building canopy......any tips/suggestions?

[oneflysi]

buying all the materials tonight to build my canopy/hood for my 55 gal. any tips on what would be the best wood, thickness of wood, anything else?
will be mounting my 36" 110watt PC and when my 2 36" VHO's get here they will be in there also. should i go ahead and add a fan while building or will this set-up not produce alot of heat to need a fan?
anyone have any sites to go to for tips, or any pics of their own that you built?
thanks!!
-One

 

[cyn]

I stumbled across this link here, not sure if it will help, but here it is...
html<a href="http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/2637/canopy.html" target="_blank">web page</a>

 

[oneflysi]

thanks....but i had seen that one already. pretty good basic info though. thanks again!
-One

 

[bigred]

I made mine out of pine. 3/4" you can buy it at home depot in all different sizes. Just make sure it fit, my canopy I made for my 55 was about a 1/16 of a inch to small. When it doesn't fit use a hammer, it fits now(lol) <img src="graemlins//uhuh.gif" border="0" alt="[U-Huh]" />

 

[yardrat]

send me your measurements and a layout of what you want and i'll try to give you a drawing.. i built my own and it works.. got a couple of people wanting me to build for them.. i am building my wife a canopy and a stand this weekend.

 

[oneflysi]

well, i would like to send you the measurements.....but i am starting on it tonight, so i don't think you have the time. plus, i know how i want to build it, just wondering what wood would be the best to use (as far as strength, look, easiness to work with, etc). and any other tips you might have, ie any problems you ran into while building. thanks though!
-One

 

[ksujason]

Pine is probably the easiest wood to work with. As Bigred said, it is also very easy to find. Just be sure to put plenty of polyurethane on it for protection.

 

[taku]

How tall are you building it off the water? Mine is 8" from water to top of canopy and now with my new MH's I have to reconstruct the completed hood
But learn from my mistakes
I certainly don't think heat will be as big of an issue in your canopy, but I always think fans are a good thing to have. Plus leave room for build out unless your future build out plans include a larger tank. Then your current 55 gal canopy won't matter that much since you'll probably sell it like I did

 

[oneflysi]

well, thanks to you taku i'm gonna go ahead and order 2 175w metal halides and match them up with my PC's instead of ordering the VHO's. i planned on mounting the lighting 8+ inches off the water....so i'm probably looking at a 10+ inch canopy. i have also decided just to purchase a small (5") aluminum fan and cut out a circle in the side of the canopy for heat to escape. that way i won't have to worry about heat....cause i really don't want to purchase a chiller.
thanks for all the help....will be hitting up lowes (or home depot) within the next 2 hours or so.
-One