good material to make a small cover with?

[Dave-H]

Hello all -

I am putting some lights in to light the rear of my 55 gallon corner tank - it gets a little dim back there. Unfortunately, the cover has a triangular plastic piece back there and it's totally opaque (black).

I just need to create a triangular piece about 9 inches long to fit perfectly back there, allow a few holes for filter tubes and a heater wire, then drop it into place underneath the lights. Obviously it needs to be able to withstand a bit of head (LED lights, but still warm) and let as much light through as possible.

What is the easiest way to do this? I don't have the skill to cut glass (I don't think). Can I just go to Home Depot and get a piece of acrylic or something like that? Can I score/break it like a tile?

Any advice appreciated :)

thanks!!

[Brhino]

acrylic is what I'd use. I've gone after acrylic with a jigsaw before, it cuts pretty well but melts a little bit, which makes it sort of ugly. You can sand it down after that, though.

I'm not sure how scoring/breaking would work. The stuff's pretty cheap, though, so you could probably buy some extra and test some ideas out.

[Cliff]

I've used a 1/2" thick pc of acrylic (bought it at Home Depot) to make a top for my 55 gallon. Seams to hold up well to the heat of the lights. I had to use a small saw to cut it tho.

I can be a little hard to cut

[korith]

Can get a piece of acrylic at most hardware stores. Score it with a sharp edge, then snap. If you get a thicker piece of acrylic well then you gotta cut it. Depending on what you use to cut it, if the rpm are too high may end up melting the acrylic.

[CGY_Betta_Guy]

if you arent looking to spend a big amount of money on a full sheet of acrylic at the hardware store another alternative might be to find one of them acrylic menu/display stand things at your local office supplies store... I think they make them letter sized

[Dave-H]

Well, I got some acrylic and cut it to shape. Not so hard to score/snap it, but already I'm seeing some bowing/warping! It's only been a few days.

This small corner piece will have to carry the weight of the Powerbrite strips which isn't much, but I'm pretty surprised at how flexible they are when they are warm.

So, I called a glass store and they said that if I bring in the piece that I made, they could make a duplicate of it for around $25 bucks. I'm think I'm going that direction - I love a good DIY but I've got frogs, shrimp, snails, and fish and I have a bad feeling about escape artists in this tank :)

[Lady Hobbs]

How about glass lids? Much nicer than hoods anyway.

[Dave-H]

How about glass lids? Much nicer than hoods anyway.

ACtually I'm not sure what the difference is! The corner tank came with a glass cover - perfect fit with a nice hinge in the middle. But, the actual corner (from the extreme corner to about 12 inches in) are covered by a black plastic piece. I want to light the back of the tank, since it's kind of dim, so I'm looking for a way to put a light there.

I'm planning on just putting a triangular piece of glass there - not sure if that counts as lid or a hood!

[Lady Hobbs]

They have a glass versa-lid that has a wider section at the back for lights. Lights can also be moved where ever you want them if you want more light on the front, as well. Just tossing out a thought.

[Dave-H]

They have a glass versa-lid that has a wider section at the back for lights. Lights can also be moved where ever you want them if you want more light on the front, as well. Just tossing out a thought.

I think that's the one I have - the versa-lid. It has glass right up the front, and for quite a wide area towards the back so I can move the light around. However, it doesn't extend all the way to the rear of the corner tank, which is what I'm trying to light up!

[Dave-H]

I cut a piece of acrylic but it started to bow already, presumably from the heat coming off the lights. It wasn't that hot, but acrylic just isn't a rigid as i wanted.

I went to a glass store and had them cut a perfect piece of 3/8 glass to match the tank and existing cover perfectly. Then I ordered a replacement for the hinge piece that holds the pieces of glass together in the existing cover, and another one of those stick on handles.

I assembled it and it's incredibly perfect - a glass cover with a nice handle/hinge so that I can open the front or the back. With the factory hinge/handle you wouldn't never know that it's not factory original!

Cost was: glass $22, hinge 7$, handle 4$ and it looks and fits awesomely :)

[Northernguy]

Sounds great but it would be a lot nicer with pics!lol:19:

[DrNic]

If you need a custom piece take detailed measurements and go to your local hardware store. Around here all the stores sell plexiglass, at various thicknesses, that they will cut to size free of charge.

[Dave-H]

The guy at the glass shop also did acrylic. He basically said that glass was a much better material for aquariums - harder to scratch, easier to clean, and even a thick piece of acrylic would eventually bow unless it was an expensive type which would be twice the cost of glass.

Also, my top was made of 3/8 glass so I didn't want to go thicker than that (so that the lights would rest nicely) and a 3/8 piece of acrylic already started bowing on me.

I snapped a few pics and will put them up tomorrow.

[Dave-H]

Here's the original top, with the new glass piece, the hinge, and the handle:

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

With the hinge on:

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Assembled top on the tank:

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Stick the handle on the back:

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[gadget228]

Nice job, looks factory made. thumbs2:

[Northernguy]

thumbs2: That look awesome! Nice job!