single 13w over my 15g and my scarlet temple finally looks like its thriving. Then again if its a 20g long and the lights are that close to the water you mite end up needing 3 cfl's.
 
#4 ·
Hey you guys,

I worked on the hood today. Er...well..dad did. We used puddy to fill in cracks, and than sanded everything to a smooth finish. Now I am in the process of painting it, my only issue is..its cold and the paint hates being cold.

But heres the process:

Our way of heating paint. -.-


One side of the hood.


Puddy!


Paint. We primed it with kilms and now are using spray paint to do the other coats.


The hole in the back is where my filter sticks out.
 
#6 ·
Hard to guess about the amount of light needed short of trying it. The real beauty of twisty CFL is the ease ( expense?) of changing to a higher wattage. Meanwhile the old bulbs are good for house use when not enough for the tank.

Note to appear very professional? Putty may sound a lot like puddy when the right guy says it!! On the other hand, DAD may have enough experience to have his own special blend.
Enjoy the cover. You may be amazed at how much it helps.
 
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