# Diy: Plexiglass Lids



## TheSpaz13 (Apr 9, 2010)

So this is what my tank looked like originally







Its the normal look but I'm thinking of taking everything off the rim of my tank to give it a cleaner look but I needed a way to help stop the crazy evaporation and maybe keep my fish from trying to commit suicide so I decided to replace the normal lid with plexiglass. The material list is short and sweet, plexiglass (length and with is determined by your tank and the thickness I used was .093 because I didn't want to see it over the rim and it was under $10 per sheet), four hinges and enough nuts and bolts to fill all the holes in the hinges. As for tools, I used a circular saw with a plywood or trim blade, power sander (or torch) drill, wrench, tape, tape measure and magic marker.

First you need to take your basic measurements front to back and side to side. I did this on my 55gal which made my measurements 11 5/8" by 23 1/4". These measurements are tight from ridge to ridge, but you don't need to make anything this tight because the lip that supports the lids are about 1/4" on all sides. So to make sure everything fits right you could cut each side 1/8" shorter then it measures just to make it easier. Whenever you cut acrylic you need to use a fine tooth blade and go very slow IT WILL SPLIT VERY EASILY IF YOU RUSH. Also make sure not to take off the protective plastic coating until after your done cutting, it will prevent the saw from scratching the plexi. After you make the cuts be sure to sand down the edges because they do get sharp, if you don't have a sander you could use a lighter or torch and run the flame right over edge real fast to dull it over.

The next step is optional, if you have a HOB filter or heater or anything going into your tank you need to cut spaces out for that and you will probably want to cut the door opening as well. Make sure you have your equipment where you want it to be and you can slide your piece of plexi in place to mark out where your cuts will need to be made. Now is also a good time to find out how big you want your opening to be too, I wanted mine to be 5" and this is what I ended up with, the side where my friends hands are is the back.









Next you should cut and sand those sections, again you can leave yourself an 1/8" of wiggle room if you want. Making things tight more often then not will only make your life difficult later. Now you will have this.









Now you need to put on the hinges on the doors this was a little tricky but you need to make sure they are parallel and square to make sure they operate right and don't twist the whole thing up. I laid everything out on the ground, made sure everything was square and taped it all together so it wouldn't move. Don't forget to leave a 1/8" gap between the two pieces of the lid, the hinges will need clearance space to open and close without binding up. Crappy pic on this one, sorry for that.









When you put the hinges on don't use the screws they give you with them, get separate stainless steel nuts and bolts and use them. The screws that came with the hinges are meant for wood not acrylic and they are pointy, if you use nuts and bolts you don't have anything to scrape a knuckle on later on and it will hold better. When you drill out the holes here use a 1/8" bit and GO SLOW, your almost done it would be a waste if you snap the plastic now. Let the drill bit do all the work, use almost no pressure. If you taped everything together and left the protective plastic coating on it will help you here, it supports the plexi and keeps it from shattering and breaking.

If you want you can install a knob on the door, I didn't want to because I don't want anything sticking up over the rim. If not, peel the tape and protective plastic off and your done! Install and enjoy!


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## Blue Flame (Jan 16, 2006)

They look great, but plexi warps over time. Glass is the best IMO.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Looks nice , but were you not able to buy glass covers? My 125 class covers cost me 60$ so a 55g should be less.

Like said i hope you got oversized plexi or it may warp eventually.


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## Blue Flame (Jan 16, 2006)

CLUSTER ONE said:


> Looks nice , but were you not able to buy glass covers? My 125 class covers cost me 60$ so a 55g should be less.
> 
> Like said i hope you got oversized plexi or it may warp eventually.


Even thick plexi warps in time. I have a thick plexi top on 1 of the 2 tanks on my desk at work, and it warps. I just flip it over so it warps the other way. I'm planning on replacing it with glass soon though. I wonder if you were to glue some long strips of plexi on end to the top. That might stop it from warping. I'll try it on my tank at work, and let you know if that curbs the warping or not.


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## Quad (Apr 5, 2006)

lol I actually built my own acrylic top last week. I used a similar method, 'cept I also built in a larger, thicker section in the middle to prevent it from warping too much. The place where I work uses acrylic like crazy, so I just grabbed some scraps and built it. Free lid, 'cept for the hinges!


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