# DIY tank cover ideas



## cichlidfan16 (Sep 22, 2011)

Well I recently bought a 125g tank off craigslist for 60 bucks, it was way to good of a deal to pass up but it is only the tank. I wanted to get some ideas for the tank top. I would really like to do glass but not sure how much getting glass cut and stuff costs. This is gonna have to a budget tank for sure. So if anyone has any ideas or thoughts that you could give me I would really appreciate it. I'm super excited since I've never owned a tank this big. Thanks for the help.


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## Rick_Lindsey (Aug 26, 2002)

I'd start with quotes from several local glass shops - you may find the prices vary wildly. Be sure to specify you do not want the edges polished, jus not sharp.

When I have more pennies in the fish budget I plan to do this for my 10 and maybe even my 29.

-Rick (the armchair aquarist)


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## newforestrob (Feb 1, 2010)

you could always buy a fishroom condition or leaking tank(s) on cl ,take it apart and cut it to fit , you could also make your own silicone hinge


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## CITADELGRAD87 (Mar 26, 2003)

I've been pricing acrylic, you could get some 1/4 to cover a 6 foot tank for under $50 if you look around. I'm thinking 2 separate sides, so you only need 3' of length.


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

CITADELGRAD87 said:


> I've been pricing acrylic, you could get some 1/4 to cover a 6 foot tank for under $50 if you look around. I'm thinking 2 separate sides, so you only need 3' of length.


That's what I was thinking as well. Acrylic would be cheaper, it would be more durable, and you could cut it yourself with a jigsaw or many other types of saws. Plus it's easy to find at Home Depot or Lowes.


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## halffrozen (Sep 24, 2011)

Plexiglas is always fun!

I use 1/4" on my 40 Gallon Breeder and it had a light sitting on it.. Minimal bow in it.

Made it myself on my waterjet.


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

> Made it myself on my waterjet.


You _own_ a waterjet?


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## Lanaka (May 18, 2011)

Another option is to use a bunch of jalousies (sp?) with a few plastic top hinges (which you can find in many lfs). The trick is finding jalousies longer than 36". It took me a while before finding some that was 48" for my 55 gal tanks. At same time you can get that plastic strip (from the lfs) for use on the backside. This allows you to cut it for clearance of equipment hanging off back of tank and still cover the last 2" to minimize evaporation and prevent fish jumping out. The stick-on handles are usually also available at same time with the rest of the components (hinge and back strip). You can even get kits complete with glass, which may or may not come preassembled, usually not as that would make a more compact box. I prefer unassembled kits as that allows me to customize it to my needs (see below).

At the local hardware store, I could get a choice of clear or frosted panes in choice of clear, green, amber and this bluish color. The 48" was special order, luckily for me the maker is also on the island so there was no long wait for the glass. I prefer the clear clear panes, but noticed it may be better to use frosted clear ones with fishes that tends to jump. This way, they can see the obscured panes and dont jump and possibly injure themselves when they collide against the top. Just be aware that frosted will cut down the amount of light getting thru into the tank. Colored panels so cuts down on the amount of light transmitted thru the panels a bit. I prefer clear clear panels cuz its easy to clean both sides, has minimal reduction on light passing thru and i can easily see into tank without opening the top. I'm ok with taking chances of injuries to jumpers as MOST of the time, they quickly learn NOT to jump too high OR I have them in a tall tank that has lots of jumping room between the water top and the lid bottom.

Which way you put the frosted side is a personal choice, to me, it comes down to a choice of what you like haing an easier time cleaning. If I use frosted panels, I prefer frosted UP, so its easier to clean off the algae and other water deposits off the smooth side thats facing down. The dust on the frosted up-side is relatively easy to clean.

For the breeder and other tanks that are wider than the usual 13", *** used more than 1 hinges but flip every other hinge so that I can fold it up accordion-style for easy and compact storage. On these tanks, the FIRST hinge is flipped so that I move 2 panels to open the top, this way the handle remains outside of the fold and allows folding the first panel snugly against the second panel. I also get an extra handle so that the stress and weight of two panels are spread across two handles. I also do this for any long tanks that has a single panel across the entire width of tank. Btw, if you go with the single panel wide configuration, you may need to get 2 more short glass panels cut to the width of the inner channels so that the ends of the long panes are supported to prevent them from bending over the center top support. Obviously, you dont need do that if you dont have any center cross strut.

On the regular 2-panel kits, I modify the handle before removing the adhesive layer's cover by making two small sideways cut in the adhesive layer, then add a loop of fishing line with knots on the ends to prevent it from being pulled out. This way, I attach the handles on the BOTTOM side of first panel, use the nearly invisible loops to open up the first panel, and it folds flat against the second panel. This allows me to easily stow the panels safely folded while working on the tanks.

Hope this helps you decide.
-Lance


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## Lanaka (May 18, 2011)

Oh another thing, I usually let the hardware shop do the cutting. Just add less than 1/16" (about 2mm) so you can do the final fitting with a sanding block for a perfect fit. Also, if you wish, you can either use a air tubing slit down length or one of those automotive door edge protectors to cover the edge. I use the slit airline hose over the front edge of the front panel as a shock absorber jic the front panel falls down and bang against the tank top. The other option is to silicone the airline hose into the front edge of the tank top then the entire hose serves as a shock absorber. In the case where I need support the ends of a single pane on a tank with a center support, I sometime extend the airline hose down the sides as well the front edges of the top.


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

You can buy a pack of (12) 11"x14" acrylic sheets at Home Depot for about $35. I'm going to put several of them into my DIY canopy for my 7' tank to protect the lighting from moisture.


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## Lanaka (May 18, 2011)

The King Crabb said:


> You can buy a pack of (12) 11"x14" acrylic sheets at Home Depot for about $35. I'm going to put several of them into my DIY canopy for my 7' tank to protect the lighting from moisture.


How thick is each sheet?


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

For a lot of reasons, glass is the best choice. You can use E channels for sliding lids without a hinge, you can buy hinge pieces or make a hinge with silicone sealer. I prefer the sliding tops. Lowes cuts glass, although I don't know how much it costs. Often you can get old windows from an installer and the glass is free.


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## halffrozen (Sep 24, 2011)

Steve C said:


> > Made it myself on my waterjet.
> 
> 
> You _own_ a waterjet?


My families business owns a Water-Jet. lol

I call it mine, because I am the programmer and operator of it. lol Also the service tech.


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

Lanaka said:


> The King Crabb said:
> 
> 
> > You can buy a pack of (12) 11"x14" acrylic sheets at Home Depot for about $35. I'm going to put several of them into my DIY canopy for my 7' tank to protect the lighting from moisture.
> ...


Not sure on sheet thickness... I'm going to have mine simply protecting my lights from evaporation so the thickness didn't matter to me so I didn't check into it when I saw them.


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## CITADELGRAD87 (Mar 26, 2003)

Lanaka said:


> The King Crabb said:
> 
> 
> > You can buy a pack of (12) 11"x14" acrylic sheets at Home Depot for about $35. I'm going to put several of them into my DIY canopy for my 7' tank to protect the lighting from moisture.
> ...


I priced 1/4 about 2 weeks ago, based on the $18 per sheet for the smallest 1/4 sheets, I am fairly certain these are going to be 1/8 or so.


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

Having used 1/8' acrylic, I will say it is unsuitable, as it sags.


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## Lanaka (May 18, 2011)

BillD said:


> For a lot of reasons, glass is the best choice. You can use E channels for sliding lids without a hinge, you can buy hinge pieces or make a hinge with silicone sealer. I prefer the sliding tops. Lowes cuts glass, although I don't know how much it costs. Often you can get old windows from an installer and the glass is free.


I agree, for strength/weight, its hard to beat glass, except acrylic starts to win as the thickness increases. I think the turning point (my opinion, pends on the final size of the panel too) is around half inch (12mm) or so. Below this size glass is superior in every way except, maybe, in the shatterproof dept. Above 0.5" (12mm) acrylic tends to win out with lighter weight and damage resistance (shattering and cracking, not scratches).

Yup, thats where I get some of glasses for my tops, from old windows, but my favorite source is actually broken fridge and freezer glass shelving! The bonus is that a lot of these guys are also tempered glass so theyre quite strong for their thickness. Another bonus is that many have obscuring patterns (usually fine dots or lines) built into them. Looks like theyre mostly baked on enamel or etched into the glass. Often I can score them with their hinged frames intact which is quite useful come feeding time. The flipside to using them is that its much more difficult to cut tempered glass without shattering it, as some of ye may already know after trying to cut tempered glass tanks. 

...unless ye're one of those lucky buggas who owns an water-jet cutter.


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## Lanaka (May 18, 2011)

The King Crabb said:


> Lanaka said:
> 
> 
> > The King Crabb said:
> ...


Per my previous post, might wanna keep in mind flat installation will require thicker sizes, as unlike glass, thinner acrylic doesnt have the necessary rigidity to prevent sagging. Even the layered acrylic still tend to sag way more than glass. Id look for at least 3/8" (9mm) for larger tanks. You may get away with 1/4" (6mm) with standard 10gal tank tops and smaller.

EDIT: Lol, i see BillD beat me to the punch!


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