Does your aquarium have a "lid"?

[JSully_94]

Hi all,

I'm thinking of cutting a custom lid of acrylic for my Innovative Marine 20 gallon AIO. I'm currently using the screen mesh cover that came with the aquarium, but I'm worried about the shadow effect caused by the mesh. I am thinking will cut a 1/8 inch thick piece of acrylic to be 23" x 11 3/16" (the current cover dimensions) and have it sit on rimless aquarium screen lid clips that IM offers (I'll include a screenshot).

I have a few questions for you all before I proceed.

1. How might I attach a handle of sorts to the top of the acrylic cover for easy lifting?
2. Should I cut small holes in parts of the lid for gas exchange?
3. Should I be worried about acrylic impacting PAR levels?

Finally, if you answered yes to the poll, how do you deal with the above concerns?

Thanks!

 

[jgirardnrg]

With the acrylic it's going to get condensation on it and probably reduce your par output. Also, it's going to interfere with your oxygen exchange and probably drop the PH as well.

Edit: 1/8" acrylic is going bow/droop as well

 

[Crabby48]

My thought is the same as above post. Plus side it should reduce evaporation.

 

[Midrats]

I had a high end custom one on one of my tanks for a minute, it resides in the equipment heap under the stairs now. Too ugly...

 

[iamacat]

Don’t do it. Condensation and decrease in par. Mesh is the way to go

 

[gaki]

I have the exact same tank, and had the exact same problem. (also the plastic clips somehow transported water from inside my tank to drip down the outside-not good) If you're up for a teeny tiny DIY, order a mesh lid custom. I don't really remember which one I purchased, but the mesh is nice and thin, so it keeps fish in and lets light in as well. I'll try to find the link to the one I got.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I always have a cover
My main tank has custom acrylic covers, my 135g has glass covers and my drop off tank has a custom screen top

 

[gaki]

https://www.marinedepot.com/auqa-gadget-diy-mesh-screen-lid-kit-innovative-marine
I'm pretty sure that's it.

 

[JSully_94]

Thank you all for your replies! So no acrylic got it!

@gaki what's the difference between this IM DIY mesh screen lid kit and the lid that comes with the tank?

 

[gaki]

I wasn't sure if the picture you posted in your first post was what you currently have (with those plastic clips that clip onto the sides of the tank), but the DIY one doesn't have those clips. Instead, it has a bit of a lip on the corners that keeps it from falling into the tank.

 

[gaki]

also the mesh is much thinner (more like fishing line) so lots of light gets in and there is plenty of gas exchange