New idea canopy with front glass panel

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Kelly_Aquatics

Kelly_Aquatics

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Jun 4, 2020
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So I have an idea I have a 75g that I want to turn into a odd ball tank I will move my two delhezi bichirs and get a group of 3 clouded archers I wanted to setup a land part or above ground area with vines or branches for the archer to hunt but if I lowered the water level to do so the tank would be over stocked space and bioload wise soooo what is my solution?
a canopy with front veiwing panels!!! this allows me to have a land area without lowering the water level I have never heard of this being done here is a very very rough sketch but you get the idea
also I thought Hendre Hendre might like this as he has a 75g oddball tank


Let me know what you think
20200810_124140.jpg
 
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I like it. Basically you’re making an extension for an above water feature. I think weight will be the biggest priority because I don’t know how your stand is built but the taller it gets, the higher the center of gravity. Maybe some really thin plastic/acrylic panels with wood trim to keep it light weight and prevent splashing. Maybe ceiling mount the lights and make it open top? Has to be light enough to move to clean the tank I’d assume. Looking forward to the build.
 
B B1GC0UNTRY also the tank over laps the stand by about 1/4 of a inch I know that the trim helps even stuff out and the tank has been like this for over a year
but will this cause problems structurally I will try to even it out when I wrap the stand
 
I had a similar set-up many years ago, back when I had lots of time and no money. It was a 30gallon glass tank, filled to the top and utilizing internal sponge filters. I had an identical 30gallon with a cracked viewing panel that sat on top of the good tank, upside down, creating the enclosure. The cracked panel was carefully removed and a pair of sliding door plastic tracks (mounted on the plastic top and bottom frames) allowed a pair of thin glass doors to close the front. A series of "pegs" were mounted on the top frame of the broken tank, so that when it was inverted onto the good tank, the pegs snugged inside the rim of the lower, good tank and prevented the top one from sliding around or slipping off.

It worked...sorta, kinda...but was far from ideal. First off, my set-up was for Archers as well; feeding them crickets and flies was extremely entertaining, but the bugs that escaped through the gaps in the sliding doors weren't a big hit with my parents.

Second, an enclosure like this needs some attention paid to ventilation. Otherwise, fogging of the interior surfaces quickly takes the "cool factor" down close to zero. If I did it again I would take out another panel of the top tank and screen off that opening, then install sliding doors on it as well so they could be used to control internal humidity.

Finally, even with the front doors removed, any major work inside the bottom tank required the top tank to be removed. That got old real fast.

All of these issues can probably be dealt with easily, but much better to do it right the first time rather than correct it later. Plan carefully before beginning, and good luck!
 
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Kelly_Aquatics said:
B B1GC0UNTRY also the tank over laps the stand by about 1/4 of a inch I know that the trim helps even stuff out and the tank has been like this for over a year
but will this cause problems structurally I will try to even it out when I wrap the stand
Click to expand...
You could put a sheet of plywood the size of the tank on top of the stand so all sides are fully supported.
 
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