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Canopy weight?


GOSKN5

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I am building a canopy for a 180 that is going to be a unique design and much taller than a normal canopy. The frame is going to sit on the rim of the tank but it will be screwed into studs behind the tank. Is weight a concern here?

 

Tank is a standard 180 with 2 center braces, plastic trim.

 

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Weight is always a concern. I don't know how much of a concern, though. I don't recall ever having read anything on how much downward force our big tanks can take. I'm guessing that it would have to be a lot before it became an issue. I've seen some pretty large (tall) canopies on tanks over the years.

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Weight is always a concern. I don't know how much of a concern, though. I don't recall ever having read anything on how much downward force our big tanks can take. I'm guessing that it would have to be a lot before it became an issue. I've seen some pretty large (tall) canopies on tanks over the years.
My thought was the same. I have seen some very tall and large canopies... also the frame on the top is the same as the one on the bottom...

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Yes, but in between there's a lot of glass. The load of the canopy is going to be transferred downward to the stand through those panes which will be under compression because of the canopy weight. 

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I would be moderately concerned (at least enough to be careful) about attempting to support the canopy on the rim of the tank and the studs. In theory, everything is square and you’ll be fine. However, very few walls are perfectly square. Having even a slight eccentric load on the rim of the tank due to a non-square wall can dramatically increase point loading on the glass. 

 

Think of it like this: set the lid on the tank. Now, when you go to screw it to the studs, as you tighten the screws down hard there is a very real possibility for the lid to tip up (I.e. not be supported by the tank at all any more), or tip down (putting a load *in addition to* the weight - mostly on the front corners). Now, if there’s any left - to - right movement due to screwing it down then you have even more potential problems. 

 

If it wereme, I wouldn’t screw-in to the walls. Design it light enough where you aren’t concerned about the weight.

 

OR, make a “false hood”. Basically an empty “box” that sits on the tank itself, but nearly open in the back. Then, make your brackets etc to hold your lights, and screw this to the wall, but do not attach this brackets to the false hood. 

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^^Very good points. Asymmetric loading can be a real problem leading to joint seals failing as well.

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Good points and thanks for the input..

I guess my question is, what is considered an acceptable weight? I have to imagine some of the canopies I have seen with fancy trim and MH lights etc are over 100 pounds... any thoughts on amount of weight?

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No thoughts on the weight question. The answer to that question might well depend on the dimensions and composition of the specific glass that is used in the tank. But, that said, there are a lot of big canopies out there. You're not alone in asking, though. I just tried Googling "how much can an aquarium canopy weigh" and received several hits that you may want to look into as you try to find an answer. If any of those resources, or others that you find, are any good, feel free to post what you learn here. I'm sure that it's not the last time we'll hear the question. 

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Because I can't seem to find a way to post a specific post anymore, here is a link to what I did with the canopy on the old 150 a long time ago.

 

DSC_0032_zps7922aa3c.jpg

 

Of course the lights hanging separate were a bit overkill, I should have mounted them into the hood, I probably didn't do that due to the length of the power cords. That hood could raise all the way up to the ceiling and I could work on the tank and then just pull it back down again. 

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We put foam under our tanks to prevent a point source on the top of the stand from cracking the glass.  Why not apply the same principle to your hood?

 

Buy a roll of velcro tape and attach the "loop" part to the bottom of the hood, where it rests on the tank rim.  That will help spread the weight of the hood more evenly.  I'm pretty risk-adverse with my aquarium and over-engineering things, and this is what I plan to do for my very heavy hood.  

 

 

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I'm going to quick hijack to tell Jon what I did under my current tank:

 

I don't actually like using foam for my tank. I have a "lip" on my stand so my tank actually sits "inside" the top of the stand (molding is all the way around the exterior bottom of the tank) So if I use thick enough foam to make me feel better, it raises the tank too high. If I use thing foam/rubber, then I feel that while I still spread out the point loads a little, it's not much really and I still have areas of high/low contact forces.

 

So, I know this won't work for everyone in every circumstance, but it worked brilliantly for me. I laid down a very thick bead of construction adhesive on my stand. I then covered this bead with two layers of cling wrap. VERY carefully, with two people (only a 40 gallon tank, but I had to be careful) we set the tank down as close to vertically onto the cling wrap. The construction adhesive squirted out everywhere, but the cling wrap stopped it from touching my tank. I let it sit for a day, the pulled the tank off. The cling wrap peeled right off (did not stick in the least), and I was left with a perfectly smooth, and hard surface to put my tank back on. No high spots, no low spots - I checked with a straight edge. In the uncured form, the putty-like consistency of the adhesive formed a conformable thickness interstitial layer between the stand and the tank. When cured, the entire tank is supported perfectly. 

 

Back to the regularly scheduled program.....

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No thoughts on the weight question. The answer to that question might well depend on the dimensions and composition of the specific glass that is used in the tank. But, that said, there are a lot of big canopies out there. You're not alone in asking, though. I just tried Googling "how much can an aquarium canopy weigh" and received several hits that you may want to look into as you try to find an answer. If any of those resources, or others that you find, are any good, feel free to post what you learn here. I'm sure that it's not the last time we'll hear the question. 
Thanks.. yea I have looked through most of the threads I have found and all have different answers.. although none have any reason to doubt reasonable strength..

The glass is 1/2 inch. I am guessing the canopy will be in the 150 pound range with lights and all.. we may end up hanging it from the ceiling..

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The good news is that, had a tank exploded because of a heavy canopy, somebody would have likely chimed in. But you didn't see that. Probably still a risk, but is it a risk that you want to take? That's the big question. Keep in mind that most recent home construction uses roof trusses that were not built to bear substantial downward pressure on the horizontal chord. As long as the attachment point is relatively close to a wall, though, you'll probably be just fine as most of the load will be transmitted through that, downward to the floor joists.

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Still have to add trim and doors along with a few other odds and ends... coming together tho...4445a806e3a398614b223b2af859125f.jpg0ef86305a437f7deb811530cbcb31c7b.jpg

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Are you all the way up against the ceiling? You should attach the canopy to joists if it is. I have a huge canopy over my tank, but there’s not much of a frame. It’s a minimal frame to support the cabinetry pieces since the canopy itself is not load bearing. For what it’s worth, my builder wasn’t concerned about canopy weight, but I did describe my plan to him. Also my tank is literally built like a tank. It is 1/2” double euro braced on the top and euro braced on the bottom too.

I don’t have a great picture of it in progress. Here’s one before the trim went up.

f11f0238f07b89b06fb86f7014394659.jpg

Here’s a really long winded video where I show how the canopy insides work. The first few minutes are relevant to this discussion

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Awesome setup... yes the top is to the ceiling and screwed into a joist.. not sure how much weight is transferred.. but its secure haha

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Sidebar: Are you covering your window on the left with the tank? Or does it fit perfectly in that space between the window and the door? 

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Sidebar: Are you covering your window on the left with the tank? Or does it fit perfectly in that space between the window and the door? 
It fits perfectly.. there is a 4" piece of window trim between the tank and the window...

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It fits perfectly.. there is a 4" piece of window trim between the tank and the window...

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Beautiful!


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Sidebar: Are you covering your window on the left with the tank? Or does it fit perfectly in that space between the window and the door? 
Here is a side shot. Still need to finish the trim around the top and on the very bottom and add doors of course.. d0ed95997100b302ecd0b461bce8d5ad.jpg

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Nice looking setup, did you end up supporting it from the ceiling also?
Thanks! We did screw into a joist

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