Clear top for 180.

[cilyjr]

I removed and replaced my braces some time ago to have clear acrylic to eliminate the shadows many of us have. The process was easy and went well. If you ever plan to do this you MUST brace the tank temporarily while cutting out the old brace.

Well after doing so keeping aluminum frames for the clear netting seemed to defeat the purpose so I built these out of acrylic. (Seen in 1st pic)
The 1st round was actually 2 frames sandwiched together with the screen glued inbetween. It worked ok but they were bulky and when the screen eventually tore (I use MH lighting and it gets brittle over time. That made it hard to replace.


The final incarnation of the project is this.
3/8th acrylic ripped into 3/4 thick strips. Adhered with scigrip(weldon) 4. Then I predrilled and sunk stainless steel screws leaving the head and a small amount of shank exposed. Then simply stretched the netting across the screws. It was easy to stretch tightly and will be easy to replace without building new frames in the future.

 

[jsker]

Great work

 

[LbulletM]

Love it and will have to do something similar when I upgrade (hopefully) later this year.

Keep in mind that stainless can still corrode in saltwater though. So either check on them periodically (sounds like you might have an opportunity to replace them whenever your MH cook your mesh) or look into something like titanium screws. Nylon screws would also be a good option.

 

[cilyjr]

Nylon screws that gauge would probably need to be ordered online. I bought 316 stainless (the same used on mag drives) which is said to be suitable for marine use.
That said I've seen spots on 316 stainless that has been submerged. I will watch it but am pretty comfortable with this grade for marine use.

I appreciate the heads up