MusicTank Mk. III

Step 3 Creating the Solar Panel

There are many DIY walk throughs on how to create your own Solar Panels here are a few on Instructables i found interesting;

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Build-A-Solar-Panel/

http://www.instructables.com/id/using-Solar-Cells-To-make-Glass-frame-DIY-Solar-P/

http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade-63-Watt-Solar-Panel/

by following these you will have a rough understanding of how to build you own Solar Panels from the ground up
obviously the size of the array you create will correspond to the amount of power is is able to produce.  You must create an array that fits the size of your creation exactly; you can get creative with your placement of the panel and even have a larger panel independent of the tank.  Most important to the upgrade in the Mk III MusicTank was the ability to use the system free of recharge and fully solar.  The solution to this was either:  

1) add to the Battery Well of "potential energy"

2) construct or purchase a solar panel that has a comparable hourly charge rate (in Watts) to my Amplifier (50 Watts/per hour)

I decided to do both, adding a 40 Ah battery to the Well and building a 50+ Watt panel

You can build your own panel from the ground up or you can purchase a manufactured panel from sites like Jameco
just be sure that whatever panel you choose to use, it must be able to fit securely on the back of the panel.