canopy questions

[jworth]

found a design i like fairly well now i have a couple questions before i start

1. do you use treated wood?
2. if i spray paint will the fumes kill the fish?
3. how do i know if it is going to weigh too much and crash the tank to the floor?

 

[andres]

found a design i like fairly well now i have a couple questions before i start

1. do you use treated wood?
2. if i spray paint will the fumes kill the fish?
3. how do i know if it is going to weigh too much and crash the tank to the floor?

1. I wouldn't
2. Not if you spray paint it elsewhere, let it dry, then add it. I wouldn't try to paint it attached to the tank.
3. What size tank is it? It would have to be pretty heavy to smash it. Unless your planning on building it out of lead or some other ridiculously dense material.

 

[cichlid2006]

i built a canopy for my old tank. it was my first attempt and it was ok but i made it using 5mm ply with a 3/4" beading frame. then i finished it with yacht varnish and siliconed every joint so water couldnt ingress. it turned out pretty good but was exceptionally light too light looking back now. no photos as it was before i joined forums, sorry guys.
take a look at some of the professional canopies and they are made of 1/2"-1" thick particle board and that ends up pretty heavy.
the point is i wouldnt worry about the weight unless your using super heavy materials like lead (as mentioned) or railway sleepers.

 

[andres]

Heres some pics of the canopy I made a while back
Its for a 20G, its just some cheapo plywood, ripped pine which was like 3/4" x 3/4" and some trim. Everything was just 'laying around' nothing special.

A couple coats of polyurethane and no worries about rotting.

 

[keiths]

What should you use to protect lights from getting splashed in a canopy?

 

[chesterthehero]

that light fixture has a plastic shield on it (i have one in my truck)

plexiglass is the easyest/cheapest thing to work with/find

i coated the inside of my canopy with silicone... credit cards work great for "painting"... cardboard also works pretty good if you put some packing tape on it