DIY Aquarium lid

[Charlie's Angel]

Everyone:

I ordered some wrasses this morning and will be receiving them tomorrow. I want to build a lid for the aquarium tonight and was wondering how. Does everyone just use egg crate? I was just going to run to home depot and see what I could find. Any advice?

Thanks

 

[thatguy]

My advice is to ask for light diffuser because if you ask for egg crate they look at you like you're insane. At least that's what happened to me.

When you cut it to fit the top of your tank make sure you do it outside, otherwise you'll be finding little pieces of plastic all over your house for months.

Go for the plain white stuff, the reflective stuff will peel off once it's exposed to salt water.

Always remember to put it back in place after you work in the tank.

 

[Spiffyguy]

I had egg crate and 2 scissortail gobies jumped right through it. I made a new cover using 1/2 cpvc and some fishing line. it was cheap and easy to make. I took some pics but have been lazy about posting them.

basicly make a frame out of the cpvc and spray it black. that helps with reflection. then buy a spool of 50 lb test at walmart for 4 bucks. Use a drill and put holes every 1/4 inch along the sides of the frame. and just weave it through. came out looking nice. just make sure your frame is straight after you glue it. also for long sections you may need a cross piece to keep the frame from bending.

 

[MRGolfo]

i like the fishing line idea. i think i will be stealing that.

 

[Charlie's Angel]

Thanks guys. I am going to start with the egg crate / light diffuser as it will be quickest to get on my home from work. Next week while I am off, I am going to try the fishing line idea.

thatguy...Did you get the light diffuser at home depot?

 

[latazyo]

if you have a standard tank w/ trim then you can just cut it to fit right on there

on my old tank, I cut it to fit inside the tank since there was no trim, and then I glued little pieces of plexi glass onto it to hold it on the top

 

[thatguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11410221#post11410221 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Charlie's Angel
Thanks guys. I am going to start with the egg crate / light diffuser as it will be quickest to get on my home from work. Next week while I am off, I am going to try the fishing line idea.

thatguy...Did you get the light diffuser at home depot?

I did. They also sell it at Lowe's... at least the one near me.

 

[Charlie's Angel]

Great...My tank has trim, so I will just sit it on top of that.

 

[mjpelikan]

I just use cut glass plates on both my 110 and 210...

 

[fazgood]

The bird cages at the Zoo used something like that. The only thing I might suggest is that they used springs on the ends to keep the tension even when the wires stretched. They had some sort of spring with a screw fitting. Maybe for a guitar or piano string?

Just a thought. Great application.

Faz