Waterbox Marine X 60.2 DIY canopy

[ericgriffin]

I was getting tired of the excessive light spillage from my rimless tank (waterbox marine x 60.2) and the resultant blue cast over the whole room. Shades around the lights helped a tiny bit but didn't solve the problem, so I built a canopy to contain the light. The difference is night and day (well, blue and no blue). I made it from 1/4" PVC sheets from home depot, cut to size on a table saw, and glued together with clear PVC glue. Corners are reinforced with aluminum angle bar, which is also used to support the lid, and the canopy itself on the rim of the display tank. I love the look of a rimless tank, but this now looks way cleaner imo. My eyes are naturally drawn to the contents of the aquarium instead of the lights and water surface. Happy to share the measurements/design/construction with any other 60.2 owners.

Before and after lighting in the room is the same (including raw photo temp) - the only difference is the canopy.

Before:

After:

 

[AKG]

Holy crap this is genius, I think I'm going to do this myself! I've been using blue tape!

Is the front panel on a hinge so you may be able to open it from the front for maintenance?

 

[ericgriffin]

Holy crap this is genius, I think I'm going to do this myself! I've been using blue tape!

Is the front panel on a hinge so you may be able to open it from the front for maintenance?

No hinges in this one - I thought about it, but kept it simple since I wanted to validate the design and construction first without overcomplicating it. For simple feeding I just need to lift the top panel, and for maintenance the whole thing lifts right off pretty easily. I haven't found it to be much of a hassle.

 

[AKG]

No hinges in this one - I thought about it, but kept it simple since I wanted to validate the design and construction first without overcomplicating it. For simple feeding I just need to lift the top panel, and for maintenance the whole thing lifts right off pretty easily. I haven't found it to be much of a hassle.

That's true pvc isn't really very heavy. Thinking about this for my tanks now, but what size does the PVC sheet come in?

 

[ericgriffin]

That's true pvc isn't really very heavy. Thinking about this for my tanks now, but what size does the PVC sheet come in?

I used 2’x4’ sheets, but you can also get it in 4’x8’

 

[AKG]

I used 2’x4’ sheets, but you can also get it in 4’x8’

Good to know, thank you!

 

[hsosa]

great idea . this may resolve that Picasso blue look in the room for a lot of marine x owners lol. question is that the reef brite add on bar. how did u get the Ecotech bracket to fit on the overflow part of the tank? do u have pics of this area . thanks

 

[ericgriffin]

great idea . this may resolve that Picasso blue look in the room for a lot of marine x owners lol. question is that the reef brite add on bar. how did u get the Ecotech bracket to fit on the overflow part of the tank? do u have pics of this area . thanks

Yes, it's the reef-brite add-on. The Ecotech bracket just barely fits if you remove the extra (unnecessary) spacer piece.

 

[Devaji]

mind posting a link to the PVC board you used. I did search HD but a few options. is this the foam board or the harder stuff?

I need to do something about light spill too the other half hates it.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Wow that's a really good idea. I might end up having to do something like this for when I set up my tank

 

[hsosa]

Yes, it's the reef-brite add-on. The Ecotech bracket just barely fits if you remove the extra (unnecessary) spacer piece.

thank you for the pic omg I didn't even think to remove the spacer lol I was like this doesn't fit . nice setup on the light s .

 

[Nano_Man]

Nice set up

 

[afrokobe]

really clean hood, will probably need to do something similar on my new build.

 

[chardee82]

I used 2’x4’ sheets, but you can also get it in 4’x8’

I can't find PVC anywhere at the moment. Home Depot and Lowes no longer carry it. Any other guesses where to find it. Did you have to paint the PVC? The white looks like an exact match.

 

[chardee82]

I was getting tired of the excessive light spillage from my rimless tank (waterbox marine x 60.2) and the resultant blue cast over the whole room. Shades around the lights helped a tiny bit but didn't solve the problem, so I built a canopy to contain the light. The difference is night and day (well, blue and no blue). I made it from 1/4" PVC sheets from home depot, cut to size on a table saw, and glued together with clear PVC glue. Corners are reinforced with aluminum angle bar, which is also used to support the lid, and the canopy itself on the rim of the display tank. I love the look of a rimless tank, but this now looks way cleaner imo. My eyes are naturally drawn to the contents of the aquarium instead of the lights and water surface. Happy to share the measurements/design/construction with any other 60.2 owners.

Before and after lighting in the room is the same (including raw photo temp) - the only difference is the canopy.

Before:

After:

This looks amazing. 2 Things, I can't find PVC at Home Depot or Lowes now, would something else work the same? What mounting brackets did you use to connect it all together? The white looks just like the color of the stand did you have to paint it or did it match from factory white of the PVC?

 

[wil-yuhm]

Nice design/work! @ericgriffin

 

[jmschrader19]

Your canopy build looks absolutely amazing! Great job and thank you for the inspiration!!

 

[ericgriffin]

This looks amazing. 2 Things, I can't find PVC at Home Depot or Lowes now, would something else work the same? What mounting brackets did you use to connect it all together? The white looks just like the color of the stand did you have to paint it or did it match from factory white of the PVC?

I believe this is what I used, but like you implied, it's out of stock: https://www.homedepot.com/p/1-4-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-White-PVC-Panel-204496/205533723

There are other sources online, but they're a bit more pricy: https://www.eplastics.com/-250-x-24-x-48-White-PVC-Type-1

I glued the sides together using PVC glue and right angle clamps to keep everything square. I then reinforced the corners with short sections of aluminum angle bar (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbil...num-Angle-with-1-16-in-Thick-801727/204273985) that are simply super-glued to the PVC. The same angle bar is used for the supports that sit on the edge of the display tank glass, and for the lid supports.

The factory color and sheen just happens to perfectly match the white Waterbox cabinets. It has no subtle texture unlike the cabinet, but it's extremely hard to tell the difference visually.