heres my way of making a DIY aquarium cover.
step 1- go to home depot, lowes, etc.. and buy yourself some eggcrate(flourescent light diffusing grid) and some acrylic that will cover your tank( i use the thin stuff, its cheap and the eggcrate will keep it from bowing.
step 2- mark your eggcrate where you want to cut it, remember to cut out slots for your filters and for a front panel that can be removed for tank maintainence. cut with a pair of dykes, i used to use scissors but the dykes work much better and keep the eggcrate from splintering and making a mess. test fit and trim wherever needed.
step 3- measure and mark where you need to cut your acrylic panels. leave the protective coating on the acrylic to keep it from being scratched and marked on.
step 4- cut your acrylic where marked, i use a pneumatic cutoff wheel but a jigsaw or other methods will work, the cutoff wheel is what i got and it works well for me. if you use a cutoff wheel do not try to cut through the acrylic in one pass, it will start melting and gum up the wheel. even 1/8" thick acrylic takes me 4-5 light passes to make a nice cut. there will be melted acrylic residue along your cut but dont worry, give it a few seconds to dry and it will break off cleanly with your fingers.
step 5- to deburr the edges and smooth them out a bit lightly use a file or your trusty cutoff wheel and run it along the edges you cut on your acrylic.
step 6- now remove the protective coating on the acrylic and place everything on the tank to see if its satisfactory.
well' looks good to me and i saved about 20-30$ rather than buying a store bought glass top. the front panel of acrylic i can lift and drop food right through the eggcrate during feeding time or remove the eggcrate for servicing the tank.
step 1- go to home depot, lowes, etc.. and buy yourself some eggcrate(flourescent light diffusing grid) and some acrylic that will cover your tank( i use the thin stuff, its cheap and the eggcrate will keep it from bowing.
step 2- mark your eggcrate where you want to cut it, remember to cut out slots for your filters and for a front panel that can be removed for tank maintainence. cut with a pair of dykes, i used to use scissors but the dykes work much better and keep the eggcrate from splintering and making a mess. test fit and trim wherever needed.
step 3- measure and mark where you need to cut your acrylic panels. leave the protective coating on the acrylic to keep it from being scratched and marked on.
step 4- cut your acrylic where marked, i use a pneumatic cutoff wheel but a jigsaw or other methods will work, the cutoff wheel is what i got and it works well for me. if you use a cutoff wheel do not try to cut through the acrylic in one pass, it will start melting and gum up the wheel. even 1/8" thick acrylic takes me 4-5 light passes to make a nice cut. there will be melted acrylic residue along your cut but dont worry, give it a few seconds to dry and it will break off cleanly with your fingers.
step 5- to deburr the edges and smooth them out a bit lightly use a file or your trusty cutoff wheel and run it along the edges you cut on your acrylic.
step 6- now remove the protective coating on the acrylic and place everything on the tank to see if its satisfactory.
well' looks good to me and i saved about 20-30$ rather than buying a store bought glass top. the front panel of acrylic i can lift and drop food right through the eggcrate during feeding time or remove the eggcrate for servicing the tank.
