# Diy stand work, Soon to come Diy Canopy



## daniel89

Hey guys, so recently I have the chance to actually set up my 125g tank again and do it right this time and know what corners to not cut and what not like I did last time. 

To start this time I decided to strip off the ugly gloss black paint on the outside of the stand and both inside and outside of the doors. I then Stained the stand since I sanded it down to bare wood. I also applied two good coats of oil based poly to it.

Here to come over the next few weeks I shall be starting the build on the canopy. Not sure what size I wanna build it. But I have a few good ideas on what I wanna do with it. For sure gonna add 8 CFL's in the canopy for the tank lighting so I'm guessing off the top of my head that should be plenty of light to sustain plants.


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## daniel89

Just so you guys know those bottom two pictures where the stand is glossy wet looking was after when i put the first coat on. I didn't take pictures of it after i lightly sanded it and applied a 2nd coat. The 2nd coat gave it a much more smoother feel and look.

On the side note here is some pictures of what I got done on the canopy yesterday. As you will noticed I stuck to the theme of the stand and applied it to the canopy. It wasn't completely my idea as i seen pictures of a similar design and decided I would sorta follow it to keep with the theme of my stand so they didn't miss match.

I did the framing with 2" x 2" I think lol. Then after I did that I hit up lowes and picked up some rounded edge pine planks (similar to my doors on the stand) and used those to cover the canopy with. For the back I'm thinking about using a piece of thin wood, sorta like you find on the back of entertainment centers that was if i need to punch a hole into it later on in the future It will be easier than drilling holes. Although I'm not sure how it will hold up to the moisture from the tank. I'm gonna be adding 2 doors to the canopy that swing up so it can get a really wide area to allow for cleaning and reaching into the tank easily without much problems. 

For lighting I'm gonna be adding 8 keyless light socks. I will be putting 2 on each end of the canopy then I will be placing 2 at about 1/3 of the tank in and another 2 at the 2/3 of the tank. I will be using CFL's daylight bulbs. Not sure what watt i want but Im gonna be doing 6700k. Anyhows here are the pictures I will quit rambling on .


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## Obsidian

Using a power sander is cheating, put some elbow grease into that thing! Starting to look good there


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## daniel89

to be fair the doors on the outside and on the sides of the stand the boards edges are rounded, and the power sander didn't fit in it so I had to hand scrape with a wood shaver to get the paint gone. And I did hand sand the entire stand twice. Once between the stain and first coat of poly. Then again during the 1st and 2nd coat of poly . lol plus Im getting my hands dirty with elbow grease building my hood


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## lohachata

you are doing an outstanding job dan...very nice work...


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## emc7

I'm not a fan of canopies in general (they get hot and in my way) but your will look great when you are done.


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## daniel89

lohachata said:


> you are doing an outstanding job dan...very nice work...


Thanks mna. I been busting balls with the building it super fast.I already got water in the tank 



emc7 said:


> I'm not a fan of canopies in general (they get hot and in my way) but your will look great when you are done.


I can understand that. But I forgot to mention I will be drilling two holes for vents, and I wanna add a fan in the back. Then again I'm not sure how much heat those cfl's are gonna put off all together. Also, the space where the filter's go, wont be covered. IT will remain open in the 4 inch gap I made.


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## fish_doc

Good job. Cant wait till you are done so you can come on over and build a stand and hood for my 225.


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## emc7

I do suggest of coat of water-proof primer on the inside. Those HOBs throw a lot of moisture. CLFs throw a lot less heat than some lights, but they will be warm. People commonly install computer fans and a small computer power supply in DIY canopies to keep them cool and dry.


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## daniel89

So I made my doors! Check them out .


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## daniel89

So Today I went to lowe's and purchased the stuff to wire the canopy for lights! I will be doing 8 lights as planned. With my girlfriends brothers help as he is an electrician. We should be able to get it done within an hour once i get him motivated. lol. I bought a cool hard wired timer for the lights. Has a built in by pass and looks neat. Anyhows watch for pictures in the next few hours.


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## daniel89

Few pictures of where I am. Also a little something special of a great tank shot I got .


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## Redhead305

the canopy is huge man. I do like the idea tho. ima post a picture of the 90g i built. I used solid oak wood instead for mine i like the color choice on yours tho really nice espresso feel to it. In terms of lights ho much did it cost you. I plan on removing my marineland leds and install custom leds into the hood. overall nice


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## daniel89

Redhead305 said:


> the canopy is huge man. I do like the idea tho. ima post a picture of the 90g i built. I used solid oak wood instead for mine i like the color choice on yours tho really nice espresso feel to it. In terms of lights ho much did it cost you. I plan on removing my marineland leds and install custom leds into the hood. overall nice


Well It costed me about 130$ for all the stuff for the lights, That includes the boxes, the sockets, Cfl Bulbs( where 10$ for 2 and I needed 8), the in wall timer, sheet rock 2 gane box, and other stuff. I however didn't have to buy wire as my girlfriends brother is an electrician so he had tons of it in the trunk of his car.

I told my girlfriend i built it so big was i wanted super easy access to it without having to take it off the tank and wanted room to play around even with the bulbs hanging. But to be honest I made it this big for one day when i decide to jump back into the salt water game I can.


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## Redhead305

i figured as much. you shud check out my 90g i went a different route where my canopy flips up exposing half the tank and leaves the lights and such towards the back giving me the room i want and the room to remove and introduce fish and items. i do like that that your stand and canopy probably way half of what mine does tho. i shudve gone with treated plywood but all in all im happy and smart tho wiring the canopy and you could always switch the bulbs out making for a better light source


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## daniel89

well the problem with that idea on my 125g is that when i stand next to it with my fingers touching the bottom of the tank, the rim is almost in my arm pit. So I needed easy access to reach in. I'm 6' tall. Where is your 90g pics at? And mine is super lite. I can pick the stand up myself and carry it cause its pine, and the canopy, I can pick it up myself but I need an extra hand for balance >.>. I only used treated ply wood on the back of my canopy so If i needed to pop a hole I could easily without having to drill thru the wood cause the planks are an inch thick. The ply wood is quarter inch. Yeah I got it wired by a pro for free cause were awesome .


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## Redhead305

lol im 5'11 and can nearly reach the bottom of my tank if it wasnt for my stand being as tall as i made it il post pictures that are better on my thread to show u


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## daniel89

yeah my canopy is almost done. Can't neither cause then I can slap it on the tank and go phew its done. and stare at my beautifulness


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## daniel89

So here is the finish product, Still got a few things to fix. Like light between the cracks.

The digital timer is wired to control the outlet next to it. This is great for me since now I have to two plug ins that are controlled by the timer. I can plug my co2 set up later on once I buy it into it and the timer will also shut off the co2 the same time the lights shut off.


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## Redhead305

The canopy looks really nice and maybe u could use silicon to cover the creases on the inside


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## daniel89

I did use silicon and even painted over it on the inside and the light still shines thru the paint n silicon. Its crazy how bright it is.


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## Redhead305

what color silicon? if its that bright u might have to go black and paint over it


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## daniel89

white silicon lol. My duct tape idea failed! Im thinking I will have to go get some regular black or grey then put white over it. White duct tape on its own still lets light in


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## Redhead305

exactly try a darker color black preferred that way you wont see it. it should do the job


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## weedkiller

looks nice, liking what you've done there


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## Redhead305

quick question daniel. your lights are they wired directly like a celing fan or are they actually plugged in as if you decided to move the tank you could


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## lohachata

you may have to cover the cracks with thin strips of wood and paint them after...you cannot paint over silicone..it doesn't stick...


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## daniel89

Well if you look at the picture with the digital timer, The plug in you see there is the lights. So yes I can move it if I wish.


Redhead305 said:


> quick question daniel. your lights are they wired directly like a celing fan or are they actually plugged in as if you decided to move the tank you could


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## Redhead305

nice all on one plug i just baught the new lights i plan on putting on my setup gotta just find my wire stripper so i can do the install and gotta get out my saw


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## Obsidian

Um, I hate to attempt to be too obvious but----- Wood putty works wonders  You can get it in all kinds of colors, you can make it thick, you can paint it afterwards, and you can even put duct tape over the back of it if it is still not blocking out the light enough. Of course you will have to strip the silicone.


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