How to Make a Canopy for a Fish Aquarium

Cut your pieces of the canopy from sheets of 9-mm plywood. You will need two panels for the front and back of the box that are 924 mm by 191 mm by 9 mm and two panels for the sides of the box that are 306 mm by 191 mm by 9 mm. You will also need two panels for your lid. One panel should be 936 mm by 125 mm by 9 mm and will be the front part of the lid and one that is 936 mm by 202 mm by 9 mm and will be the back part of the lid. You will need four corner blocks that are 166 mm by 25 mm cut from 25-mm wood. You can use any soft wood you choose. Also from the soft wood, cut two strips that are 903 mm by 25 mm by 25 mm to act as hinge supports. Use sandpaper to sand the edges of all your cut wood.

Place your back piece flat in front of you. Use measuring tape to draw a line that is 9 mm in from the short side of your piece. This is where you will place your first corner block. Do the same on the opposite short side of the piece. Place your corner block onto these lines. The short sides of the corner blocks should be flush to one of the long edges of the back piece. One of the long sides of the corner blocks should be flush with the line you drew. Add some wood glue to the blocks to hold them in place.

Use a drill and 25-mm screws to adhere each corner block to the back piece. Two screws per block are sufficient.

Drill 5-mm holes into the short sides of your side panels. Place holes 12 and 20 mm from both edges. Place one hole 130 mm from the top edge of the side panel. This will make five holes per side, or 10 holes per panel. These will serve as guide holes to attach your back panel to your side panels.

Apply wood glue to the side of each corner block. Place a side panel perpendicular to the back panel so that the corners are flush and the side panel presses up against the corner block. Screw the two pieces together through the guide holes you created in the previous step. Repeat this on the other side with the second side panel.

Repeat step 6 to attach the front panel. Once completed, you will have a four-sided box with no lid.

Apply wood glue to the top of the back panel and the top of the side panels. Place the back piece of the lid onto the top back side of your four-sided box. This piece will overhang the box. Make sure it is positioned so that overhanging pieces are even. Attach this piece in place using 15-mm panel screws. Allow the glue to dry completely before proceeding.

Place wood glue onto your hinge support and place it onto the back lid piece. You wanted it positioned on the top front side of this piece, centered between the two side pieces. Screw the hinge support into place. Attach a piano hinge to the hinge support so that it is centered, using more screws.

Attach the second hinge support to the front piece of the lid. Use the same method you used for the back piece of the lid and that hinge support. Place the front part of the lid flush with the back part of the lid so that the hinge will fall over the newly added hinge support. Separate the pieces approximately 2 mm to allow for swelling of the wood and screw the hinge to the front part of the lid.

Place your completed lid onto your tank, with your lighting unit already in place, and mark the position of your wires and pipes for your tank. Use a handsaw to cut out slots for these wires and pipes to fit into your canopy.

Paint your finished canopy with gloss paint and allow it to dry. Make sure you thoroughly paint the inside, the corners and corner blocks. This will waterproof your unit. Allow the entire piece to dry before placing it back on your aquarium.