Plexiglass aquarium covers

[Sonny Disposition]

OK. I've got a lot of tanks to cover. Most are sitting sideways, multiple tanks to a rack, with the lights suspended above. I don't like the hinged glass covers, as it's awkward to access them from the side. Plus, I'm clumsy and I break stuff a lot. It would be nice to have a single sheet of material that covers the tank, that I could just lift off when I needed to, and which wouldn't shatter if I knocked it off the tank accidentally.
I tried using sheets of Hardware store plexiglass to cover my fish tanks, but the plexiglass eventually warps and drops down toward the water. I've done some research and found that even the thicker sheets (1/4 inch) will warp if not reinforced.
Has anyone worked with a similar material that won't warp?
Or has anyone found a way to reinforce the plexiglass so that won't warp? I attached a three quarter inch strip of wooden molding horizontally across a plexiglass cover, fixing it in place with stainless steel screws, which I covered with aquarium sealant. It helped, but the cover is still warping at the edges.
Has anyone else gone the plexiglass cover route? If so, can you tell me what worked for you?
If I can find a system that works, I'll order a large sheet of material on line, then have it cut into individual sections and shipped to me.
Thanks.

[fishmaven]

To get the best answer you'll need to tell us why you wish to cover the tanks.

If the problem is moisture, you need a full top, rigid and clear. You won't like this but aquarium manufacturers use glass for a good reason… they haven't found anything better at anywhere near the price. Acrylic tank manufacturers haven't solved this either or their tank tops wouldn't bow over a short period of time.

If you're trying to prevent fish jumping from the tank or stuff falling into the tank you might consider fiberglass screen material enclosed in a frame of some sort.

If you do find a good solution please post it here for the rest of us.
Dan

[Mrfiremouth]

I agree with Dan, 1/4" glass lids is the best option for moisture control.
Everything else will warp as you noticed.
Pond netting works well for jumpers, but I am assuming this is about evaporation.
I also seriously suggest a humidity meter and that you control your moisture to avoid long term mold damage later on. Water vapor is not the fishroom's friend. :)

[Matt Quinn]

I actually use clear, under-the-bed style rubbermaids and tops. Some are set-up as dump filters...others are just sitting on top of my tanks. I light the room vs. the tanks so this works out well...

[Sonny Disposition]

Matt, I don't recall the Rubbermaid tops on your tanks. How closely can you get them to fit? Do they warp? Where do you get them? Can you post a photo?

Thanks.

[Sonny Disposition]

It's to control evaporation. I only have one tank with a Plexiglass cover. I can't remember when I've had to top it off. I can't say the same for the glass covers. Only the Plexiglass cover looks terrible because it sags. I turn it periodically, but I'd rather have a cover that held its shape. Even if I had to reinforce it with some other material.

I agree with Dan, 1/4" glass lids is the best option for moisture control.
Everything else will warp as you noticed.
Pond netting works well for jumpers, but I am assuming this is about evaporation.
I also seriously suggest a humidity meter and that you control your moisture to avoid long term mold damage later on. Water vapor is not the fishroom's friend. :)

[Mrfiremouth]

You could use acrylic, with 1/2" ribs across the top to reinforce it.
It would be trial and error though.
The acrylic will be stronger than the plexi-glas

[Sonny Disposition]

Thanks Rick. What kind of material would you use for the ribs? How would you attach them?

You could use acrylic, with 1/2" ribs across the top to reinforce it.
It would be trial and error though.
The acrylic will be stronger than the plexi-glas

[Matt Quinn]

Hi Bob,

Most of my tanks are 2'x2'x1'... and I've yet to find a 24" under-the-bed type storage container. Most are a bit over 22" wide.

For most I use a glass cover on the back of the tank and run two 1" pieces of wood from front to back on the tank. The rubbermaid (whether it's just a lid or a DIY dump filter) sits on top of this. It's not perfect but works pretty well.

Matt

[Mrfiremouth]

To DIY an acrylic lid, I would get the acrylic glue(actually melts the pieces together), a sheet of acrylic cut to the dimensions needed at 1/4" stock, and 1/2"x1/2" square stock for the ribs.

You can try 2 ways to reinforce it. First glue the acrylic square stock to the edge of your sheet stock to prevent the edges from curling, or use 3 pieces across the sheet stock, left to right to help.

I would try the edge techniques first and see how it holds up. Keep in mind, These products get pricey. Check with a local acrylic supplier for pricing

[Sonny Disposition]

Thanks everyone. Someone on East Coast Cichlids showed me photos of some covers he made with Lexan. Someone else on my local e-mail list told me about a supplier over in the next county where they'll cut it to order.

I'll probably opt for the Lexan. Thanks again.

[fishmaven]

When you've finished your product tell us how it came out, maybe a few photos?
Dan

[ga_cichlids]

I'm getting some from broken windshields of heavy equipment. They will have to be cleaned very well and aged a little, but eventually should be okay. They throw that stuff away and those windshields break alot.

My friend actually uses old undergravel filters, vent plastic, pieces of plastic. I don't know where he finds them, just sort of gets them. I get glass and plastic cheap at goodwill (in picture frames) and habitat (in really old windows, if you can get them, sometimes they just have pieces of untempered glass). Most glass places will cut exactly what you need, if you just go glass. or you can put glass where the light goes, plexi elsewhere.

[Geoff Davis]

The rib technique works well with covers for small tank. I use that to cover my 2.5 and 5.5 gal tanks with plexiglass. You only need one rib, running length-wise for such small tanks.

[Julie]

I use polycarbonate covers for my tanks as unbreakable close to impossible to scratch and light penetrates better than glass .

I like to keep the glass cover clean and have broken a few simply by holding them in shower and wiping them clean (couple I dropped) but now no big deal .

I tried acrylic but it scratched to easy and warped . I order it cut to size granted you measure allowing room for filter ,etc .
http://freckleface.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/polycarbonatesheet.html

I think its bullet proof which is a nice option in Miami lol.

[Dean Hougen]

The polycarbonate sounds great. Thanks for the info and the link. What thickness do you use?


Dean

[decapod]

I use the thin styrene sheet that's meant for diffusing light from lighting fixtures mounted in dropped ceilings. It's cheap and easy to work with. Styrene also doesn't absorb moisture like acrylic, so it won't warp. One side is smooth and the other is textured, so I use it with the smooth side facing down into the tank- that makes it easier to clean.

There's more info here: http://www.gcca.net/howto/tank_covers.htm

Menards has styrene sheet that's much nicer than the stuff I've seen anywhere else. The usual stuff has a grid of little pyramids molded into it, which makes one side very rough and also makes it difficult to cut anywhere other than straight between the rows. The stuff from Menards has a cracked-ice type pattern that isn't nearly as thick or rough, so it's much easier to cut. Just be sure you get the styrene sheet- they also have acrylic that looks identical except for the label.

Menards only has the cracked-ice styrene in 2' x 2' sheets- I haven't seen the good stuff offered in 2' x 4'. Since the Menards stuff doesn't have those annoying pyramids, it's thin enough that you can easily overlap the pieces if you need to go longer, though. I've used it for all kinds of tanks up to a center-braced 55g, and I expect that it would also work for center-braced 75g or double-braced 125g tanks. I also did a non-center-braced 75g by adding three pieces of eggcrate underneath the styrene to support it. I didn't need any glue or fasteners- the eggcrate sits in the channel around the rim of the tank, and the styrene just lays on top of the eggcrate.

Here are pics of the 75g:

[Dean Hougen]

Thanks for the info!


Dean

[Julie]

The polycarbonate sounds great. Thanks for the info and the link. What thickness do you use?


Dean

I use 1/8 but my friends uncle who I got the idea from and the link that I ordered from uses 1/4 on his 75 gallon size. The light penetrates better than same size glass.

This is my new tank which is murky as just added sand but you can see the cover. Its only a 30 gallon . I had them cut bit wider as lay them ontop of tank not in tank like those cheap glass covers they sell that fall in the tank .

Its very strong will never break , unless you shoot it can't fathom it getting scratched and you can have them cut it any size you want.

If you order from them it looks opaque when you open box but that is because they have a thin sheet of plastic paper on BOTH sides which you peel off . I guess to protect it.

The acrylic sheets stink as scratch in seconds but not the polycarbonate and though more money will last a life time.

The dual light strip I ordered didn't arrive yet but took this pic to show you and I use dome lights on my other tanks .

Just figure out filter space,etc when you measure it. I got tired of breaking glass covers when I cleaned them in shower lol plus hated those flimsy tank glass covers.