Canopy Design/system Design

[kjardine519]

I had some spare time to play around with sketch-up, Used it for measurements on my stand/floor layout.
Needed to design a floating look to a canopy for a rimless tank with led lighting

Blue section is 2x2s
Red section is 2x4s (1x1 to see the dowels for lighting)
Green section is going to wrap around entire canopy, front section will have a easy release for tank access
Purple are dowels or aluminum squares, something strong to hold the light

This is a general idea, I plan to use 90deg brackets from the blue/red
The blue 2x2 is going to be reinforced to the stand, also the blue cross section length wise may be a 2x4 or another 2x2 placed aprox 8 inches from bottom of tank

At this time it is be a trial and error process. I want this look just trying to find a way to achieve it

 

[kjardine519]

everything would be sealed in the correct paint

 

[heath]

how are you going to attach it to the tank, looks a bit top heavy at the front .. did you want it an open area from the top of the tank to the bottom of the canopy...

 

[kjardine519]

Yes there's going to be approx. 6 inch area from the canopies edge to the tank. The design is always going to top heavy and unbalanced so weight reductions and load strength have to be focused on, it needs to be reinforced. the canopy is utilized hide LED lighting, wiring & light spill. the 2x2s are counter sunk into the stand to a 4x4 ply base. this is going to be holding aprox 10- 15lbs max. I am aiming for a floating appearance for the front and 2 sides of the tank. I have no designs to go off of, has anyone seen anything like this before ?

 

[kjardine519]

I may end up having to use some aluminum square tubing

 

[kjardine519]

Sneak peek before build thread

 

[kjardine519]

The stand is also built for a 48" long tank upgrade, when I get a house !