DIY Sliding Glass Lids

[Law Dog]

After while searching for new lids, everywhere I looked people were complaining about the plastic hinges on "hinged" lids breaking after a few years. I decided to make my own glass lids.

First, I knew I wanted them to slide front to back (back to front in my case) so after measuring the width and length I added 3/4" to the length to allow for an overlap. I picked up the glass at my local Lowes and had them cut the 4 pieces to size. I then went to the wall board area and found "outside corner moulding" for wall board. It has a groove to place one pane of glass in that won't be the "slider".

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Sequentia-0...ulding/4768283

The one thing Lowe's doesn't do is smooth the VERY sharp edges of the cut glass for you. I just took a block of wood and regular sand paper (200 grit I believe, but 100 would work as well) and sanding the edges until they weren't sharp. Don't forget the corners also! Take one pane and place each side into the channel on the moulding, then set it on the tank. The other pane (the slider) is placed on top of the moulding. I decided to add handles to the "sliders" and picked up a pair at my LFS as well as 4ft of clear back edging. I decided to silicone the back edging to the "sliders".

In total I think this project cost me around $20 for both sides of the tank and about 2hrs total time, including the trip to Lowes.

[Slaphppy7]

Nice DIY thread, thanks for taking the time to share.

[Boundava]

I agree, thanks for sharing. I want to do this to most of our 10 gallon tanks. We tried to cut the glass ourselves but had a massive failure. Getting them cut at the hardware store is much smarter. Hope you can upload some photos of your project soon.

[Law Dog]

I agree, thanks for sharing. I want to do this to most of our 10 gallon tanks. We tried to cut the glass ourselves but had a massive failure. Getting them cut at the hardware store is much smarter. Hope you can upload some photos of your project soon.

The first 3 cuts by Lowes is free. I can't remember how much it was for each additional cut but it wasn't a big amount.

I'll try to get some pics uploaded later today after work!

[Law Dog]

Sorry for the delay, but here's a photo of the lids.....

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I should've taken pics along the way but once I start a project I very rarely remember to stop and take pics along the way. They are VERY good at keeping evaporation to a minimum. I use to have about 7-10 gallons evaporate in the winter months between WC's (every 2 weeks) but now it's down to maybe 1 gallon (if that) as they fit much tighter that the hinge lids.

If anyone has any questions feel free to ask. This was pretty straight forward as Lowes had the edging and glass. The handles and silicone were from my LFS.

[Slaphppy7]

So you used the same back plastic trim(s), from a store-bought glass aquarium lids?

[Law Dog]

So you used the same back plastic trim(s), from a store-bought glass aquarium lids?

No, sorry I should've mentioned that I bought new back trim pieces from myLFS also. The black ones from my old hinge lids were cut up from my old set up and I wanted to make this as tight as possible to keep evaporation to a minimum. Plus, these are translucent which should allow more light to seep through.

[Slaphppy7]

All of the back trim pieces I've ever had (with glass lid kits) have been translucent, no experience with the black ones

Maybe a "brand" thing with the type you get in the kit

[Law Dog]

All of the back trim pieces I've ever had (with glass lid kits) have been translucent, no experience with the black ones

Maybe a "brand" thing with the type you get in the kit

I've only had black ones, lol. I agree that it must be a "brand" thing.

After making these, I will never have another store bought lid. Not only are they easy to make with standard tools and materials, they're a lot easier to clean because they're each a seperate piece. No more dealing with 2 pieces of glass connected by a hinge made of plastic. Plus, there's no plastic to break unless you take the rails off and abuse them.

[Slaphppy7]

I'm sure the DIY lid is much less expensive, as well