siamese blue

Hi, every one.

I need some advice on how to build by own lid for my 20gallon fish tank,
what wood to use, with what must i seal the wood with. thanks

Dave A44

Here you go > http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=11

You did say 'wood'. After looking over this article though - I'm wondering about condensation problems. I've always looked toward plastics for fish tank tops - never tried wood. Probably easy enough to paint it with non-toxic paint though. Under the constant wet conditions I see with my plastic hoods though, I'd be concerned with how long a wood hood would last.

griffin

i didn't go to the link, but i have used homemade wood hoods before. i tried to make sure that there was quite a bit of space in there (so the overall size was larger than if i had used plastic). i also coated the wood with a few layers of shellac (sp?) to make it water proof/sealed. it's a high moisture area, so it's something to think about.

siamese blue

Thanks, I heard you must but tin foil in the inside for al the moist. Maybe I must
go with plastic. Thanks again

griffin

plastic is probably the easiest option. however, once you paint the wood to make it water proof, that would work as well. not so sure about using foil on the inside tho

siamese blue

I decided to go with a plastic lid, bought one today. Thanks every one for your reply's.

Ntruder1400

I was thinking of thick plexiglass.

texaszephyr

Hi guys, I'm new to the forum.

I'd also like to make a lid for a new 55 gallon tank I got that came without a lid (used).

*What types of plastic/synthetic material (other than plexiglass) do you recommend for the lid?
*Where does one acquire the plastic?

I'm aware that Lowe's sells acrylic, but uncertain if this would be a workable solution.

Sorry if this has been covered in a thread before (yet I haven't seen one). Thanks!

OldMan

To keep the fish from jumping out and the water from evaporating too fast, it is easiest to cover the top with glass. You can get plastic back strips and plastic glass hinge materials from places like Foster & Smith. What you do is get glass cut to make up the front hinged section and the back stationary section of the top. Cut the hinge to length and join the 2 glass pieces, cut the back strip to length and place it across the back with cutouts to fit your hardware needs. I stick on a piece of wood to act as my front hinged piece handle and I am done. At that point, you can build any desired hood to fit your own tastes and to hold the lighting that you need because you have isolated the tank from the hood. The glass tops keep the tank moisture out of the hod so you can paint it to taste and design a shape that suits you. I even have one 4 foot tank that has only a light strip on it. The light strip is intended to be an electronic ballast shop light but it grows plants for me in a 45 gallon long.
I just rechecked Foster&Smith and no longer find the hinges for sale but they are selling what they call versa tops that are pre-made versions of the same thing. I need to check other vendors because DIY my not be an option any more if you can't get the hinge material.