Best canopy design for accessing big tank

[DaveB]

I've been planning all along to just do a canopy with cabinet doors that swing out as the access points. But I got to thinking about glass tops and then having to open them from through those holes and now I think that might be sort of awkward.

Additionally, since I have an arowana, I'd like to have some weighting on those glass tops, which I was thinking maybe could be built into the canopy.

So now I'm thinking that a hinged canopy that swings up and out of the way is the best way to go.

The drawback to that idea is that then the canopy has to be one giant 96x30 piece, which is hard to move/remove/replace. I had previously been thinking that a two-piece setup like this would be best - that way it'd be much more manageable. But there's no perfect way to design that with a hinge... there'd have to be a visible seam in the middle, which I don't want.

I've never had a tank this big with a canopy before, so I don't know from experience what is easiest - should I just go with 2 pieces and swinging cabinet doors, but with plenty of clearance inside for the glass tops? What's the best design for a big canopy?

 

[pjsmetana]

Why not build one where the shelfs are elevated and under them has the vertically swinging access door? Its the idea I've been working on for about a week with my big tank. The problem I keep coming up with is... what do I do about condensation into the wood canopy? Also, battling the weight of the thing for when I have to move/remove it. I feel your pain bro. If you come up with a nice idea, let me know.

 

[T@nkbuster]

I have a 96x30 1 piece hood. It needs 2 people to move because of the length but it's not that heavy. I have an arowana comm so had it built with this in mine. It has three wooden doors up top that span the whole length of the tank and half the width. The doors have thin slats to combat condensation (not sure if it really works but have not had any condensation issues so far). I will take pictures on Sunday if you would like.

 

[DaveB]

Why not build one where the shelfs are elevated and under them has the vertically swinging access door? Its the idea I've been working on for about a week with my big tank. The problem I keep coming up with is... what do I do about condensation into the wood canopy? Also, battling the weight of the thing for when I have to move/remove it. I feel your pain bro. If you come up with a nice idea, let me know.

I don't know what you mean... got a diagram or pic?

Condensation should be fine because of the glass tops. I'm sure I could just build a canopy that's heavy enough that an aro couldn't jump out and leave the water open, but it's better for the wood to have the glass.

I have a 96x30 1 piece hood. It needs 2 people to move because of the length but it's not that heavy. I have an arowana comm so had it built with this in mine. It has three wooden doors up top that span the whole length of the tank and half the width. The doors have thin slats to combat condensation (not sure if it really works but have not had any condensation issues so far). I will take pictures on Sunday if you would like.

I liked how Joefish put handles on the top of his canopy, so at least picking it up was easy enough. I'll probably do that, especially if I make the canopy tall (which is likely). But space will be limited so I'd rather not make it all one piece, even if a tall one would mean I wouldn't have to remove it to have easy tank access.