Lid Cutouts Any Regrets

[Fish_Fry]

Hi everyone,

I’m about to pull the trigger on a custom lid for my IM 75-INT (~36” wide) mixed reef but primarily LPS. Before I submit the final specs, I’d love some feedback on the layout. I’m leaning toward Kraken or maybe ClearView. I’m specifically interested in the utility and design of the cutouts.

The main reason I want a custom lid is to be able to easily reach into the tank and to set up an auto-feeder for when I’m out of town. Right now, whenever I lift the lid the other end dips into the tank, and it’s a pia.

Here is what I’m currently planning:

Cord Slots: One in each back corner. My thinking is this gives me flexibility for powerheads on either side without having cables draped across the center.

Feeding: I’m planning on one feeding cup cutout. For a 36" tank, is one enough? Do you find a centered hole works best, or do you wish you had offset it to one side? It seems in addition to a feeder hole I would need a place to mount an auto-feeder.

The "Reach-In" Door: I want one cutout large enough to actually get my arm/hand through.

Light Mounts: I’m currently using two lights. I don’t think I’m going to add another light so 2 cutouts should suffice.

No evaporation cover: In the future I might add a piece of plexiglass over the lid when I travel. I figure a couple days of lower PAR won’t matter if it cuts down on how often my wife or house sitter has to top off the ATO reservoir. But there is no reason to pay extra at this point.

My biggest question for those with custom lids: How secure/stable is the lid when using a "reach-in" door? If I’m reaching in with a turkey baster to target-feed, or using tweezers to upright a fallen frag or upside-down snail is the lid sturdy enough to stay in place? Or do you find yourself just taking the whole lid off anyway?
What else am I missing? Any regrets or "I wish I had put a hole here" moments?

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[MadreeferNJ]

I purchased my tank used with a custom cover. I would have liked a 3rd light cut out option, can ask for a removable cover. The power cords were my concern. No side cut out so placed them on the back wall but I had to use same cut outs for the lights. Would have been nice to have a small cut out closer to both corners. It all worked out but just something to think a bout.

 

[gkprevite]

If you decide to diy your own evap cover down the road make sure to use polycarbonate not plexiglass. Plexi will curl up from the humidity. It looks crappy and won’t stop evaporation after a few days

 

[hnguy]

Those companies are great but if you have the time and are handy, you can buy all the tools and supplies to make your own lid and you'll get to keep the tools after you're done for other things too.

all you need is polycarbonate, clear window spline, 1/4inch netting, a router, some clamps, and a straight edge or a saw track.

 

[code4]

Those companies are great but if you have the time and are handy, you can buy all the tools and supplies to make your own lid and you'll get to keep the tools after you're done for other things too.

all you need is polycarbonate, clear window spline, 1/4inch netting, a router, some clamps, and a straight edge or a saw track.

Do you have a video or photos of this technique?

 

[code4]

@Fish_Fry I have a 48 inch tank. Two parts to the lid. Made by Kraken. Very nice lis. Had two feeding ports put in towards the front, one each side. Hate their placement. I usually just slide one side off and feed in several spots.

These lids are stable. But easily removed to do anything in the tank you want.

I did put a couple of cord slots in. One on both side in the back. So far haven't needed them. One in the back center would have been great just in case. But I can always cut it myself.

 

[hnguy]

Do you have a video or photos of this technique?

I don't. I'm pretty swamped right now quarantining some fish but if there's appetite for more information about how to do this I'm happy to help out! It's pretty simple to be honest, and since you're doing it yourself you can experiment and change things to however you like in the future. I think that if you can keep a reef tank alive, you are competent enough to make a nice polycarbonate lid in the style of those great companies with very good results.

Of course, if you're limited on time and want someone else to do it for you, the premium is worth it. Once you do this for yourself you'll realize those companies aren't really asking for a ridiculous amount of money. In the end, It has to be worth it for them to offer the service.

But for the handy or able: you don't really need any super specialized equipment to do this and can finish the project in a day.

All you need is:
- a basic router like a dewalt DCW600 or similar (you can find something like this for around ~$100 easily), a ryobi or whatever cheaper tool would be fine too unless you plan on starting a business.
- It also helps to have a drill so that you can drill a starting hole, but even this is probably not necessary. I just adjusted my router's depth adjustment while it was running to start the first hole (please note: it's safer and better to either use a plunge router if you have it, or a drill to start the first hole, but since this is basically a once-in-a-tank project I wasn't willing to invest in a plunge attachment for my router, nor was I motivated enough to switch to a drill after realizing I could do this with just the router's depth adjustment ring)
- an o flute downcut router bit, appropriately sized to the thickness of the polycarbonate you're using. I used this, the o flute downcut bit helps the polycarbonate extract away from the bit so that it doesn't clog and cause problems as you're routing.
- 3/8" polycarbonate such as this
- some transparent window spline such as this , this is used to keep the net below in place
- 1/8" transparent netting
- clamps
- and then if you need to cut straight lines there are a couple ways you can do it (this is just general router technique, so there are plenty of youtube videos to show how to accomplish this. I ended up using a track and a guide rail and 3d printed an adapter, but there are plenty of those available for every router too. You also don't need to use a guide rail, there are other ways such as using a straight edge.

In the end you'll likely spend less money than having someone making the lid for you, but you'll also have the tools to be able to be self-sufficient in the future, which is more my kind of vibe. The tools basically pay for themselves on the very first project, which is always a good justification for obtaining another tool ;)

note: there are probably cheaper options if you're willing to do the legwork and shop around, but for me, the convenience of amazon was worth it

 

[code4]

@hnguy I think you would be surprised at the amount of "appetite " there is for DIY here. A thread on this would be greatly appreciated by many. I greatly appreciate all your advice and ideas.

I have all the necessary tools. My darling husband was a hydro repairman on a dam. And we have built garages, cabin and numerous other things. But having this information will save us alot of time and a few mistakes.

Good luck with your quarantining.

And thanks again.
Shelley

 

[dangles]

I ordered from ClearVue. I had a good experience. This is what I ended up with for my 4x2 footprint tank…

The only thing I ended up changing was I had them send two longer cross braces to fit at the 1/3 an 2/3 point (basically on either side of the large feeding door). The original centralized brace rested on the internal weir box and didn’t allow the middle section of the lid to rest flush on the rim of the tank. Two braces made the lid much more solid as well.

The cutout on the left is for my Plank auto feeder. The big central cutout is just a general-use access door. I use this regularly to reach in with my grabber and move things around or whatever. I can’t quite fit my arm through it but I rarely have a need to put my arm in the tank.

My one complaint about this style lid is the puzzle piece cuts designed to allow for modifications down the road. I get the logic, but MAN they are magnets for salt creep! I’m having to wipe off salt creep every couple of days. If I had it to do over I may opt for a lid without that feature. It would unfortunately lock you in to your cutout choices but I’m not sure that will ever be an issue for me.

I would suggest that if you can find a way to avoid doing light mount cutouts I would definitely do that. There’s a pretty good chance you’ll change lights sometime down the road and that may restrict you, or you’ll find you have two random cutouts in the back that you need to fill/cover.

(I had not yet received the two replacement braces when I took these photos)

*edit - To answer your stability question, I don’t have any stability issues with my lid. Especially with the two cross braces not in the above photos.