Bowfront tank lid?

[FishyFish]

Does anyone know of a good way to make a custom lid for a bowfront tank? Mine is a rimmed 30ish gallon from an unknown maker. It came with a lid but it's hard plastic and I need something to let light through. I guess I don't care too much about the material, I'm open to glass acrylic or mesh, but I have a longnose hawkfish so going rimless is not an option. The only idea I've come up with so far is a custom cut piece of glass but that's so expensive I'd almost be better off just buying a new tank with a proper lid. Is there a DIY genius out there with a better idea?

 

[geddavis]

Egg crate wreped in plastic wrap works well and is supper cheap but looks bad. For my tanki used a 1/8” piece of acrylic roughly the size of the tank and then I set it on top and traced the tank onto it and cut it with a jig saw.

 

[FishyFish]

Thanka! I like the idea of cutting my own piece of acrylic. Do you know of a good place to get acrylic sheets?

 

[geddavis]

I always get mine from tap plastics. they even ship if there is not one near you.

 

[FishyFish]

Awesome I'll check that out, thanks a bunch!!

 

[Robbs]

Ive tried with acrylic but it will bend after som time because of the heat on one side.
But i made something better in my opinion.
I just cut of the inner section and made a net with fishingline and a lots of holes. 1 small drop of glue here and there so the line didnt move if a fish jumps.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

I have a 155 bow front and couldn't find acceptable lids to save my life. What I did is made cardboard templates of what I wanted and took it to a local glass guy. I think I paid around $60ish but had custom glass ones cut. Have been very happy with them. Plastic will warp and discolor with time. Highly recommend making templates to make their (and your) life easier.