Best Canopy Height? ?

[Totenkampf]

i much prefer canopies for the way they look and keep the light in the tank. it also allows me to run open top without having cats falling in. just make sure that u can allow heat to escape if there are going to be many lights. as far as the height, if this tank is planted and you are using T5HO or similar then you want the lamps as low to the water as possible. a low profile canopy with the lights mounted on a flip up top if what i use in this case. i also have an open top canopy with the light fixtures mounted on rails inside and then an eggcrate top mounted just above those. with HID or LED you would probably want a higher one so that you can control heat (in the former case) and control light spread. the higher ones are more maintainable with front opening doors.

[BrAin]

I always likes the flip-up front for some reason. Only issue with that would be getting down in the overflows or changing out pieces of the scape like large driftwood. Any ideas on that??

And Frankie is right I probably have 10 drawings for the stand. Revisions...revisions...

[brandon_rss18]

I always likes the flip-up front for some reason. Only issue with that would be getting down in the overflows or changing out pieces of the scape like large driftwood. Any ideas on that??

And Frankie is right I probably have 10 drawings for the stand. Revisions...revisions...

I have thought about what you are saying as well. If I were to build a canopy, I would first consider ease of access to my tank. Like you said, the front door type are easier to get into, but its difficult to do any real maintenance. What I would do, Is make a flip open top canopy with two doors on the front as well. In other words, think of a regular canopy with the doors on the front. Now, take that solid top piece that is on it, cut it in half, and add hinges. I would try to keep the top lid flush with the front to give it the appearance that it does not open. The canopy should be fine structurally as all corners are connected still, and the back half of the top that is fixed (not the front top half that is the door) adds extra support being connected to the back side of the canopy and the back half of the sides. I hope this is easy to understand, its hard to describe in words without a drawing lol.

[Darth Coqui]

I always likes the flip-up front for some reason. Only issue with that would be getting down in the overflows or changing out pieces of the scape like large driftwood. Any ideas on that??

And Frankie is right I probably have 10 drawings for the stand. Revisions...revisions...

the overflows and any back materials that you want to get to with ease and comfort!. hmmm. and you like the front panel to go up as well.
will the top of canopy go up as well as the front panel or will it stay stationary?
you can always use the plexiglass that lowes / hd have and can slide it in and out or have it sitting on top of small supports so that you can get to w/e you need. looks better than eggcrate and is thinner. The side supports can work as sliding in out or to sit on top and can be removed by lifitng the clear plastic.
also the front panel that you want to go up and down, will you have continous hinges or will you cut a hole and add a wheel on the side panelling for rotation?
hindesight for me is that i added cont hinges but then after i was like man this is BS. I should made a wheel with lock instead of continous hinges and kept one solitary panel instead of 2. it can save room that way and get easier to the back of tank from the sides. just add lock, chain and / or a safety lock so that it doesn't slam backwards or forward as it is free form and can rotate fully until it hits the wall or the tank.

i still have my canopy top at my sisters garage not being used and just have my light panel with my vhos mounted on top of tank now. my light panel is free so that i can take off or slide back in forth for scapeing, cleaning, taking out stock, etc...
i made it 15" wide but can go 2" or so wider. I did it this way so that i can mount more lights and i also have my ballasts on the same panel. so wheneer my lights move the ballasts move with it w/o compleciations.
pics are on my build thread of how i mounted the lights.

You got me on some new ideas. going to revision my canopy in inventors at home in my pc.
LOL, another revision, drink more...
Thanks Brain, lol. more alchohol for me coming up in the near future...


Frankie

[Totenkampf]

my entire top flips up 45 degrees and then locks in place due to the toybox type hinges. this may not be enough to access your overflows though

[Hangman]

Here's a pic of the canopy I built. Its 12" tall and has the top flip up and the front doors as well. At first I only had the top flip up, but since that makes the tank 6', I couldn't reach into do anything, So I took it off and added the doors.


P7070018 by HangTheMan, on Flickr


Here's what it looks like on the tank..


DSC_6148 by HangTheMan, on Flickr

[BrAin]

Canopy and tank look awesome Hangman.

Brandon - Is that what you were trying to explain? I was confused at first but it sounds like its the same as Hangman's.

Andrew- Does that tank have overflows? Any issues working in the back of the tank?

Frankie - I think Im on version 3.5B, I thought I had it figured out but now I'm having issues with the access to the overflows. I was thinking about small doors on the sides as well as the big front-half lift up. Issue with the side doors is my design would only leave me 5" of height for an opening. That small of an area would be a tight fit.

[Andrew_B]

Nah, no overflows since the stand doesnt fit a wet/dry. I just have 4 eheims so I never really ever need to do maintenance to the back of tank with the quick connects down inside the stand. Also my tank and stand are about 3" from the wall, so I hope I never need to get back there. As far as im concerned, for how little major maintenance needs to get done, just take the canopy off that couple times a year. Would be a waste to mess with the design of the canopy just for that reason

[Darth Coqui]

Dude I was at my friends mechanic shop and forgot all about this idea i had many many beers ago.
let alone a few weeks ago i helped my older bro put in a rotary in his 85 rx7 that we race and there it was again.
so i go home and thought it would be cool to see if i can incorprate it.

you can try to use an hydraulic for lifting. most hoods on cars have them.
instead of a motorized gears and tracks, time and money, headaches, etc... use a hyraulic lift. it would be easy to instal, easy to locate at parts deptartment, forgiving on the pocket and will be just awesome setup.
with a lift you can have all the free space you want. just remember clearance of your ceiling.
i dont fancy doors so i find ways to avoid it. but thats just me
say.... rev 3.9 beta
LOL

Frankie