okay for over a year and a half i have "dealt" with this... 1x12 planks cut to fit the opening and a cheap little gooseneck lamp to illuminate (quite poorly) my aquarium.

normal pic.

as seen when the lights are out in my room.

today i got fed up with it, and counted my change and went to the home improvement store (Lowes) and bought the materials it would take to make an proper aquarium lid with light.

i purchased 3x 1"x2"x8' top choice pine boards. ($7.08)
a 48" flourescent utility light, the very cheapest one they had. ($9.74)
two 48" 40watt GE F40 Day Spectrum Plant & Aquarium Light blubs. (type T-12) (19.96)
and a 18x24" sheet of clear acrylic. ($9.40)
two small brass hinges, i used 5/8" ones ($1.79)
i stopped by my godfathers job and picked up a piece of half inch thick treated plywood scrap, and cut to the size 48.5"x13.5" as this fits the top of my aquarium exactly. (FREE)

i have to admit i was a few steps into this project before i decided to document with pictures but here goes anyways.

STEP ONE, cut plywood to the proper size of your aquarium.

step two, measure your light. decide on how much light you want, and how you want it in your tank. in my case, i decided i wanted a 5" slot. so i cut the acrylic into two 24" pieces 6 inches across using a circular saw. (u need to be sure you have a sharp blade on your saw or you WILL break the acrylic). whatever you do, DONT STOP cutting halfway when you start, or you will BREAK THE ACRYLIC.

you then take your plywood, and useing your light fixture as a template, trace around it, and then come in about a half inch (my light is 5.5" ad i cut the hole for it 5" wide.

i then took the acrylic strips, laid them over the holes, and used the 1x2 cut to 48", and screws, to clamp the strips in place. i placed it so the lamp fit tightly into the slot.




i then measured and located my filter. mine likes to sit 3 inches from the end of the tank, and is 14 inches wide. so i took and cut a 15 inch wide slot, 3 inches deep in the back side of my lid. be sure its not too tight of a fit or you will get water splashed on it an it will stay wet all the time and rot quickly.



you then nail on the 1x2 boards around the edge of the plywood, being carefull to keep it nice and flush and straight and nice and tidy looking. this is where your professionalism shows. you can make or break your project right here at this seamily simple step.



heres the finished product!!!


oh wait... something is wrong... it took me a few minutes to realize that i had somehow done something wrong... after 10 minutes looking at it funny, and 2 cold beers later, it dawned on me, "HOW ARE YOU GOING TO FEED THEM DUMMY?!"

so i then took a drill and drilled 2 holes after i laid out my marks for where i wanted the opening to be, and took a jigsaw and cut out the opening for my feeding hole.



that was when i discovered i had forgot to get the hinges!!! another hour long trip back to town and 15 dollars in gas to pickup a set of small brass hinges from the hardware store. i used one of the pieces of scrap i had cut out from the hole in the middle for the light to shine thru as the door here. i hate to waste anything.



anyways i now have a fully operational flourescent daylight spectrum hood that will grow plants and keep my fish healthy and visible for all to see!





once again, before and after.






for all those naysayers, BE NOT AFRAID TO GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY! GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO PUT FOR THE EFFORT TO DO IT THEMSELFS!

total time for this project was about 40 minutes.

what a HELL of an improvement.

of course you will want to paint it or seal it. i would reccomend a good high gloss enamel type paint or thompsons waterseal.

ill be finishing it tomorrow with a clear coat.

i want my work to be seen not hidden under paint. i love it!!!!

dont be scared guys! you can do it! i have faith in you! with a little common sense and some hand eye coordination we can all be Winners!!!!

i forgot to mention, the tools i required were
small finishing nails, drywall screws, a circular saw, a jigsaw, a basic hammer, and a drill (used a 3/8" drillbit to start my cuts with the jigsaw, and a phillips bit to screw the screws in with). very simple, anyone can do this.

good deal man. i started to build the stand for my 120, but eventually just bought the damn thing for under 300 new. and i probably would have been better off buying it to begin with, between the all the wood, screws, nails, power tools i didn't have, and other resources.... i think i went way over what a new stand cost.

at least i have some much needed power tools now

well i definatly came out ahead on this deal. ive never seen a 48" hood for less than 120 bucks. i have less than half that in this.

true, true.
in my case i had no real wood working experience (besides shop in junior high), and had to make 2 attempts at the frame for the stand. don't get me wrong, i'm good with my hands... but i'm a wrench turner, not a fabricator.

WAY TO GO WIN!!!! Nice job. I am so proud of you!

i am not surprised you can do it perfectly the way you want it to be.
it is lot easier than the intricate mechanism of those AK47 and the likes.
if you are not good in those things, no way your gun will work properly

lol truthfully i would rather be rebuilding a v8 than doing woodwork.

by trade i am a machinist, precision is mandatory. i used to make satellites for the US Govt. contractor General Dynamics.

lol it went like clockwork. the only hiccup in the whole deal i had was forgetting to cut the hole for feeding them and getting the hinge for the door.

i got lucky i guess but i didnt have to re-cut anything. but then again i am awesome so it should be no surprise i got it right : they dont call me Win for nothing.

lol paul... ak47 was designed for ignorant conscript who cannot read or write. a child could master its internal workings in a half a day or less. its deceptivly simple. thats why it always works.

Major improvement, Win.
Very cool craftsman-ship, nice thread.

thank you all for the complements, i did it for the fish first (i wanted to be able to put in some plants to help with cleaning the water and there was nowhere near enough lighting for them to grow), second i felt it was pretty dangerous having that lamp sitting on the mid divider top thingy balanced precariously as it was, i cant tell you how many times i almost knocked it in the tank doing water changes, third, the setup i had looked HORRIBLE, and the forth, and for me, my most important reason of all, i kept getting woken up! i got tired of that damn fish giving me a bath in the middle of the night... stupid aquarium right beside my bed and all... damn that got old REAL fast. nothing says love like putting up with a frisky oscar and having to deal with a wet bed. i swear it seems that i take better care of my fish than i do myself. i damn sure know i spend more money on my fish than myself lol.

But it's worth it, really looks pro!
Gonna finishes the paintjob today?

have to work! not sure if ill have time to do it tonight or not! also its been raining for a solid week and a half now, i gotta wait on it to dry up around here before i can do anything,hopefully it will give up before i have to head to work in a bit. if its dry when i get home then yea ill put some finish on it.