Canopy Stain Question

It's not even necessary to seal the inside, really, unless there is alot of humidity.

I agree with Bmeasure, as long as you have glass tops on the tank, I wouldn't bother with sealer. I would however consider painting the inside of the hood white (flat white primer is fine) just so it reflects light better.

I'm sorry, but when I first read this question I thought you asked about sealing inside the "cabinet", but you clearly said "canopy". :idea2:

I would do as beviking said with painting it white, That's what's going into my canopy, anyways. I am even considering going over it with a thin clear epoxy topcoat. If you go too thick, it tends to yellow a bit, though.

One thing I don't understand is why "flat" white reflects light better than "glossy" paint. Anyone care to embellish?

Bmeasure said:

One thing I don't understand is why "flat" white reflects light better than "glossy" paint. Anyone care to embellish?

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I wish I could B, just have read the same thing several places so I went with it. I would think the glossy would reflect more too?

jonathan03, I would assume that if you do not have a glass top, worse case you'll get some condensation that will drip into the tank. This is an assumption on my part, never did an open tank, but I tend to go with the worse case senario. That said, I would use an exterior poly and be sure whatever it is, it will not end up transfering anything harmful to any water that may condense and drip into the tank.
As for cutting the holes...? Not sure of your set-up but you can use a circular saw and ease it down into the wood to start and make your long cuts. Then finish it with a jig saw (saber saw?).

jonathan03 said:

I'll go with the flat white paint for the rest of the canopies. Has anyone tried foil? I would imagine it might be a pain to deal with but it is shinney.

Is it possible to raise the blade of a table saw while its running? I'm new to table saws but I really like the one I have. I just want to make sure I don't break anything. It would be perfect if it can be raised while its running.

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First question: I wouldn't go with Foil for the simple reason that at some point you are going to need to clean off mildew (damp environment) or salt creep. Even if you accidentally rub it wrong, it will break.

Second: Yes, you CAN raise the blade while cutting, but if you are new to this tool, I wouldn't risk it. I work with this saw regularly, and I NEVER do it. The last thing you want is to have your hands adjusting the blade height when it snags your wood and it gives a "kickback"! I have known people who almost broke their arm where wood came back and hit them. You may be thinking "then I'll just clamp it down and bring the blade up". Again, this is a bad idea, because you don't want to have to undo clamps while operating the saw. If you were just wanting to clamp it and raise the blade without moving the wood, this could be done, but the hole probably won't look very pretty (at least on one side).

My question is why don't you make hinged lids? If you want to be simple, just make the four sides, and place the hinges on the rear and connect them to an entire top that raises and lowers. Just don't make a full height rear (you just make the top half for instance to allow filters) and this is a breeze!

Sounds like you are doing things the hard way! 3/8" is plenty for the most part. It all depends on how things are put together. I'm doing a fairly complicated canopy for my Display tank, but only because I made this tank based on exactly what I want.....not need! I wanted a canopy that has the front part of the top and the top of the front piece connected and on hinges. I don't know that you can picture this but basically part of the front and top lift when I open it. This is probably the most complicated way to build, but I do this for a living, and wanted to do things the way I prefer them. This setup for my Blackbelt Cichlid is basically my idea of an ideal tank to fit in my living room (built to be a 150 gallon, but after fake rock wall and sump are figured in, it's only holding around 125 gallons). I've been real happy with it and am still working on the canopy, but the link is in my signature area if you want to see where I'm at now.

BTW....NO you can't effectively stain over polyurethane. It's a topcoat sealer. You should always apply this when all is together. The newer products called "polyshades" from Minwax might work for you in this case, but it's definately NOT the way to go if planning. Stain is meant to be absorbed by wood, at least to some degree. This "polyshades" is a stain/poly mixture. It should work for you this time because it basically sits on top of the wood and seals it, but might not.