A simple canopy for a 29g aquarium

Evan came over with a couple of 2' x 4' birch plywood 3/4" lumber, and we took a couple of hours to create a canopy that would house a 250w 14,000K MH bulb, reflector, cooling fan and ballast.

This is the front of the canopy, with a hole in the right side for a 120mm cooling fan.

The left end of the canopy. The solid sheet facing the right is the access door.

Rear of the canopy. The cross brace was installed leaving a 1.5" gap to allow heat to vent out easily.

Inside the canopy, using 1" strips of 3/4" birch that will rest on the frame of the tank.

The pointed piece of wood is a hanger bracket. The matching piece is secured in the canopy.

Evan will lift the door off and out of the way. To replace it, he puts it straight in, and lowers it onto the hangers on each end.

Here you can see how they meshed perfectly. We did have to leave a good 1" of space above the hanger strip, so that it would fit in before lowering into place. Everything was glued with wood glue and secured with a finishing nailer.

Here's another shot of the lip that rests on the top of the tank. The lip is installed so that ~1.25" of wood to hide the plastic trim when it is on the tank.

Two blocks of plywood were affixed to the top of the canopy for the reflector to be screwed into. This avoids screws coming out the top and allows the heat to vent out around the reflector so it doesn't cook the canopy's surface.

The spider reflector fit nicely, but we did have to bend it slightly to keep it within the 12" width of the tank. On a wider tank, it would have been better to run the reflector & bulb perpendicular to the tank for better light distribution.

The cooling fan is a 110v system, and is wired directly into the same cord the the MH ballast is. When the lights are on, the fan is running. The lighting will run on a timer.

A protective grill will keep fingers safer.

The ballast is affixed to the back, above the water level where it will remain dry.

It took about 2 hours to build this canopy, and the wood cost about $40 to $45 including some stainless steel screws. The inside was painted later with Kilz which protects the wood from moisture and reflects the light. The outside was painted black to match the stand. More pictures will be added when they arrive.