diabeetus Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 i have very bright MH clip on lamp on my 29g biocube and i have been annoyed by the excess light because it is in my bedroom. i was wondering if anyone had any DIY canopy for this tank, or any nano that i could just change the dimensions thanks, -Corey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Moving this to the DIY category. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diabeetus Posted November 2, 2009 Author Share Posted November 2, 2009 Moving this to the DIY category. oh yeah, haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diabeetus Posted November 2, 2009 Author Share Posted November 2, 2009 o i forgot to say. this is not a closed canopy. just covers the sides where te light shines thru, between the tank and the light fixture. so there is not any retro fits going in or anything like that, just a decorative cover to block extra light thanks Corey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 I had a similar situation with a pendant the hung over out 29. I gutted an old hood I had for it.I will try to get a photo up tonight when I get home. You could build a three side open canopy with a small rail on the inside to rest on the lip of the tank. Dave- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diabeetus Posted November 2, 2009 Author Share Posted November 2, 2009 dave, i was thinking just that a pic tonight would be awesome! i think i really just need an idea on the layout and the over all aesthetics of it. thanks i love building things so this should be a fun little project for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzobob Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 I had a similar open top 'canopy' for my solana. Fairly straight forward to make. The front and sides were just 5" red oak stained on the outside and painted liberally with kills on the inside. Had a 1/2" X 1/2 " x 4" rail on the front and sides for it to rest on. The back had a 2" tall heavily kills'ed piece to help maintain rigidity. I imagine, depending on how nice you want this to look, that this would be somewhat more difficult on a biocube due to the rounded front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Here is the cannibalized top: Over the tank: You may need to use some molding on the front edges due to the curvature of the bio-cube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diabeetus Posted November 3, 2009 Author Share Posted November 3, 2009 Here is the cannibalized top: Over the tank: You may need to use some molding on the front edges due to the curvature of the bio-cube. woah! awesome! how tall is that and what it it? plexi-glass? plexiglass painted might work. it bends so i could somehow bend it to match the curve of the biocube. looks good! would look better than wood i think. nice and clean looking to go with the over all cleanliness of the biocube itself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diabeetus Posted November 3, 2009 Author Share Posted November 3, 2009 I had a similar open top 'canopy' for my solana. Fairly straight forward to make. The front and sides were just 5" red oak stained on the outside and painted liberally with kills on the inside. Had a 1/2" X 1/2 " x 4" rail on the front and sides for it to rest on. The back had a 2" tall heavily kills'ed piece to help maintain rigidity. I imagine, depending on how nice you want this to look, that this would be somewhat more difficult on a biocube due to the rounded front. i work at lowes in the lumber dept, that being said, today at work i completely ignored my duties to try and figure out how wide the wood should be and what kind of molding would look simple but goo and clean. but being wood, it will be square and the biocube is curved, even the stand is curved so it might look awkward i think. so if the plexi glass idea turns out to be a good one, and the bend stays, i might just have to go with that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 It's made of wood and painted black. Then it has 4 coats of Marine polyurethane to seal and protect the finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diabeetus Posted November 3, 2009 Author Share Posted November 3, 2009 oh, it looks super shiny. just the glare i guess. looks really good. very simple. goes to show i dont need trim to make it look good. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 You can curve wood, especially thinner wood, by steaming it and then clamping is in the shape of the curve. When it dries it will retain the curve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diabeetus Posted November 3, 2009 Author Share Posted November 3, 2009 You can curve wood, especially thinner wood, by steaming it and then clamping is in the shape of the curve. When it dries it will retain the curve. mike, do you think a 1X6 (3/4X5 1/2) will be bendable? how would you steam it? sounds like a good idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diabeetus Posted November 3, 2009 Author Share Posted November 3, 2009 You can curve wood, especially thinner wood, by steaming it and then clamping is in the shape of the curve. When it dries it will retain the curve. do you, or anyone else for that matter, have a steam box i could borrow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 You can curve wood, especially thinner wood, by steaming it and then clamping is in the shape of the curve. When it dries it will retain the curve. I was wondering when you'd speak up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 I was wondering when you'd speak up. LOL, until I finish my own canopy and help you mod yours I'm not allowed to volunteer to do anyone else's. I have a friend who has a steam box setup that he said works like a champ, but the lumber dimensions are limited to 4" wide. I supposed you could do two boards and glue them together after but you would have to have them curved exactly the same. If you're not familiar with steaming check here How to steam lumber The other alternative is to kerf it, which is the easiest way. You can read about about curving lumber here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddybluewater Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Another way is to cut very thin pieces and laminate them together (glue). When the glue dries they will hold the shape. You have to build a template first then glue it up. I built my daughters bed with 40 or so curved slats in it. I think they took something like 160 1/8"x 1 1/4" pieces of cherry. You could also build it out of 1/4" plywood and cut a cap for the top and the bottom to retain the shape. You would have to use a router and cut a groove in the top and bottom for the plywood to sit in. Again you would have to make a template. There is also plywood that is made to bend. You might could find this at Fine Lumber, Hardwood Products and possibly WoodCraft. But this is going to be the most expensive way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diabeetus Posted November 4, 2009 Author Share Posted November 4, 2009 Another way is to cut very thin pieces and laminate them together (glue). When the glue dries they will hold the shape. You have to build a template first then glue it up. I built my daughters bed with 40 or so curved slats in it. I think they took something like 160 1/8"x 1 1/4" pieces of cherry. You could also build it out of 1/4" plywood and cut a cap for the top and the bottom to retain the shape. You would have to use a router and cut a groove in the top and bottom for the plywood to sit in. Again you would have to make a template. There is also plywood that is made to bend. You might could find this at Fine Lumber, Hardwood Products and possibly WoodCraft. But this is going to be the most expensive way. yeah, i think what youre talking about is called flex molding. it is very expensive. we can special order it at the lowe's i work at. another thing i looked into was pvc molding since it is only 6" tall and we carry 6" wide pvc molding. but again, pretty expensive. i went in on my day off today and bought a piece of warped" 1/4 luanne plywood and it is now sitting over a pot of boiling water as my very ghetto steam box so i can bend it ever so slightly. i traced the curve of the tank on a piece of scrap plywood and cut it out as a template. hopefully this works!! thanks! Corey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Interested to hear how it works for you.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddybluewater Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Flex molding would not work. it has to be nailed to a wall or some sort of structure. It comes in either convex or concave. There is a plywood that bends, I don't think Lowe's would be able to get this. It is a specialty product for high end custom cabinets. If you are wanting to make it out of 1 piece I would laminate pieces together, if you want to make it out of 3 pieces then I would suggest the front curve being made of 1/4" plywood and the sides out of 1/2" or 3/4". If you make the sides out of solid stock then you could round the corners and the would soften it to match the tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diabeetus Posted November 4, 2009 Author Share Posted November 4, 2009 ok, so what ended up happening was i put a rubber tie down strap on it to keep it bent. in the mean time i threw it in the dishwasher after the washing part was done and the steam clean part had just started. (the whole holding it over a boiling pot thing didnt work because it was only steaming the middle of the board...) so after about 10 minutes in the dishwasher, i took it out, soaked and pliable . it worked out very nicely. i left it to dry over night and this morning i took the rubber strap off and it looks great!! i mean, it could look a little more professional but for what im doing, it looks really good now all i have to do is put it together! Corey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diabeetus Posted November 4, 2009 Author Share Posted November 4, 2009 Flex molding would not work. it has to be nailed to a wall or some sort of structure. It comes in either convex or concave. There is a plywood that bends, I don't think Lowe's would be able to get this. It is a specialty product for high end custom cabinets. If you are wanting to make it out of 1 piece I would laminate pieces together, if you want to make it out of 3 pieces then I would suggest the front curve being made of 1/4" plywood and the sides out of 1/2" or 3/4". If you make the sides out of solid stock then you could round the corners and the would soften it to match the tank ah, i didnt know that about the flex molding. i was under a different impression. i also didnt know there was a a bendable plywood that would havebeen interesting to try out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Pics would be cool, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diabeetus Posted November 4, 2009 Author Share Posted November 4, 2009 ok, i will put some up later on today. the only camera that i could use is my girlfriends who is not around right now. maybe i can take a couple on my macbook camera... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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