canopy suggestions

[skirrby]

w00t got my tax return today.. bout time... well now that i got the extra cash im going to finish installing my haildes on my tank. i currently have the 4-65watt pc setup from coralife. im going to be adding 2 175watt halides on top of this (going with xm bulbs). anyone able to give me some plans for making a canopy that opens in the front and top, and will hold the halides and pcs,, already have the ballast and reflector and all for the halides. and i plan on mounting the pc ballast on the top of the canopy.
soooo, just use this thread for ideas for building one.. what to use,, important things that you should know for making one.. anything you see fit.
and hopefully i can get this diy project underway.

 

[timg]

I am planning to do the exact thing I currently have 4 65watt orbit and am looking into buying two 175 MH? I am curious in this canopy also. what kinda ballast do you have running those halides?

 

[skirrby]

its a custom sealife ballast for the halides... dunno to much about it to be honest with you

 

[jlem]

Why don't you just hinge the top so it opens and then put a couple nice size doors on the front. All you need is a jigsaw or cutting tool like a dremel to cut the door holes out. If you make a front that opens and it falls down then you could break your bulbs. With a couple nice size doors you would not have to worry about that. What size are you making. I am making a 125 gallon stand and canopy for a guy and I think that I am going to do a thread that shows how from start to finish.
Maybe if I am lucky the nice mods will make it a sticky if the thread makes sense

 

[nyreefer]

I plan to start building a new stand and canopy for my 55, very similar to your setup 2x 175W with 110 PC actinic. I was planning to make it open from the top and the lights would be mounted on the top or cover. This would allow you to change bulbs and access the tank very easily. It would open basically like a cedar chest. Not sure if it's the best design but seems simple enough and provides better access to the tank than doors.

 

[moraym]

jlem, a really extensive post showing detailed cabinet making, especially with pictures, would be useful for a lot of people here I presume. Hope you do it so we can benefit.

 

[mpls man]

On your planning with mounting your MH in your canopy, i was going to do the exact same for my 75, i have the corallife 4-65wt in my canopy now, they said that the heat from the MH would get very hot from the reflection on to the casing of the corallife and would melt the fans on the top. where did you happen to buy your lights from?

 

[i'mblotto]

I am the person that jlem built that canopy for and it is just awesome. I will try to post pics so that you can get a better idea of what exactly he is talking about.

 

[mpls man]

that would be great , anything would be great because i'm thinking of building another canopy for MH setup.

 

[skirrby]

anyone got any plans for one.. ive always found it funny that sooo many people have them. very few have plans or anything info wise on how to build them

 

[jlem]

I am going to start the canopy this week so I will show step by step how I do it. It only takes me 2 hours now start to finish on a 55 gallon canopy since if you don't put on doors it is litteraly only 5 pieces of wood besides the couple 4 inch standoffs.

 

[skirrby]

i found this on another site.. its pretty much dead on to what i want to build, even the same trim. only i will have holes for the fans

 

[skirrby]

the pic might help.. lol nothing like posting at almost 3am.