DIY Canopy. DONE
- Thread starter Mahamotorworks
- Start date
where did you buy the light fixtures? How long was the light fixture? and how long is the canpoy?
I want to built a canopy for my 70gal, which is 48.5in. long.
Did the ballasts come with the light fixture? Is there any wiring involved?
Did you ever weigh the canopy? Is it really heavy? What kind of wood did you use? And size?
It looks greats, Mahamotorworks ...
Rohn
I want to built a canopy for my 70gal, which is 48.5in. long.
Did the ballasts come with the light fixture? Is there any wiring involved?
Did you ever weigh the canopy? Is it really heavy? What kind of wood did you use? And size?
It looks greats, Mahamotorworks ...
Rohn
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From the begiining. The Canopy weight about 50 LBS. I weighed it. It is made with 1X12 Boards on the side and top. With 2 2 bulb 48" fixtures That I bought at Home Depot. The thing I did was make the 2X2 Frame to match the top of the tank trim. In my case 48 1/2 X 18 1/2 inches. The 1X12's stick about 1 1/2 inches down to cover some of the Tank trim. The height of the frame was 8". The 1X12 also stick up over the frame so I have a flush top when I added the top. The fixtures were $10 each at Home Depot and the Had built in reflectors. They are desinged to be used as hanging shop lights they even have the cord attached. All I had to do was attach them to the 2X2 Frame with a couple of screws and add the bulbs. Then Plug them in. No wiring invloved. It went a lot faster then I thought it would. If you have any other Questions lust let me know.
MAHA
MAHA
Nice work! It's nice that everyone documents what they do.
Yeah, some type of marine varnish will work well.
It's called white balance. The camera was measuring the light in the tank, not the wood. For example, using a flash would have made the wood look ok and the tank would have been close in color.
Remember when you took pictures of the plans and they had different colors? The cameras auto white balance is why they varied so much.
What about moisture resistant light fixtures? I don't know exactly what the difference is, but it will give some extra safety.
A GFCI outlet on the tank setup probably wouldn't be a bad idea. Better to have some dead fish than a dead person.
I plan on adding a GFCI outlet to mine shortly.
Jason
Yeah, some type of marine varnish will work well.
It's called white balance. The camera was measuring the light in the tank, not the wood. For example, using a flash would have made the wood look ok and the tank would have been close in color.
Remember when you took pictures of the plans and they had different colors? The cameras auto white balance is why they varied so much.
What about moisture resistant light fixtures? I don't know exactly what the difference is, but it will give some extra safety.
A GFCI outlet on the tank setup probably wouldn't be a bad idea. Better to have some dead fish than a dead person.
I plan on adding a GFCI outlet to mine shortly.
Jason
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Hello Maha: I just ran across your terrific canopy thread. AAAAPLUS on the idea and excellant constuction work. You built this for a 75 gallon tank which is roughly 48"x18". I want to build this canopy for a 55 gallon tank which is only 48"x12". In losing the 6" in width, will the 2 shop lights with 4 bulbs fit, or will they be too close? I have several 48" aquarium bulbs of different hues which would give me 160 watts of lighting for my heavily planted tank. Would appeciate your imput. Howie G. hwg013@aol.com
i think you've done a very nice job Maha. its good to see creation in process, since i think it can inspire others that are crafty to give it a try.
So what do you plan on using to seal the wood with? the screws you used are they 2" or 2 1/2" ? did you predrill the holes or just sink them into the wood ? i've been playing with 2x2's myself and just wondering what method you used. For some of what i have done i've used a numatic nailer with 2 1/2" 16 gauge brads and it seemed to work well.
after seeing your post, and if i can find the time, i might consider giving it a try myself but that will be down the road aways since i have alot on my plate already. again nice job maha.
So what do you plan on using to seal the wood with? the screws you used are they 2" or 2 1/2" ? did you predrill the holes or just sink them into the wood ? i've been playing with 2x2's myself and just wondering what method you used. For some of what i have done i've used a numatic nailer with 2 1/2" 16 gauge brads and it seemed to work well.
after seeing your post, and if i can find the time, i might consider giving it a try myself but that will be down the road aways since i have alot on my plate already. again nice job maha.