I decided to build this canopy using a similar frame and wrap style to the stand.
Measurements were planned and the frame pieces were pre-cut out of Pine, and the panels
out of 1/2" BalticBirch PC Plywood.
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This top will have two access doors; I cut the whole section off and cut it into the top
doors and rails, and aligned it so the gaps were around the doors. Here I'm matching the
grain and noting which door goes where.
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Gluing up the frame to the top. The five "legs" are what will sit on the tank.
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Adding the middle frame and front middle leg. Notice the little white brackets in various
spots...these were used in a few places to add strength, as the plywood is just coated
with a thin wood veneer.
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Basic part of the top is now glued up; here's what it looks like standing on its legs.
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Slight miscalculation on the frame measurements. Will be
hand planed back into submission.
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Adding the back of the canopy now. Cutouts will come
later.
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This is the same corner gap used on the stand; it too will be blended together with some
pine quarter-round moulding so the edges will be rounded.
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Adding on the sides and front.
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Just trying out the spacing for the lights here. The basic design calls for 6 32w T8
Fluorescent bulbs, producing a total of 192w of light. I wanted to design a lighting
system around inexpensive, energy efficient components which is why I chose the four foot
T8's. Each bulb is only around $4 at Home Depot; they are Philips Daylight Deluxe 6500k
bulbs and are EXCELLENT!
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Final pieces of the front added now. Basic Canopy frame
is complete!
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Time to start on the doors. Because I wanted the same rounded edge on the L-shaped door, I
used a piece of 2x2 for the corner so the door pieces would have something solid to
connect to.
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And this is the basic door shape. The corner will have quarter round added for that good
ol' round effect.
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I wanted to use piano hinges but couldn't find ones in the sizes I needed. So I decided to
use four of these little guys that I picked up from Lee Valley. Careful Measurement required here to make an even pattern!
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Testing the door operation. They don't quite sit flat on the top but are sturdy. Notice
the pieces of framing that stick out inside the door opening...these are there for the
door to rest on so it's even with the rest of the canopy when closed.
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Started adding the corner round. There are a lot of Mitre joints to consider for the
moulding. Glue and finishing nails were used to attach it, then the ends were sanded to
match the door gaps.
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Mass addition of moulding. I've added it at the bottom as shown here to cover the exposed
plywood edges and to give a rounded graduation to the tank itself.
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This sure wasn't easy to do, trying to keep it lined up with the sides...had to fiddle
with the clamps a lot.
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View of the inside of the top at the moment. All moulding
is in place at this point.
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Now to start work on the lighting. I wanted the lights as close to the tank top as
possible as the tank is tall (24"). This is what I came up with. This shows the
pieces involved. The top of those two pieces of plywood will serve as the platform for the
light sockets, and the channel underneath will help manage the wiring.
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Glued and Screwed into place. Don't worry that it doesn't "look" all that
great...that will change.
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In an effort to maximize light output, I researched reflection methods. Turns out the most
effective light reflector material for the price is...high gloss white paint! So, the inside was spray painted white.
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Here the nails used to attach the moulding have been sunk with a nail set, and puttied
over. I've also spread putty over much of the joint space between the moulding and the
plywood, to fill micro gaps and smooth edges. All of this
will be sanded flat when dry.
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All Sanded and smoothed out. Starting to look good.
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Staining and varathaning the canopy and doors. I've removed the doors temporarily as it
was a little easier to stain this way.
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These light sockets can be purchased at Home Depot for about $3 a pair. They will
accomodate T8 and T12 light bulbs. I've attached with a small screw to the wood
underneath. Notice the four small holes, 2 on each side of the screw? Those are the wire
hookups. All you have to do is slide in the stripped wire and it has a spring connector to
lock it in place. Each set of two holes connects to the appropriate "side" of
the socket.
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Using the bulb itself to space out the second socket. As I placed the first socket against
the side wall of the canopy, I had a 1/2 inch gap on the other side...easily filled with a
1/2 inch piece of scrap so I could remove the bulb to screw in the socket.
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With a little space planning between bulbs, I have them all attached now.
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Time to start wiring. First thing was to cut an access hole which will hold a control
panel. The Control Panel will be a piece of 1/4" thick Hardboard (it's all I had
lying around in that thickness...but it's at the back so who cares) that will hold the
switches and power cords. I wanted to be able to create a sunrise/sunset effect so the
plan at this point is to run each bulb off it's own ballast, power switch, and power cord.
Each power cord will run to a seperate timer that will be spaced a few minutes apart so
the lights come on and go off gradually.
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I used Workhorse 2 ballasts, which can handle up to 35w each. I got a pack of 7 of them on
Ebay for a good price. They are being attached with short screws. The wiring will run into
the socket channels and out of a drilled access hole, as shown.
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Test Firing the first bulb to make sure the wiring plan for each ballast/socket set is
sound.
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Second ballast and bulb in place, each on seperate switches. Both work so far!
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All six ballasts are now wired in and bulbs are in place. I bought a bunch of white
extension cords and cut off the ends in order to make the power cords. Note the mess of
them at the back (I used long ones).
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Test Firing of the 6 bulb combo. So far so good.
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This is what the control panel looks like. I got excited at this point and didn't bother
lining the switches up, which going back I wish I had done just for perfectionist
purposes. The white power cords are for each ballast, where the black one is for the
moonlights. Each power switch controls a seperate light, and the one on the far left
controls the moonlight. Notice there is one switch less than there should be...this is
cause I miscalculated and bought one less switch than I needed. I decided to wire up the
"last two" fluorescent bulbs to the same cord and switch.
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Some cleanup on the wiring has happened here, as well as the addition (and test firing) of
the cold cathode moonlights. This is the same kind of light kit you'd buy for a PC Case
mod, but wired into a 12v plug in adapter instead. These
will be used at night.
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Here I've made cutouts for the heaters, canister filter tubes, etc. Looking back I wish I
had cut them all the way down, as I now can't remove the canopy from the tank unless I
first remove all the filter tubing and heaters. Not a huge deal, but worth thinking about
for future designs.
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Moonlight tubes are being permanently mounted via velcro tabs to the top inside of the
doors, ensuring enough slack in the wiring exists and it doesn't snag.
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On the tank now. Here's a view of the wiring. It's all
well above the bulbs.
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Tank with the moonlights on. Just a very subtle blue glow, exactly what I wanted.
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A dark room with all the lights on. Yes, it really is that bright...without any "high
tech" lighting!
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There
you have it, the canopy is complete. I'm very happy with how it turned out, and the
economy of the lights is fantastic. I probably paid a complete total of about $120-$140
for all the lighting parts (including all wires, switches, bulbs, etc) and can now replace
the entire set of bulbs for a grand total of $25 (whereas a lot of smaller aquarium
specialty bulbs cost more than that EACH). |
