Tank Coverings
- Thread starter Wildshot83
- Start date
I use glass. It was pretty cheap. An easy, and very cheap thing to do would be to go to a hardware store and get some glass cut. Just give them your dimensions and choose a thickness. I would go with a couple of pieces rather than one. Not sure how fancy those glass cutters can be but you might be able to have glass cut around your filters and whatnot. Also have to rig up a handle so you can open it again!
OR spend the $25 and get one at a pet store.
OR spend the $25 and get one at a pet store.
Acrylic/Plexiglas
I've got a Trigon 350 corner tank, not an easy tank to cover, so I bought a section of Acrylic 6mm thick spent and a lot of time cutting, it had been on for a day and it started sagging, I was quite surprised as it was the second one I had cut, the first one being Plexiglas 3mm which did the same thing.
Maybee 9/12mm but I bet the price goes way up.............
The 9mm ended up costing me £60, think I am going to make do....
Mike
I've got a Trigon 350 corner tank, not an easy tank to cover, so I bought a section of Acrylic 6mm thick spent and a lot of time cutting, it had been on for a day and it started sagging, I was quite surprised as it was the second one I had cut, the first one being Plexiglas 3mm which did the same thing.
Maybee 9/12mm but I bet the price goes way up.............
The 9mm ended up costing me £60, think I am going to make do....
Mike
Ringwood, if you want to change it out, look for something called Lexan (at least that is what it is called here in the US). It's stronger than plexi, and much more durable-won't discolor as easy, won't scratch.
My hubby who used to drive semi truck would put it over his headlights to protect them-much cheaper than buying a brand new halogen bulb just cause the glass cracked! It was practically indestructible!
Or, if you still have some of your plexi left, you could cut a narrow piece & glue it edgwise in the middle of your cover to brace it up so it won't sag as much...
My hubby who used to drive semi truck would put it over his headlights to protect them-much cheaper than buying a brand new halogen bulb just cause the glass cracked! It was practically indestructible!
Or, if you still have some of your plexi left, you could cut a narrow piece & glue it edgwise in the middle of your cover to brace it up so it won't sag as much...
I have a wood hood that covers the tank completley, with fans in the side. The bad thing about putting glass as the lid is that not only does some of the light get filtered though but it becomes like a green house in there. And if you have a hot day followed by a cold one, the tank will probebly still be too hot, even though it is cold in the sourroundings. Evaporation isn't too bad, I get about 2 liters every day, if it is warm, otherwise less, especially in winter.
Thats not alot of water, to loose. I know orion, from what I remember looses around that much a day (could be mistaken). I know many other tanks that loose up to 10gallons a day, using metal halides on large (300gallon) set ups.