I screwed up my canopy- help me start anew?

[SallyWho]

I did a really crappy job on my canopy, and of course it's all wonky now. I have to support the front of it with blocks, and tipping it up is a questionable endeavor. It's currently bolted to two TV wall mounts which are screwed into wall joists- I can partially swing it out from over the tank, or tip it up and prop it like a car hood. A while back, I had it tipped up to do maintenance and accidentally bumped the piece of wood that I use to prop it up. The canopy came slamming down to its resting position, I heard some screws or bolts or something break loose, and now it's...just not right. It needs replacing before whatever went wrong decides to make itself more than just an ugly nuisance.

I want to hang a new one from the ceiling. I probably should have done this in the first place. What do you think of a lightweight frame made from PVC pipe? I can use eyelets to attach cables to the corners. I'd really like to be able to raise and lower it, and tip it up like my current one, because that kind of access to the top of the tank is a major plus. I did some ceiling-poking (I hate popcorn ceilings) and found the joists; they're off center from the tank (which runs parallel to the joists). If I just take some 1x2s or something low profile and screw pieces perpendicular across from one joist to the next, I can attach hooks to that in order to hang the canopy, right? And if I want to be able to raise/lower and tip it, I'll need to use a cable that strong enough to withstand regular friction. Will one of those plastic-coated cables (like the kind you can use for dog runs) work, or do I need something different? I'm assuming regular rope or exposed metal in a cable would not do well over time with all that moisture right below it. An actual pulley, or just an eye hook with the cable passing through? And I was thinking about using garden fabric on top, to help reduce light bleed but still allowing plenty of ventilation. I'll figure out how to make it pretty around the edges later, after I've figured out how to make it work! What are your thoughts on my preliminary plan? Any suggestions? I appreciate it!

 

[Urtoo]

Aluminum angle iron, rivet or braise a frame would be plenty light and strong.
I would use small pulleys attached to eye bolts that are set in the joists. What lights are you going to hang from this?
Maybe some 2-3” long pieces of thin black non translucent acrylic sheet to cover the bleed from the front.

 

[SallyWho]

Aluminum angle iron, rivet or braise a frame would be plenty light and strong.
I would use small pulleys attached to eye bolts that are set in the joists. What lights are you going to hang from this?
Maybe some 2-3” long pieces of thin black non translucent acrylic sheet to cover the bleed from the front.

I have two old Ecotech Radions on T-slot rails, and a T5 retrofit kit. The T5s won't be a problem- they weigh next to nothing and I can easily mount the tombstones to the frame. The T-slot rails for the radions are shorter than the full length of the canopy, so I thought I'd just run two appropriately spaced lengths of PVC down the middle and mount the rails on them. Shouldn't be too awful.

Good idea on the acrylic sheets! Lightweight, easy, relatively cheap.

 

[Urtoo]

I would not trust pvc to hold my lights. Maybe if you don’t want to rivet or braise aluminum, spend the bit more and build a canopy with extruded aluminum. Once connect they are extremely strong and light.
Easy LEGO type construction.
No worries or losing a light and electrocuted coral/fishies

 

[SallyWho]

I would not trust pvc to hold my lights. Maybe if you don’t want to rivet or braise aluminum, spend the bit more and build a canopy with extruded aluminum. Once connect they are extremely strong and light.
Easy LEGO type construction.
No worries or losing a light and electrocuted coral/fishies

Out of curiosity, why wouldn't you trust PVC? I wouldn't be using the thin flimsy size- probably 1 1/4" to 1.5"- so it should be able to hold the weight of some T-slot, LEDs and T5s, right?

The main reason I ask is that I have PVC cutters, but nothing with which to cut or bend anything made of metal.

 

[Urtoo]

I wouldn’t trust pvc due to a personal experience with it.
I enjoy aluminum construction, not at all harder to work with than wood for me. Uses the same tools to cut it as well. If you have a saw or drill you are pretty good. But, do what you are comfortable with above all else.

 

[SallyWho]

Bump!

This is my current canopy. Probably should have posted pics of it in the original post.

 

[jd371]

Looking at your canopy I see why you need those blocks, too much weight for the mounts to support. You would need to move the mounting point to the top center of the canopy to support it, not on the sides. If you plan on using this canopy hang it from the ceiling at all four corners with wire or move the TV mounts to the ceiling and attach them to the center of the canopy this way you can also lift the canopy up out of the way when working in the tank.

This is mine that I made out of 1x10's, it's a simple canopy to house the Aquaticlife Hybrid fixture and Kessils.

 

[ArmyReefer]

Looking at your canopy I see why you need those blocks, too much weight for the mounts to support. You would need to move the mounting point to the top center of the canopy to support it, not on the sides. If you plan on using this canopy hang it from the ceiling at all four corners with wire or move the TV mounts to the ceiling and attach them to the center of the canopy this way you can also lift the canopy up out of the way when working in the tank.

This is mine that I made out of 1x10's, it's a simple canopy to house the Aquaticlife Hybrid fixture and Kessils.

JD

Did you leave the top open for ventilation? I am planning on making a similar one, but was going to make it hollow for ventilation puroposes

 

[jd371]

Yep, I left it open and put the power strip inside so all the wires for the lighting are contained in the canopy and the only wire hanging off the back is for the power strip.

 

[SallyWho]

Looking at your canopy I see why you need those blocks, too much weight for the mounts to support. You would need to move the mounting point to the top center of the canopy to support it, not on the sides. If you plan on using this canopy hang it from the ceiling at all four corners with wire or move the TV mounts to the ceiling and attach them to the center of the canopy this way you can also lift the canopy up out of the way when working in the tank.

This is mine that I made out of 1x10's, it's a simple canopy to house the Aquaticlife Hybrid fixture and Kessils.

It USED to support itself before I messed it up! LOL This one is too heavy and poorly built to hang from the ceiling. I'm thinking a lightweight PVC frame to hang & attach the lights to, that I can raise and tilt as needed.

 

[jd371]

Before the canopy I had the Kessils and a dual T5 hanging from furniture grade PVC attached to a shelf. It worked fine for those but when I added the fixture it was too heavy so I opted to build a floating canopy for it. Another reason was to clean up the wall behind the tank so it wasn't all cluttered.

 

[Ratherbeflyen]

I'm sorry this project became such a headache for you. What did you end up with for a canopy?

 

[SallyWho]

I'm sorry this project became such a headache for you. What did you end up with for a canopy?

Something kind of ugly, but functional. It hangs from pulleys acrewed to the ceiling rafters, and the sides are spray painted acrylic sheets attached to the frame by magnets so they can be easily removed.