CONSTRUCTION
From the time I realized I was hooked, I knew I needed a bigger tank (sound familiar, anyone?). Knowing that this was going to be "it", at least till we could get our own house, I figured that I'd better try and do this right the first time. So I read, looked at tanks, surfed the net, read some more, and came up with what I thought would be the ideal tank. One thought here: Get the largest tank that will fit in the intended space, and if in doubt, go bigger. Trust me on this!!  

    One day, while in an older LFS (local fish store), there was on older, unsold tank and canopy on a back wall. The canopy looked more like a kitchen cabinet than it did a canopy. Very tall, large doors, huge inside, and easy access. And since it was to be tall anyway, (no stooping to see tank), why not go right up to the ceiling?     

  So with this mental picture, I began measuring the area it was to fit in and recruited my Brother and Master Carpenter Mark to get his input and ideas. We drank a beer, bounced ideas off each other, drank another beer, and bounced some more. Bouncy bouncy bouncy. We decided on a top hinged canopy that would look like a regular cabinet door, but would open from the bottom, not out from the middle. This would allow the entire front to open, giving complete access for maintenance. This is especially important with deep tanks (30"), as it requires my full reach from my armpit to reach anything on the bottom. Something to consider if you are thinking about a deep tank.

    Major thanks to Mark here. I could not have done this without his help. The finished cabinet is a piece of furniture thanks to his talent and insight. He is a gifted carpenter and I am lucky to know him.

Unfortunately, I didn't take many pics while the stand and canopy were being built, but here are some shots of the final setup

Construction details:

Stand

2x3 platform base and top with 3/4 Birch ply on top for inside bottom, and 3/4" Oak ply for top. Sides are doubled 3/4" ply, with oak ply outside and birch inside. A 1x3 Solid oak banding wraps the stand top and bottom. Doors are made from solid oak. We ordered these from a fabrication shop that does custom kitchen cabinets, as they not only make a nice product, but do it cheaper than we could make them. Finish is Minwax stain, and 5 coats of polyurethane. Inside was spayed with polyurethane, and bottom got extra coats for waterproofing.  All wood joints are glued heavily and nailed or screwed. All fasteners are galvanized or stainless steel. Stand when done was suprisingly heavy-about 240 lbs.

Canopy 

Basically it's just a plywood box with an open front and face frame (like any cabinet), band on the bottom, and large crown on top for trim.  We used 3/4" Oak plywood thruout. Front door as well, with doors planted on front to appear like cabinet doors. Struts were used to help lift door and soften closing. These are same as are used on car trunks to help open and close. Pretty strong, but needed them due to the leverage being exerted. These are mounted on solid oak blocks with stainless bolts and hardware. 1x3 solid oak banding top and bottom, and 6" crown moulding on top. Inside has two coats of sanding sealer then was painted with a one part marine epoxy (2 coats), brite white for light reflection. Finish was same as stand.

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