# finished 125g stand and canopy



## porksnorkel (Oct 6, 2006)

as planned, the front opens up w/ no probs. i can't believe this works!!!:clap:









twin AH Supply 96W lights,in the 10,000k , on a single ballast. the suckers are awesome and easy to hook up.


















dual maintenance doors for HOB activities.









hidey ho! EMP 400!









light ballast and fan. fan is pulling air from inside, helping out natural convection. probably hide these from the front view w/ some trim, when i get a chance.









added a cheapo flourescent, underneath. 10g QT tank also.









FX5 in action.









wiring cacophony. will clean it up later when i get light timers.

hope yall enjoy!:hi:


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## herefishy (Dec 14, 2006)

Awesome job porkster. That is being delivered here Saturday right?


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## Amphitrite (Sep 8, 2006)

Absolutely amazing job Mr Snorkel, it looks fantastic! 

What would you say was the trickiest part of the whole project?


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## porksnorkel (Oct 6, 2006)

herefishy said:


> Awesome job porkster. That is being delivered here Saturday right?


as soon as the football team arrives to move it, and the check is in my account, we'll be on the way buddy!

ty for the compliments guys! amph...i'd have to say the trickiest part would be the actual design and drawing up plans. i almost went insane trying to imagine what i wanted and then put it on paper. all the while trying to get the dimensions exactly like i wanted. there is actually supposed to be a 55g aged water resevoire' underneath, but still deciding if i want to put that in. other than that, the doors were tough to cut and trim.


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

*drool*


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## Jayhawk (Mar 23, 2008)

*Lights*

I am building a canopy for my 125g. I am having a very hard time fuguring out what to do for lighting. Can you get some different pictures of your lights and maybe the exact link or the setup you purchased for your lights.

I just need to make a decison and get it done, but am uncertain on what to do.

Is yours enough for a few live plants as well?

thanks
Ron


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## porksnorkel (Oct 6, 2006)

hey jay. the lights on this canopy are 96W power compacts from
AH supply. they were easy to install and the reflector shape makes these lights much more effecient than ur avarage light set up. they are adequate to grow plants on a good size tank. i bought the 10,000k bulbs. 
the other tank will be for african cichlids, and will not have plants, so i got a 'Lithonia Xtreme Wet' t-8 set up for that tank. the bulbs will be 36" actinics, but i may change one after i see how they look.

i will get u some pics by tonight or tommorrow.[/i]

http://www.ahsupply.com/


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## SST (Nov 17, 2007)

fabulous job!


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## porksnorkel (Oct 6, 2006)

ty sst.

here ya go jay. not sure how much help these are, but i'll put them up anyway.



















ballast...



























the other canopy









no top ballast here, as the light unit is self contained on the second canopy.


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## porksnorkel (Oct 6, 2006)

just a minor update. i had noticed on the second day after installing the canopy that the right side was sagging a bit.









i was going to go and try and fully or partially suspend it from the rear of the stand, but then decided on the quick fix. a small wood shim. 









seems to be working so far. i'll keep my fingers crossed.

also got my filters set up how i wanted, trimmed the glass cover plastic stuff to fit the filters and tagged and routed all the cords. timers are in the mail, as well as bulbs for the other canopy fixture.:yes:


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## Jayhawk (Mar 23, 2008)

*What is this measurement?*










What is the measurement I marked and also the front to back measurement of the part that lifts up and the back part? More interested in the part that you tilt up, because I know you made it deeper because of the hangover back filters.

I am making mine like yours, but it will be without the trim. Basic shape and functionality will be the same.

Thanks

Ron


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## porksnorkel (Oct 6, 2006)

the door is 6" deep, and the back section is 18.5" deep.

keep in mind, if ur planning on covering HOB filters, ur measurements for the back half should be for the filter u plan on using and then add an inch or 2, just to be safe. in other words....the frame rail should be the depth of the tank plus the added depth of the part of the filter that hangs off the back. then add a couple of inches just for spare room.


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## Jayhawk (Mar 23, 2008)

What is the height of it ? Part that I drew the black line?

Thanks

I am ordering the ahsupply kits tomorrow.


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## porksnorkel (Oct 6, 2006)

oh sorry. i misunderstood the drawing. it's 8" tall. the rail sits about 1.5" up the exterior panels to cover the trim ring on the aquarium. u may want to add 2" for a total of 10", because the glass tops don't open on mine w/out interference from the lights.


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## Jayhawk (Mar 23, 2008)

great. That is what I needed. Once I am done, I will post some pictures.

Thanks for all your sharing.


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## porksnorkel (Oct 6, 2006)

any time mon. lemme know if u have any more questions. 

ps...i would put a brace strip between the upper and lower frame rails so that the lower has extra support. i'm gonna add a few to mine later.


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## Jayhawk (Mar 23, 2008)

I called ahsupply today. The person I spoke with said that since I was not having but a few plants, that his products would be too much light...... would be more than I needed.

What to do now for lighting? Just buy some shop light fixtures and put those in there?


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## porksnorkel (Oct 6, 2006)

wht are ur tank dimensions, and how much planting are u doing??


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## Jayhawk (Mar 23, 2008)

porksnorkel said:


> wht are ur tank dimensions, and how much planting are u doing??


72L x 18D x 22H

Only wanted about 6-8 plants. Some short and some tall.


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## porksnorkel (Oct 6, 2006)

that's a pretty deep tank, so i don't know why they would tell u that u don't need the extra light. perhaps u start ur own thread on a plant forum and see if u can get some straight answers. i wouldn't think the number of plants u have would really matter.


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## Jayhawk (Mar 23, 2008)

I put a post on a plant tank forum to see what they have to say.

Thanks for all your help.


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## porksnorkel (Oct 6, 2006)

anytime mon. lemme know what the plant people say, and what set up u end up getting. pics too!


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## okiemavis (Nov 10, 2007)

Well, from what I have read, the height of the tank doesn't really change the lighting unless it is more than 24" high, so you probably don't need to worry about height when it comes to lighting.


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## volzb1 (May 5, 2008)

Dank Tank! :shock:


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## porksnorkel (Oct 6, 2006)

ty volzb


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## doctorb (Jul 28, 2008)

So, I just found this place and am enjoying the diy section. I recently built a stand for a 30tall and now am contemplating a stand for a 125 that was just given to me.

Here's mine:

























The doors are in the garage and need to be shaved down just a bit, so they'll go on soon. I built it low so my 1 and 2 year olds can watch the fish and the ten next to it is now in the crawl space forgotten.

Anyway, I was wondering if I could get some specs on your stand? Wood species, construction techniques, etc.

I'm considering poplar stained to mimic walnut with 1x3 I beams resting on 4 boxes front and back. Most of the production stand seem to have rabbetted 1x6s resting on and holding up 2x4s. Is that what you used?

Other suggestions are helpful.


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