offroadodge Posted May 30, 2011 Author Share Posted May 30, 2011 ok, so i started building the caopy this morning and its all built but the vent holes and corner trim. The pics are with it being built and upside down. Next onto the lifting device. Oh also i have some triangle pieces to add to the eurobrace once i can remove clamps, they will tie the corners together better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadodge Posted June 3, 2011 Author Share Posted June 3, 2011 ok, i have been workn on the canopy a little every night and im done with it now. The 4 squares in the front of the canopy are not just for looks, behind them is a 3' hole cut to let air into the canopy. I took my router and cut out the inside of the board so as not to get as much light as possible outside the canopy but still vednt it. Whatcha think? I also purchased the steel today to build the lifting system on the back of the stand to lift the canopy. Its all in my head right now but pics will follow of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Jakedoza Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Nice wood work... I need a truck and some tools.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Excellent idea for venting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoneroller Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Very nice. Is that your offering to the Asterina gods? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadodge Posted June 3, 2011 Author Share Posted June 3, 2011 thanks for the compliments James and Jake. I centered the 3" hole towards the top of the block cause i realy hate seeing the light. I know there will be some ambiant light reflected out but it shouldnt look bad. @ Kevin, i hope not. I have a harlequin so there hasnt been any in the display tank i have now, but in the sump there are a few. The linear actuators should be here next week, until then all i can do is cut the metal pipe to the lenghts i have designed. I should be pretty cool when its done, the actuators will lift the canopy 6' off of the top of the aquarium and then i will pivot it up to the angle of the vaulted ceiling, should give me hopefully 1.5 feet of opening in the front. It will be an over the top project but will make removing the canopy to access the tank easy. There will be a switch inside one of the doors to operate it. I have been keeping the recipts for everything but im affraid to add them up. steel prices right now are VERY high to say the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadodge Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 so does anyone know of anyone on here that works in a machine shop, say if i needed to turn down the outside of a piece of pipe about .020? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhart032 Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Holly crap! That looks great! That thing is huge! Now I know why you need a lift to pick it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadodge Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 so by now yall might be thinking how am i gonna vent the heat outta the canopy? Well this will be achieved this away, using 4" dryer duck parts. Th window behind the tank will have a piece of wood with the same size holes in it with flappers on the outside to keep bugs out. The chiller will be outside also with the lines ran threw other holes cut for them. The nice thing about dryer duct is it expands and contract easy so that i can move the canopy up and down w/o having to remove the lines. The fans will be mounted on the inside of the canopy blowing outas usual. Whatcha think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhart032 Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Should work well. The fans are going to be with the holes? Like 120mm fans flush with the holes blowing out? That Idea? Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadodge Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 ya, i have two 4" icecap variable speed fans, the one that are temp controlled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhart032 Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 That's gonna be awesome should work very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa1tx Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 We have a mini machine shop at my office. I can ask the machinist. How long and what diameter pipe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadodge Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 i got the problem solved this morning, thnk u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+boognish Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Those dryer duct vents are exactly like I'm planning to do, only I will be venting into the garage behind the tank. I am also building a powered lift for my canopy. We should compare plans! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadodge Posted June 5, 2011 Author Share Posted June 5, 2011 alright so here is a sneak peak at what she's gonna look like. I still have to stain and polyurethane the trim on bottom and canopy, but i needed it on the aquarium to get measurements for the lift. My wife was suprised at how lite the canopy is. It doesnt weight but about what 2-5gallon water jugs do. If that. Also im glad it fit the aquarium, i made it 1/4" bigger than the aquarium with the hopes that it would. My actuators left Canada yesterday and should be here by Friday this next week. I'll leave ya with a picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa1tx Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 WOW! that is definitely a beautiful setup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Jakedoza Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 nice... Looks good. Makes me want to do so much more to my setup, but money is an issue.. :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+C Lo Slice Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Well this looks just flat out awesome. I absolutely love that external overflow! Gives the tank such a cleaner look. You've done a great job, man. I can't wait to see this progress more. Keep up the great (and inspiring!) work. - Caleb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadodge Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 so word to the wise, i had one of my metal pipes fall against the side of the overflow box and crack it. Just the side, dont realy think it gonna be an issue so i put some silicone over the whole side of the glass inside. At a later date if it becoms an issue i can just drain the tank down to the overflow height and remopve the piece of glass and make another one. On that note I started building the lif Monday at work and today i got to see if it slid up and down w/o actuators and it worked like a champ.Thank you for the compliments ALL...I put the black background on the other day and am just waiting for the actuators to come in so i can drill the stand for the lift to mount to. I have a cell phone pic of the lift and will try and post it later.Ok well i got it transfered to the computer, basically the top "H" is a bigger pipe than the lower "H", they slide inside themselves. On the top there are tabs for mounting a 3/8" hyme joint (to act as a hinge) for the arms that extend into the top of the canopy. I still have to weld the tabs for the actuators to be mounted on but thats NO biggie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadodge Posted June 9, 2011 Author Share Posted June 9, 2011 so this will help clarify how it works,1. The yellow arrow is the temporary clamp to keep the pipe from sliding to far down, hence where the 2 pipes slide together.2. The blue arrows show where the 3/8" hyme joints are for the arms that go into the canopy to be threaded on.3. The red arrow indicate the direction in which each "H" as i call them will move.4. The green arrows show where the actuators will be mounted to push the upper "H" up therefore lifting the canopy. Once lifted, then i will tilt the caonpy up on the hyme joints to the angle of the ceiling.The lower "H" will be bolted to the stand with 5/8" mounts i have built. It will run on a 12V motocycle battery with a trickle charger hooked to it. The actuator dont draw much power and at full load 150lbs each they move .59"/sec. Pretty fast if you ask me at full load. I wont have near that much weight. So rough math: 6"s of lift,1/2" a second, a little under 12 seconds. With NO straining!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoneroller Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Surely, you will be raising it more than 6 inches. What's the maximum lift? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadodge Posted June 9, 2011 Author Share Posted June 9, 2011 Yes 6" is all the lift it will have, then it will hinge up 12"-15" to give me a total of around 15"-20" of opening. I could cut a hole in the roof and make it go higher i guess...JK. Its just gonna lift it high enough to get it off of the aqurium where i can hinge it up . OK, well i couldnt stand the thought of having to later move the tank to fix the glass that was cracked in the overflow box so i fix it the correct way instead of leaving it jerry rigged with silicone. It was eating at me. I think that youll agree when you see the pictures. 1st pic broken glass rigged with silicone inside 2nd removed glass clean-up 3rd new glass i cut 4th new glass installed for some reason there not in order Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bige Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Why did the glass break? Love the build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 That looks much better. Glad you fixed it! You can't build a tank this incredible and leave a little pane of glass busted This has been an amazing build to follow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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