DIY Canopy/Lid for Rimmed Tank

I had a small disaster a few nights ago involving a fat cat that has no business jumping up on top of my 75 gallon aquarium...but he's sneaky and he does what he wants when I'm in another room not watching him.

Meet Kylo...he loves my aquariums and equipment almost as much as I do.






Well the other night he got caught on top of my 75 gallon Marineland tank and when he heard me coming he scrambled and quickly jumped down, but in the process he destroyed my glass lid.




A new glass lid (a set of 2) is currently about $90. Obviously I wasn't excited about having to spend that much on something that could potentially break again. So I began to explore acrylic.

The measurements of the opening for the lid on this tank are 22.75" X 16.75".

So this 24" X 18" acrylic sheet from Lowes ($35) was going to work perfectly. I went with the 0.22" thickness for stability purposes and future fat cat protection.




Lowes was able to cut it down to 22.75" X 16.75" and then I also had them cut a 22.75" X 5" section off of one side of the panel so I could add a hinge and be able to open the 5" section for feeding etc.

I also picked up this Dremel bit ($5) so I could route out the holes for my filter hoses:




I measured and marked the holes for the hoses and began to cut them out (i don't have a rotary Dremel but my drill worked perfectly fine). The holes aren't super pretty but I think I'll go back and get a grinder bit and shape them up in the future. Here's how it turned out:







Then I dropped in the 5" section for the front:




I'll be adding a living hinge and a canopy handle in the future, but they will have to come from Amazon because they weren't available at Lowes.

For now i found this command hook in a desk drawer that will work as a handle:






I don't think it turned out too bad...i have some more to do to it and i think that I can make it a bit prettier so I'll post an update when I get the rest of the materials to finish.

For now, its serving its purpose. So far im $40 in on this project. (It would cost about half that much if I went with a thinner acrylic panel)

 

Nice job. Nice to have the lid just the way you want it.

Acrylic tends warp and distort fairly quickly. Hopefully the thickness will slow the process down.

 

I like it!
How's it going to perform when the cat gets back up there though?

 

I like it!
How's it going to perform when the cat gets back up there though?

It will definitely hold his fat butt without any issues. It's pretty sturdy.

 

Ok your worry now is warping. If Kylo’s moving on it and it’s warped being 2 pieces Kyle made need some swimming lessons before you let him sit back up there .

 

Ok your worry now is warping. If Kylo’s moving on it and it’s warped being 2 pieces Kyle made need some swimming lessons before you let him sit back up there .

I don't let him sit up there. He knows better.
I've actually considered taking the lids off so that when he does try to jump up, there's nothing to land on...that should teach him a lesson. But i haven't actually done that....yet.

As far as it being 2 pieces, and going to hinge them together with this so that should help reinforce them back as a single piece as well as add a bit of Center support.




But the goal is that he keeps his butt off of there.

 

View attachment 871973

But the goal is that he keeps his butt off of there.

Well being a cat that’s not going to happen!!