Bow front canopy completed

[YBeNormal]

I really should take pictures of projects during construction... Oh well, maybe next time.

 

Someone asked if I could build a canopy for their 48" bow front tank (80g). They wanted it to be painted black but also wanted it to be unique and I somehow needed to fit six 54w T5 bulbs in there with reflectors. It also had to have a small door on the front for feeding and the entire front had to open up for tank maintenance. This was not the easiest project I've done lately but it's finished!

 

The canopy is constructed using pine panels and cast acrylic. The bowed trim used for the front panels and doors was made by slicing pine boards into thin strips, bending around a form, then gluing the strips back together.

 

Lighting turned out to be one of the most challenging parts of this project. I finally ended up using the framing, wiring, ballasts and reflector panels from a brand new TEK T5 fixture. I was able to work a deal with SLS so it ended up costing about the same as three T5 retro kits. The lights are protected from salt spray by a clear acrylic panel and two IceCap fans were mounted on the back to help keep things cool.

 

Anyway, here are a few pics of the finished project. I still had a few spots needing touch up paint and the canopy was a little dusty when the pics were taken.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zoozilla]

Awesome build, Bob

[zotzer]

that is gorgeous!!! Wow!!

Tracy

[bbyatv]

Bob,

 

Thanks for sharing the pictures. The craftsmanship is fabulous. I am sure the new owner will be very pleased. Thats some high quality H2O.

 

Bruce

[YBeNormal]

Thanks everyone! I've got a couple of other small projects underway and I'm starting on a much larger one. Maybe I can get some pics of those projects during the construction phase.

Edited September 1, 2007 by YBeNormal

[jnguyen4007]

Bob,

 

You are DA MAN!!!

 

It looks really good.

 

James

[dandy7200]

Very nice work Bob!

[lanman]

Very nice! When I first saw it, I thought you would be getting too much light out the front; but those panels are tinted just right.

 

bob

[jason the filter freak]

Sweet lookin

[EBR]

Very nice work, Bob. (and poor form for not progress pictures ;-) What did you use to prime/finish? And how do you like the center vac system? It (or it's tubing) appears to be integrated into the bench -- is that right? I wish I had the space for that.

Very, very cool.

Matt

[flowerseller]

Wow, very nice Bob.

I showed the thread to Sonya and she said Wow.

[YBeNormal]

What did you use to prime/finish? And how do you like the center vac system? It (or it's tubing) appears to be integrated into the bench -- is that right? I wish I had the space for that.

Very, very cool.

Matt

 

This project was primed and then finished with an indoor/outdoor latex enamel paint.

 

Yes, I built the table saw bench so it has a built-in dust chamber and dust port. I've had the Jet vac for a few years and I'm just now getting around to hooking it permanently to the tools rather than dragging the hoses around from machine to machine. I need to order some pipe and fittings though so I can do it right. I also bought a Jet air filtration system last week and installed it yesterday. I'm slowly getting the wood dust under control.

 

All of my tools are in a two-car garage and mostly all in one bay. If you plans things carefully, you can have a real nice shop in a one-car garage including a dust collection system.

[tygger]

Very nice!