Canopy

LadyMac · Sep 11, 2018

Morning!

My husband doesn't like me messing with glass or power tools, he's afraid I won't be careful. So that makes me have to get creative in my ventures for aquatics. Awhile back, I got some of the foam boards from the dollar tree. Using tape I fitted a decent canopy. Well last week we had to bomb the house, so the tank needed covering and I didn't want residue on the canopy. So I press n sealed the tank, and placed the canopy outside. Our luck it decided to downpour. We all know what happens to paper done this way. A new canopy was in order.

A trip to the Dollar tree yeilded me see electrical tape, packaging tape and white foam board. I wanted black but nowhere local had any. So I had to compromise .to keep the light from escaping I taped the entire inside of the construction with electrical tape. This alsoawill help keep it bowong from trappedoisture. I used packaging tape to hold the joints and stuff all together. White can be boring, and being an artist I see a blank canvas. So today and tomorrow and possibly the next day, I will be gessoing the outside. Now is where I run into my issue .I've no clue what I want to paint on this thing. I want to paint the top and all sides.

If anyone has any ideas for what would be a great scenery to put on this, I would be much obliged.

Squeaky McMurdo · Sep 12, 2018

Interesting idea using foam boards

LadyMac · Sep 14, 2018

Thanks :) it seems to work well enough. Keeps the fish in which is theain importance. I'm still not sure what I want to paint on it though .one more coat of gesso and it should be primed enough.

Squeaky McMurdo · Sep 14, 2018

I thought it was kind of strange at first, but the idea is growing on me. I might do it with mine until my husband builds me a wood one. I lost patience with him and started making temporary doors for my stand to keep my kids out of it. I covered them in contact paper yesterday and as I was doing that, I thought of this thread and how the contact paper would work pretty well with foam boards. And it wouldn’t be heavy like the canopy on my 60 gallon so it wouldn’t matter if the top didn’t open for cleaning. I have an ugly temporary lid on it right now to keep fish from jumping out.

phlibbyreefer · Sep 14, 2018

maybe consider ventilation holes / fans.

LadyMac · Sep 14, 2018

Squeaky McMurdo said:
I thought it was kind of strange at first, but the idea is growing on me. I might do it with mine until my husband builds me a wood one. I lost patience with him and started making temporary doors for my stand to keep my kids out of it. I covered them in contact paper yesterday and as I was doing that, I thought of this thread and how the contact paper would work pretty well with foam boards. And it wouldn’t be heavy like the canopy on my 60 gallon so it wouldn’t matter if the top didn’t open for cleaning. I have an ugly temporary lid on it right now to keep fish from jumping out.

Yes one of the main reasons for this was because I have pretty bad hands. I can't lift things too heavy because of them .so something almost weightless is perfect.

LadyMac · Sep 14, 2018

phlibbyreefer said:
maybe consider ventilation holes / fans.

I have the sump uncovered, and we keep the house cool enough. I don't use a heater in there. Right now the temp stays a nice 78. I will look into how to add fans thougg, that would be a neat concept for foam.