First of all, do you call it a tank lid or a cover or what? I've never really gotten a definitive answer.

Anyways, I am setting up a new 30 gallon that I "inherited". The only problem is that the lid is broken. The glass part is all jagged and missing (I cut my thumb on it; it started bleeding badly) and the part that you flip up (What do you call that part anyways?) is seperate from the main lid and I can't get it together. Essentially, the lid is a piece of junk.

My dad, who loves DIY-type things, has decided that he wants to either make an entirely new lid or fix the one we have. If he was to make a new one, what would he make it out of? And is glass the best thing for putting lights on top of? This lid is older than I am, so I'm not sure how smart they were when it was made. Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Maybe plexiglass . You can make two pieces and hinge them together so you can still lift front open and back will stay down under your light if you have one.

well that just depends how it will fit onto the tank... ie what is on there already... r there hangers 2 sit the lid in or does it have 2 b bigger and fit ova the top?

Why not just but a new lid, they only cost around $35.00 at petsmart

plexiglass!

it would not be that hard at all, as long as you were willing to pay the cost of the plexi glass and the glue. What you would have to do( or at least what i would do is) creat a upside down2-3 inch open box out of plexi glass an attach the balast and your lighting in it(various ways to do this). Then creat a lip for this upside down box to sit on your tank on. Once you do this then you have your hood. if you would like a more detailed explanation i could throuw down some drawings and email them to you, Pm me if you do

Cheers


DPG

A thirty gallon tank has a fairly wide opening on top and standard plexiglass is not going to support itself and the weight of a light well. Over time, it will bend and sag - and since it will be fit to the tank, it has the potential to bend so that it might fall into the tank.

A better solution would be to use lexan - you can get it at the plastic places where you get plexiglass, and it can be milled the same as the plexi glass. It will not sag.

Or, you can get tempered glass, cut to size. Was the glass lid stuck in a piece of plastic that held it in a type of slot to make the hinge? If so, just have a hardware store cut you a piece of glass to fit into that slot. You will need to grind the edges of the glass a bit to make them less sharp or run a bead of silicon sealant on the edge, but it works very well too.

Otherwise, buying a glass lid at the store works well to - but is pricey.

i may sound stupid but what is lexan is it a type of glass?

Dan

Lexan is a type of clear (or at least it can be clear) plastic. It comes in any width or thickness you are willing to pay for. It is often used for "bullet proof" windows and such in vehicles.

Lexan is the material of choice here, for it will not sag over time or in suspention situations like plexiglass will.

It can be cut just as any plexiglass can - milled and sanded to the correct shape. It is an excellent medium for all kinds of projects.

wooooow lol hehehehe bullet proof fish tank lol thnx for filling me in on that

Dan

Why not buy a new lid.

Or fix that old one. Just glue it back together and sand down all the jagged bits.

I have a 30 gallon HAGEN tank
and its the old version one

i couldnt find any size lids or roofs to fit it
so i had to build one myself with plexiglass

it works great
and is alot cheapper only $20 bucks canadian

i second that! you can score the plexi glass with the sharp blade and pop them apart.