Canopy HInge Question

Will be building a new canopy for my tank soon, and just trying to finalize a few details..

My real goal is to incorporate a basic canopy design but wanted the top and front faces to be connected together and separate from the sides. my tank isn't very wide at all, standard 55 gallon so around 13" I believe. Inside the canopy will be a combination of 3W LED's and T5's. When I open it up I don't want to get blasted in the face with light from the fixture via the hinges on the back similar to the type on a chest. Instead I wanted incorporate a riser type hinge in the rear that would raise the top up a few inches and back a few inches. This would essentially reposition the lights toward the rear of the tank still facing down. Then I want to have everyday cabinet hinges on the front face to lift it up and out. Does anyone know what kind of hinges I'm talking about and where I might be able to source them from? Also if there might be anything wrong with this design Ive missed? Other than the oversized tank of a HOB skimmer that I will need to work around? Note because of the skimmer I will either need to have the lights higher in the canopy or find a hinge that will raise them quite a bit which is what i would prefer.

 

I love the idea, i would be in the same situation with the hob skimmer, also my tank sits close to the wall so not much room to move backwards.
I hope you find what you are looking for

 

good idea.. I just make my canopy face open upwards with hinges mounted on top panel and top of front panel. light doesnt really get to bad, because my lights are only 4" above the water line. but it is a pita when i try to get my arms in there to clean inside of tank.

 

Great Idea, just not sure where to find the hinges.

 

lee valley has a great assortment of functional and good looking hinges and hardware.

 

Thanks Irrumater, I just went through your 55 gal canopy thread which got me thinking a bit more about what I wanted to do with my 55..

Thanks for suggestions and comments guys. I'll have a look at Lee Valley and see if I can't find what I'm looking for.

 

be careful with what material the hinges are made of. As I understand the design they are going to be on the inside of the canopy wich will subject them to exposure to the salt water - it will corrode the hinges in a very short time given the chance.
I believe it needs to be solid stainless steel

 

I can't believe someone actually came up with almost the exact idea I did for my t5 canopy. As for the hinges unless you plan on spending a few hundred dollars for the hinges, your best bet would be trying to source a lift top coffee table from craigslist or just make your own with a two bolts and a metal piece. If you want the site where I found the hinges let me know I track it down again or just search for lift top table hinges.

 

Wow, great suggestion. I can't believe I didn't remember that my mother has had a lift top coffee table in her living room for years now and works in exactly the same way we're talking about. Although hers lifts pretty high and far out, I might need something half the size. Have you implemented this kind of hinge in your canopy yet? If so I'd love to see some pics.

I'm not really sure if I'm going to take this route anymore though. I might actually be going with one of the new Maxspect LED fixtures and a couple Par38 20k fixtures. If this is the case I couldn't really integrate it in the canopy I don't think because of the size constraints and cooling issues. However I will definitely try to work it into my 120 build I'm planning soon :thumb_up:

 

Here is one of the hinges...price is a little ouch...
Pop Up Table Mechanism - Rockler Woodworking Tools

I will hopefully be starting to build it this weekend. I plan one building my own hinges though with two bolts and a piece of flat stainless so I can have control over how far it will go. I was just searching to find out how people integrate the fans into their t5 canopies and I found your thread lol. I need to make sure I get exhuast the hot air as good as possible. My 8x54 retro is definitely throwing some heat into my aquarium and it has only been in the 50s.