newsaltyman
Member
how on earth do you build a bow front canopy for a bow front aquarium??????????????HELP PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!11
canopy for bow front
- Thread starter newsaltyman
- Start date
polka
Member
I would be very interested in the answer to this question as well. I have a 72 gal bow front and the light canopy covers 90%of the top of the tank. What a pain to move it every time I need to get into the tank! I'm able to move the glass away about an inch when I'm feeding, but to do anything else.........
exotickeeper
Member
canopies are not avail. unless custom made.
exotickeeper
Member
Building one yourself is quite diffic.! You would have to use wood (as oppose to plastic or plexi) and position them ever so precisely.
almarktool
Member
well if u wanted to do it yourself here is how i would go about it i would make a carboard template of the bow area then cut you wood up ( rough cut only, approx 3 feet longer than needed) then just take 2 --5 gall buckets one on each side support the wood at the end then wet the wood and put weights, bricks what ever in the middle so the wood bends and on the bottom make sure u put some blocks also to stop it from overbending u may need to wet it a few times before u get the right bow and keep adding weight untill your where u want to be
melbournefl
Member
Actually my first thought would be that it will take some degree of woodworking skill to build a bow front canopy but if I were take on the challenge I'd 1st make a cardboard template by tracing the tank, then I'd cut a pieces of inexpensive 3/4" ply using the template to form a brace for the "front" of the canopy. Then I'd get a piece of the wood of choice in the desired width (which will become the canopy's height by the way). Next I'd carefully cut 1/8" kerfs about 3/4's of the way through the this front piece, cut the kerfs about 1/4" apart down the entire length of the board. Soak the board overnight in a trough of warmed water. Now lay one of your plywood templates on your workbench and run a bead of waterproof glue (Liquid Nails) around the outside "curved edge", place the end of the front piece against one end of the template and clamp tightly in place, work your way around the entire edge bending the wood ever so slowly and clamping every 12 inches or so, let dry for a day or so and as you remove the clamps, insert 1 1/4" drywall screws every six inches. The plywood template will be the "top" of the canopy and should be covered with the wood to match the front.
HTH
Later, Paul
HTH
Later, Paul
G
glenn
Guest
bob a.
Member
Oh boy, something I know a bit about. I've been a woodworker for quite a while and while I cant tell you exactly how to do it, I can give you some tips and also point you to some resources on the web where you can get more information.
Pauls post was pretty good in whats involved, but here are some things I would point out:
Tools: you will need access to a tablesaw or radial arm saw to make the shallow cuts (kerfs) in the piece that gets bent to follow the front of the tank. You could do it by hand, but that is really going to be tedious. I would use a bandsaw to make the curved cuts for the top piece.
Materials: I would use a veneer plywood for the bent front since it will look the best and use a solid piece for the edging on the top. Don't use liquid nails for anything like this, rather a good waterproof exterior glue. A polyurethane glue like gorilla glue would be my choice over a yellow glue.
Use brass or stainless screws in assembly and seal em up well with a plug or putty . The saltwater will cause any other screw to corrode and stain the wood, even under a finish.
A good exterior varnish will work, but make sure you do all sides and give it time to dry and out gas so the fumes dont affect the fish.
You can check these woodworking forums for more advice or if all this seems too much, you might find somebody local who could do the job for you:
http://theoak.com/cgi-bin/forum/general.pl
http://www.wwforum.com/cgi-bin/forum_main/ptools2.cgi
http://www.forums.woodnet.ne
BTW, I have a 92 bowfront and if I ever get around to building a top for it, I'll post it, but its not high on my to do list...
Pauls post was pretty good in whats involved, but here are some things I would point out:
Tools: you will need access to a tablesaw or radial arm saw to make the shallow cuts (kerfs) in the piece that gets bent to follow the front of the tank. You could do it by hand, but that is really going to be tedious. I would use a bandsaw to make the curved cuts for the top piece.
Materials: I would use a veneer plywood for the bent front since it will look the best and use a solid piece for the edging on the top. Don't use liquid nails for anything like this, rather a good waterproof exterior glue. A polyurethane glue like gorilla glue would be my choice over a yellow glue.
Use brass or stainless screws in assembly and seal em up well with a plug or putty . The saltwater will cause any other screw to corrode and stain the wood, even under a finish.
A good exterior varnish will work, but make sure you do all sides and give it time to dry and out gas so the fumes dont affect the fish.
You can check these woodworking forums for more advice or if all this seems too much, you might find somebody local who could do the job for you:
http://theoak.com/cgi-bin/forum/general.pl
http://www.wwforum.com/cgi-bin/forum_main/ptools2.cgi
http://www.forums.woodnet.ne
BTW, I have a 92 bowfront and if I ever get around to building a top for it, I'll post it, but its not high on my to do list...
melbournefl
Member
Bob's comments were right on (which doesn't necessarily mean I agree LOL) only thing I would argue is the use of veneer plywood on the front. I've had REAL problems bending ply unless I make the kerfs both wider and deeper than I like to. My experience has been that wet ply is a nasty critter and "bending" almost any solid wood is just much easier. Just my .02 and like everything else in this darn hobby, there's probably no 100% right way for everybody 
Later, Paul
Later, Paul