[PaintGuru]

Ok I just saw a picture of stevewest's canopy on Reef Central, and it gave me an itching to rebuild mine. I currently have a 180 with 3 MH and 2 VHOs that arent currently running (having wiring issues). I would love to do the surge device inside, as Neo did, but it is not a necessity. Tank is a standard 180. Here is the problem. I am a sucky DIYer. My questions are Does anyone have a nice easy step by step canopy design? If not, what things would you incorporate into the design? I know I want it hinged in the middle so I can get into the tank, and possibly opening/sliding doors on the front. Anything else people have discovered are "must haves"? Also, what should I make this out of? I read 3/4" plywood somewhere. Basically I need a "Building canopies for dummies" book! )

 

[wingsfan]

man that is some hood he has Paint, i can't wait to see his updates, and could you imagine a $350 dollar light bill mostly due to the reef setup?

 

[caribbeanguy]

wish my father-in -law was s till here he could of done yours for you. He is back in Argentina now buut he has all kinds of carpentry skills. Good luck on this paint your sweet tank still on my mind.

 

[PaintGuru]

Thanks! Yeah it will definitely not be as nice as a true woodworkers would be, but it's fun building stuff on your own. I figure if I plan everything out really well before hand, I can probably make it look reasonable. Mine right now is just not the most practical thing on earth, so I am looking for practicallity over looks. Perhaps I need to invest in a tablesaw, but I guess Home Depot can cut everything for me.

 

[caribbeanguy]

yeah they can that is what we did when He helped me with mine we had all the measyrements and went and picked out the material. Mainly I think the most important thing is as you say praticality. Some people go over board with their plans and end up having to resort back to simplicity. again paint good luck on your next project.

 

[Emprr_angl]

Chris
Todds (DJMEAT) dad has a shop with alllll kinds of cool power tools over on grand river and 10mile. me and him just got done building a hood.

want me see if we can use it to build you a hood? i'm sure hell be all up for it if you hook him up with a frag or two
-chris

 

[PaintGuru]

Do I know Todd? Sure I can hook him up with frags if he can help me build this thing, or at least plan it. Ask him and let me know what he says.

 

[Emprr_angl]

you might. he was the one that caused all that rucus with andrew (saltwarekid) last year and got himself banned from the regular email list and the yahoogroups list.

pat knows him.


hes cool...a little wacked but arent we all?

i'll ask him when he pops online.

in the meantime, can you hook me up with the link to stevewest's hood? and...
http//reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=249669

-chris

 

[PaintGuru]

http//reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=238650

 

[canisson]

Hey Paint, if you are looking for practicality over looks and woodworking talent, a bunch of us helped Neo build his hood, and I'd be willing to help if you wanted to tackle one of your own. All you really need is 2x4's and some 1/4 inch finish-grade plywood. All the rest is just basic planning and finishing with trim. Pretty simple.

Let me know.

 

[PaintGuru]

I'd really appreciate the help. I liked Neo's design mainly because of the ability to install a surge and hide it inside the canopy. I mean don't get me wrong I dont want the canopy to be an eyesore, but I thought Neos fit the bill.

 

[Emprr_angl]

todd says its cool to use the shop. anytime your ready, let me know.

 

[Guest]

The guys that helped build my canopy did a great Job on it. You will be in capable hands with Cannison for sure.

 

[Hellspawn2]

For my top i basically just used 1x12 pine cut the corners at 45's and left the back open. For the top i used 1x4 1x6 cant remember at the back of the canopy then where my mh are attached i used 2 1x6 connected together with 1x1 or u could use one solid piece and hinge them together so my top flips up. I didnt get fancy with i suppose i could have routed the edges to give a cleaner look and probably could have added doors in the front. If you want a pic let me know.

Hellspawn2

 

[PaintGuru]

I was thinking of having a hinge near the middle so I can open up the entire front and half the side as one piece. Right now I only have about a 12" section of the top that opens and it is still hard to get into the tank. Pics are always good!

 

[Emprr_angl]

i'm rebuilding my hood structure this weekend. wanna come over and help? maybe you can get some new ideas...

 

[PaintGuru]

Yeah I may stop by, I've been so busy with school I havent even thought about this project for a week or so. What are you making it into?

 

[Emprr_angl]

i'm rotating my mh bulbs 90degrees so i can fit 2vho bulbs.

the right side has to be dropped 1/4" because of an error in the original construction.

then after all that, i wanna get the hinge portion finished