A question for anyone using a Neat Aquatics Portal

Crashjack · Mar 9, 2021

I'm interested in adding a door to one of my lids to access a frozen food feeder. However here is the deal... I have Octo Aquatics lids (nice and not cheap). Aesthetically I wish these portals came in clear, but my biggest issue, and my question, is what will inserting this and cutting out the center do to the rest of the netting? Will it become loose and sag? Might it add too much stress and break some netting? I can test on an old DIY lid, but it won't necessarily paint a clear picture whether it seems to work or not.

I like the design of this in that it is round and has 8 screws to hold the rest of the netting in place. There is another 3-D printed door option, but it is square and has only 4 screws, and I don't see how it could really keep the rest of the netting tight. Anyway, I don't want to purchase a new left-side lid just to add a feed door, especially since I might always decide to go back to thawing and feeding. Any shared experience would be greatly appreciated.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/screen-top-feeding-portal-neat-aquatics.html

John Neuzil · Mar 9, 2021

I have two on two different tanks. Did not affect the net at all. Still as tight as it was before. Love em.

dumpysauce · Mar 9, 2021

ive got one. its on a 24" long lid . id imagine going much larger would create some sagging if you didnt have rail supports every couple feet on your mesh. the screws only hold it together tight. It stays because the mesh is sandwiched between the 2 pieces.

they work pretty good. less hassle than taking the lid off all the time when you want to feed.

Crashjack · Mar 10, 2021

Thanks guys. My lids are approximately 22" x 22". It will be mounted on an end if not in a corner. It looked like from the video that you wanted to create some sagging on the inside (the netting you are cutting out), presumably using the logic that if the center is saggy, the Portal has the netting on the outside tight. Would you agree with this or am I misunderstanding something?

dumpysauce · Mar 10, 2021

Your fine with that size. especially if its in a corner. Not sure what you mean about being tight vs saggy. Id make the screen like normal. The portal didn't effect any of the slack or tightness for me. Its not perfectly tight, but my lid wasn't perfect before either.
I've come to accept that it will never be perfect.

Crashjack · Mar 10, 2021

dumpysauce said:
Your fine with that size. especially if its in a corner. Not sure what you mean about being tight vs saggy. Id make the screen like normal. The portal didn't effect any of the slack or tightness for me. Its not perfectly tight, but my lid wasn't perfect before either.
I've come to accept that it will never be perfect.

In the BRS video, the netting inside the circumference of the Portal (after the Portal was attached) looked sort of saggy. My guess was that if inside the circumference of the Portal was saggy than outside the circumference (e.g. the rest of the lid's netting) must be tight. On the flip side, if the netting within the circumference of the Portal was tight, cutting it would relieve tension, contributing to "sagginess" outside the circumference of the Portal.

ubiq · Sep 29, 2021

I have one of those Innovative Marine frozen food defroster/feeder doohickeys and I'd like to add a food portal. Problem is, the defroster mounts half an inch off the glass and there's no way to position the portal so that it's directly above the feeder. Has anyone solved this?

afrokobe · Sep 29, 2021

ubiq said:
I have one of those Innovative Marine frozen food defroster/feeder doohickeys and I'd like to add a food portal. Problem is, the defroster mounts half an inch off the glass and there's no way to position the portal so that it's directly above the feeder. Has anyone solved this?

Mine isn't directly over it, but I placed my portal on the bottom right corner of the screen. If I just look at where Im pouring the food, I can make it easily into the IM defroster/feeder. I would say its about 60/70% covered. let me know if you need a pic for reference.

ubiq · Sep 29, 2021

afrokobe said:
Mine isn't directly over it, but I placed my portal on the bottom right corner of the screen. If I just look at where Im pouring the food, I can make it easily into the IM defroster/feeder. I would say its about 60/70% covered. let me know if you need a pic for reference.

I considered doing that, but my mesh lid has fairly wide rails (again, Innovative Marine, included with tank). I'd have to wedge the portal right up against the rail and I'm worried about losing tension on the corner netting. Was that an issue for you?

afrokobe · Sep 29, 2021

ubiq said:
I considered doing that, but my mesh lid has fairly wide rails (again, Innovative Marine, included with tank). I'd have to wedge the portal right up against the rail and I'm worried about losing tension on the corner netting. Was that an issue for you?

Ah, I know what you mean now. On this build, I used the BRS set and I have the lid just sitting flush on top of the tank. I can see how the IM net kit could cause more issues. I have that kit on another tank and the portal would definitely not be as flush over the defroster/feeder.

I didn't have any issues with losing tension by placing it over the corner. Just make sure you really make an effort to get the initial screen as tight as possible.