DIY acrylic canopy *Special Thanks to @TheHarold*

[Sparkymarc]

Hey all! I would like to share my DIY acrylic canopy that I made for my 270gal.

I have a 270 gal peninsula with a 61”Aquatic Life/Radion hybrid. I love the light but it is bright and it lights up my whole living room. Lol. So my goal was to contain the light to the tank. After a lot of back and forth, I decided that I didn’t want a big canopy hanging over my tank or sitting on my tank because, when the T5’s aren’t on, I enjoy the rimless aspect of my tank. Also, being 3’ wide, a wooden canopy would make it hard to do maintenance and propagating. Another option would be to make some kind of deflectors to mount to the light but I really didn’t want it to look like a spaceship hovering over my tank. Lol

 

[lapin]

Nice

 

[Sparkymarc]

Ok, so after thinking about it for a while, I decided that I would make a canopy out of 1/8” acrylic and some 3D printed pieces. The acrylic part was easy. Just took some measurements of my tank and ordered some 1/8” black acrylic. The 3D printed pieces were gonna be a little more of a challenge because I do not have a 3D printer. Lol. R2R made that easy though.

Through the R2R forums, I had the pleasure of meeting @TheHarold. @TheHarold told me he would make the parts I needed, which really made my day.

So, after I came up with some mediocre sketches, @TheHarold was able to send me some 3D previews, which were exactly what I needed. Once I told him they were good, it’s was off to printing.

Printing the pieces didn’t take long at all and, when they arrived, I was really impressed. The measurements that were given had to be, pretty much, dead on. After chatting with @TheHarold, I knew they would be perfect.

 

[Sparkymarc]

Should’ve been more specific but my tank is 6’x3’ and I cut the acrylic into 3’ pieces so I would have 5 separate pieces

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Following. Lets see it!

 

[Sparkymarc]

Nice

Thanks!

 

[Sparkymarc]

After making some mods to the acrylic, I got it all assembled on the tank. It ended up turning out a lot better than I thought. If it wasn’t for @TheHarold, it would not have turned out so good. I would, most definitely, recommend him for all your 3D printing needs.

 

[Sparkymarc]

BEFORE

 

[Sparkymarc]

AFTER

 

[Sparkymarc]

Here’s some pics. Whatchu think! Be brutal. Haha

 

[xxkenny90xx]

This is exactly what I want for my tank! I really like the way you put it together. I've just been planing to magnet acrylic pieces to a wood frame.

 

[qhduong]

Looks great! Do you glue the acrylic to 3d part or just hang them? I'm thinking of doing this for a 300 XL. How much did it end up costing?

 

[Sparkymarc]

This is exactly what I want for my tank! I really like the way you put it together. I've just been planing to magnet acrylic pieces to a wood frame.

Thanks! I really like being able to take out just one panel or all, if needed. The 3D printed pieces really made it easy to work with and look really good.

 

[Snoopy 67]

I did something similar when I had halides.
I used 3/32" abs which has a dull textured finish.
It handles heat better than acrylic.

 

[Sparkymarc]

Looks great! Do you glue the acrylic to 3d part or just hang them? I'm thinking of doing this for a 300 XL. How much did it end up costing?

No glue at all but the 3d parts fit fairly tight. Not too tight though. I think that makes it easier to take apart. As far as cost, I think the acrylic was about $125. I went all out with the 3d parts and they really help with making it more solid at the joints. For all the pieces I had made, which was a lot, I think it was about $250-$300. All of the pieces that @TheHarold made were perfect and if they were off at all, it would work. For me it was well worth it and I’m happy with the outcome.

 

[Sparkymarc]

I did something similar when I had halides.
I used 3/32" abs which has a dull textured finish.
It handles heat better than acrylic.

Yeah, I have a feeling that I may be replacing the panels in the future. T5’s do generate some heat.