Thread: Warp in aquarium canopy

Hi.

Pictures of where it is warped would be good. <sorry - rechecked the pics - I can see the gaps>

Also - your 'carpenter' who doesn't know what wood he used ... did he know what you wanted it for? I'm guessing so, cos it obviously fits the tank well - or did.

Get him to fix his work!

In Australia we have consumer laws about selling something that is not fit for purpose. It's probably the same in the US. Talk to a govt consumer watch body ... or just tell him to take it back and sort it out.

I'm guessing it can be humid where you are? Maybe it was made in an un-a/c workshop and you have a/c ... or vice versa. Whatever the reason, sh*t happens, he should fix it up. Good work or bad, you'll be telling other people about him - it's in his own interest.

Cheers,
Paul McGee

Is the timber sealed? If not you have one side exposed to lots of moisture and the other side not so much. This could be why it warped.
If the carpenter made it to measure then he should use a suitable material with finish for the conditions.

I'm guessing he sealed the outside but didn't do the inside. Its going to warp like hell over a fishtank. It needs to be sealed on the inside as well as the outside with something suitable.

marine tanks are cool, cant see any fish in it yet though, i'm sure your looking forward to em,

can be a bit much to go too hard on the carpenter with things like this, half the time they are working to what the customer asks for..having said that there are a few things with this that were never going to work well from the start...

the design is weak (structurally that is from a functional pov for the fish tank it might be just what you wanted and work well), it doesnt have much in the way of bracing, the front doesn't have any! its asking an awful lot from the timber to stay put (natural product and all that), it was never going to happen, you could put in a rail across the front on the inside which may help, certainly would make a big difference but there's still a big chance it will move.. lots of heat from lights (if not other influences) and moisture up the top of the tank..

if it wasnt sealed inside and out then it hasn't got any of chance at staying put and no doubt would move in short time as it has, if it wasnt sealed then you really cant put blame on the carpenter at all save him not mentioning it!

i can't see on my screen, is it solid timber or veneer? i know using solid timber is nicer and often choice but for these type of things a veneer does have some advantages (and believe me i hate using veneer so i dont say it lightly), it just needs to be sealed very good (as we all know veneer swells with moisture but if sealed well it will stand up even in a fish tank situation, not for hundred years but...) but it will hold its form better in situations such as this..it may even be a combination, if it was then it may just be the front bottom rail thats caused the movement or a combination of the back rails too, it looks like they may be solid timber at least, if so then that might need replacing

i cant see from the pics how much its warped but if half to 3 quarter an inch i would have thought the front wouldn't close at all

how to fix; seal it for starters, everywhere!

normally the back of the aquarium tops dont need to be completely open either, i would have used a full piece back there and cut holes or sections out to allow for power cords and all the other inlets and outlets, depends on what type of filter your using to how much space needs to be back there of course..a full piece of timber would have given better bracing though, even with many holes or large sections cut out.

you could add a rail across the front at the top to help hold that together, it wont stop it from racking or shifting completely but it will hold those two side pieces of the cabinet at the right measurement you want for the drop down lid front section, you may find just doing that may be enough to solve your problem..if all that fails, then either start again (reusing some of the materials) or if you cant beat it then join it (figuratively speaking), make the gaps in the front of the lid bigger (to allow for movement) and use a cover beading so you cant see the gaps, assuming the whole cabinet lid doesn't look too far out of square that its offensive to the eye (cant really see from pics because the angles get distorted by the camera lens)

hope that helps, good luck with the fishes


cheers
chippy