Glass vs acrylic cover for redsea 250

[Parent_usmc]

Hey all, I need to do something about the evaporation of my tank in my small house. The humidity during the summer due to my tank loosing about 5gallons a week is starting to be noticeable. Wondering if anyone has had this issue and also if glass vs acrylic would be a good choice.

 

[fachatga]

I honestly prefer the mesh and to deal with the evaporation. My fish hit the mesh every so often and I’ve heard of enough fish injured from a hard lid.

 

[Parent_usmc]

Understandable, however it's no longer an option due to the family being uncomfortable

 

[Spieg]

Wouldn't use acrylic as it will curl up on you. Glass or Polycarbonate will stay flat and make a better seal against evaporation.

 

[Mike konesky]

A dehumidifier may be a good idea instead of a cover. 5gal a week doesn't seem like much. restricting gas exchange may produce undesirable results. Just an idea =D

 

[Biokabe]

Wouldn't use acrylic as it will curl up on you. Glass or Polycarbonate will stay flat and make a better seal against evaporation.

+1. Don't ever use acrylic for an aquarium lid. If you're going for a hard lid, polycarbonate all the way. 1/8" thick is plenty for your size of tank.

Get a set or two of Auqa Gadget's support clips, and then measure from clip to clip to get an exact size for your lid. Since Red Sea tanks are rectangular, it shouldn't be too expensive to get a sheet of poly cut to size, though it may be a little more complex if you want to have your lid go around the overflow.

From there, you can make it as complex as you want. Attach handles, cut it in half and hinge it, cut a feeding door... lots of possibilities. Pre-planning is your friend - plastic shops can do all the cuts a lot easier than you can, unless you have a laser CNC machine. Which you won't. You can cut the lid yourself, or even shape it if you have a router and the right bit, but it's honestly a bit of a pain; the more you can have the shop do, the happier you'll be.

Personally I'd go with a mesh lid and if the humidity was really a problem, invest in a dehumidifier... but your house, your choice. If you are set on a hard lid, use poly.