# Cheap DIY canopy and question on lighting it all



## jeff5347

Ok so i decided to do a DIY build thread. I have looked online on the different canopy builds but it seems everyone is trying to build an expensive, way to involved canopy. So i figured i would do a build on how to do a canopy on the cheap but still make it a beautiful peice of "furniture" topping. My build is for my new 45 gallon. When i first went scavaging for would i tried my parents place...nothing. So then i went to HD and picked out this beatiful piece of 1x8 maple. It stated $3.40. Little did i know that was per Linear Foot ($40 bucks), not per board. Oops!! So i scraped looking for the day for wood but i picked up my wood screws (black 1.5 in), 3 hinges for the hood, a 6 foot piece of 1x1 board (actually 3/4x3/4). I didnt think to look for cheaper wood so i went back to HD and found some white pine that was 12 ft long and 10 bucks a board. Caution!!! if you do go this route you will be sifting thru a ton of boards. Reason being since it is not finishing or beauty wood there are more warped and dented and chipped pieces. You will find one but not till after 1/2 hr of getting rid of crap boards. Ok so i found the piece of white pine(12 ft long and 1x6) which had some nice knots and character. I had the HD wood guy cut my pieces to the dims i needed.. (2) 12.125 inch long and (2) 37 7/8th. 

Ok some math 
tank trim length 36 5/16th... boards 3/4 width by 2 of them = 1.5 inch = 37 7/8

Little did i realize that the saw at HD had started to become untrue and the areas that were cut hasd a slight curve to it. Ok so for the assembly so far i glued and screwed the 2 side pieces to the front board. 



I forgot that i needed clearance in the back from my filter and stuff (how could i forget?) that the 1x6 board would not work. So off to another local hardware store and i picked up a piece of 1.5 inch wide by .25 thick piece of bar stock steel. I cut it to the length of 37 7/8th. I then drilled 2 holes one above another to be able to attach to the back of the canopy.



This is where a little time and patience pays off,i drilled with a bit just a bit bigger than my wood screws and then nothed the top of the holes with a bigger drill to let the screw head sit flush. I also added from my 1x1s a piece on each side about three inches long to be able to have the canopy hold on to the tank without sliding off. Also i added to the front corners 2 each l brackets to help stabilize the canopy.







After all was attached i wood puttied the screw heads to make it all clean. After all dried i sanded the whole thing with 100 grit to clean the wood, file the putty and make flush any areas. After the 100 i used 220 to smooth it all out and all i can say is that the wood is now so smooth, clean and sexy. Now all that needs to be done is add the lid and lights.



So far my cost is:
1 12 foot 1x6 white pine= $10
box of 1.5 inch wood screws= 6.50
2 bags of L brackets (4 in each bag)= 3 something
6 foot long 1x1 board= $3
.25 thick by 1.5 wide by 48 inches long steel= $13
Had the wood putty and sandpaper
Total so far= $38-40


I will update this thread as i move forward and with pics. I havent figured out how i want to attach the top, i can go the regular lay it on top but i want ot think of any cleaner or different ways.

Also if anyone can chime in on light..., my thoughts are add the lights i have from my 20 gallon canopy which are 
spiral CFL bulbs or do i go with tubes. So start throwing me ideas for lights, but like my canopy i want something that will be a low, inexpensive but effective solution.


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## drunkenbeast

You can always buy a shop light..if you are putting a top on the canopy you can hang it from the top its a simple solution except some modifications to protect from moisture may be necessary.

if you are planning on putting on a lid I have to ask how you plan on accessing the tank for feeding/cleaning being as the front is secured and not hinged?
I hope i didnt just put a flaw in your plan or i mis read and you dont plant on putting on a top as you would not notice it anyway. I am going to try to make a canopy myself looking forward to updates on how this goes.


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## jeff5347

Hey DB, No i didnt hinge it as i was gonna construct it similar to my 20 gallon canopy. I will have a lid that the ligths will be attached to. The lid will ovep and i have space to put a glass versa top inside to combat the moisture. That is the one thing my 20 doesnt have so i have some moisture in my 20. I re thought what would be a good looking canopy, work good, functional and all. Also for cleaning i will lift the canopy off to acces the tank and get in there. I threw this post onto the General discusion forum of FW. Seems it gets a little more views so my updates will be on the one in the FW general discusion area.


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## Donald Hansen

Here's a picture of a hood I built 35 years. The reason it's shaped that way is I wanted the 48 in florescent light to be as far forward as I could get it. That’s so the light would reflect off the fish to the viewer. The top was going to be exposed to the moisture of the tank so I bought a couple of large tubes of silicone and applied 2 coats to the inside of the hood just using my hands to spread it around. That hood lasted 35 years before the moisture got to the wood. You can see the damage to the side of the hood in the picture. If you look at my photo album you will see that hood from different angles. If I were to build a new hood I don’t think I would use such thick plywood. 

BTW You can see how I attached a lfs bought background to a piece of Styrofoam so I could mount it in back of the tank. Works nice plus has a little insulation value.

DLH


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