acrylic hood

[tothna]

I was at Home Depot today and I saw sheets of acrylic and was thinking of making a hood for my 29 gal. Has anyone had experience doing this? I was wondering what would be a good light setup.

[Oddball]

The plexi at Home Depot is too thin to make a hood that will last. The heat from the tank and light/ballasts will cause the thin plexi to bow and warp in a short time.

[rallysman]

They sell 1/4 inch acrylic at hardware stores around here...I think that would be fine.

[joeytoe]

Ya dont use 3/16" Plexi it warps like anything an only way to get it back is to use a heat gun an force it back to straight as best you can. Get thicker Plexi or just use plate, or safety glass.

[gomezladdams]

I have some sheets of 1/8 plexi Ive been using for tank covers,some of the pieces are over 20 years old.The one on my oscar tank has had a flourecent light resting on it for a year.None of the pieces are warped cracked or discolored.The only breaks are from dropping on a corner on cement floor.

[tothna]

do you have anything supporting it? seems like it would sag in the middle

[yourmylunch]

buy the thicker stuff and have them cut it it works great for me

[gomezladdams]

tothna the only thing supprting is the center brace of the tank

[Conagher]

I made a smoke tinted cover to dim the lighting a little for my plecos and loaches in my 10G tank... it was only 1/8' thick and was supported completely around the perimeter of the tank, but it sagged a bit after only a month. I keep flipping it over every month or so. it seems to keep it in decent shape.

The fish seem to be more active with it on, but it still allows enough light through to see them very well.

[gloriabills]

remember to cut the plexi slowly.
i cut a piece once at high speed, and it melted back together. :D