Has anyone ever altered the top of their acrylic tank???

I'm no expert on this but I would not want to take too much material off. Even though it is the top it still helps to hold your tank together. I would think the top along with the bottom keeps the sides from bowing out too much. Ever notice when your tank is empty then you fill it up that the sides bow out anywhere from about 1/4" to 1/2"? It's really hard to say if it's ok with out seeing the tank and with out seeing what material needs to be removed. I bet truvu would say never to alter their product. If you don't do it right you might compromise the integrity of the tank. Here is a site that is a how to do with acrylic. http://www.sdplastics.com/acrylic.html Sorry i can't give you a yes or no.

I took two inches off the filter hole on the backside of the top. One inch on each side with a jigsaw. the hardest part was keeping the shavings out of the tank.

Oh, yeah, the tank is a truvu 55g and I put on an aquaclear 110

two months later, so far so good

Why HOB's on such a big acrylic?
Any reason not to go with a canister like a Filstar?
Hell, you paid good money for that acrylic tank.