# DIY 29g Canopy [lots of pictures!]



## BANANAHANDS (Mar 22, 2007)

I was tired of the "All Glass" hood on my 29g so I decided to build a canopy. I went up to my sisters house for the weekend for the birth of my niece and figured I'd take the opportunity to use my brother in-law's tools. 
So I drew up some very professional blue prints :lol: 









I decided to use pine. Rather than using blocks to support the weight I routed the wood 3/8 of an inch. 









I used a biscuit joint and some wood glue to hold it together. (I'd never heard of such a joint but my brother in-law, the carpenter, said it is strong enough and very easy to use.)









For lighting I went with a T-5 fixture from Lowes for $20!!! 

















A test of the lighting. I'm using a 18000k bulb and a blue acitnic bulb. Before everyone jumps on my case about the bulbs and fixture, Yes I know that these are HO bulbs and the fixture is not HO. The electronic ballasts are only rated up to 21w and the bulbs are 24w bulbs. I consulted 3 different electricians and they all said as far as safety its fine. They said the only problem would be that the ballast may not put out enough power to start up and maintain the bulbs. Well as you can see from the test, they start and I can't imagine ever needing brighter light for a 29g  









I used a router to round off all of the edges as my stand has rounded edges and wanted them to match. 









I put it all together and used some would filler to fill it all in. 









After all of the assembly I cut it to make the door. 

















On went the piano hinge for a test fit. I had to trim off about an inch of the hinge. 

















Test fit of the lights









On went the sealer primer. 









Then one of many coats of black textured paint to match the stand.









I painted the inside a high gloss white exterior paint to really reflect the light. Originally I painted the hinge along with the canopy hoping the paint would stick, it didn't. So I've since stripped the hinge back to metal and I actually like it better. 
I'll have pictures of the hood on the tank very soon but unfortunately I'm more concerned with dealing with the case of Bloat that hit my tank when I got home. Wish me luck with the Bloat. 
Oh yeah, in case anyone is wondering, I've already ordered my water-proof end caps and standoffs, so they'll be on soon. I've also purchased a glass lid to help prevent evaporation and humidity inside the hood. 
Let me know what you think, this is the first wood-working project I've done since high school. :thumb:


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## crabs (Apr 17, 2008)

Look good man, I have just built a very similar one, I wish I had a router, that would have made things much easier, but I like it anyway, I actually painted the inside with a high gloss bright blue, hoping it might give the light a blueish tinge


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## Rick_Lindsey (Aug 26, 2002)

BANANAHANDS said:


> I was tired of the "All Glass" hood on my 29g so I decided to build a canopy. I went up to my sisters house for the weekend for the birth of my niece and figured I'd take the opportunity to use my brother in-law's tools...


Wow, looks spiff!! I've been planning to do my canopy with a circular saw and a palm sander... Now you make me want to take it to a friend's house where I can use his router and table saw!



BANANAHANDS said:


> For lighting I went with a T-5 fixture from Lowes for $20!!!


Cool! I wasn't happy with the selection at Home Depot, time to try lowes! Based on the pictures it looks like thats a twin-tube fixture that contains two ballasts? Or did you buy two fixtures?

thanks for sharing!

-Rick (the armchair aquarist)


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## BANANAHANDS (Mar 22, 2007)

It came with 2 ballasts. I believe the it was $19.99 for the entire fixture. I just stripped all the parts from the actual metal fixture, I wanted the bulbs further apart. The bulbs cost more than the fixture :lol: . I've had it on for a couple of days now and it works great! Just a disclaimer: This is what I've done with my canopy. if you do use this setup its at your own risk  .


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## Boomr99 (Dec 19, 2007)

I've thought about doing lights in a canopy like that. Does the humidity from the tank not rust the ballasts and case problems? Do you seal them somehow?
As a fellow woodworker, congrats, that looks great! (And yes biscuit joints are very strong, I use them on quite a few projects)


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## iceblue (Apr 27, 2004)

Boomr99 said:


> Does the humidity from the tank not rust the ballasts and case problems?


Yes. The ballast in my diy hood has rusted after 5 years of use. For my large tank project the ballast will be located on top of the hood and I'm saving for water resistant end caps for the flourescent bulbs.


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