MODing poly lids. anyway have to do it?

[Devaji]

Ok lets say you got a fancy aquarium lids. you thought long and hard about all the cord cut outs, feed doors ,light mounts etc. but plans & equipment change.

SOOOO
anyone mods the fancy aquarium lid?
drill an extra cord slot?
make a auto feeder door /mount


opps just say the typo in the title * *anyone**

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

I am doing a DIY Lid, any mods will be critical if you have equipment changes. If the changes will effect the strength of the lid, may have to build another if needed. Cord slots and light mount modifications will be easy for the DIY'er . If you are looking for how these are done, different methods are used. Everything from a drill, to a router table, jig saw, and miter saw

 

[Devaji]

I am doing a DIY Lid, any mods will be critical if you have equipment changes. If the changes will effect the strength of the lid, may have to build another if needed. Cord slots and light mount modifications will be easy for the DIY'er . If you are looking for how these are done, different methods are used. Everything from a drill, to a router table, jig saw, and miter saw

yeah I have made my far share of window frame top in my life. no more of that for me plz..haha

yeah the question was not worded right.
guess it should tave been:
best tool to cur poly lids.
or
how did you add an auto feeder to your lid with out a custom cut out. those add up

 

[TARHEEL78]

What type of fancy lid are we talking about here? Some Clearview lids are modular and a new piece can be swapped in to add cut outs etc.

 

[Devaji]

What type of fancy lid are we talking about here? Some Clearview lids are modular and a new piece can be swapped in to add cut outs etc.

I had a clear view on my RS 650P was nice the feed door would fall into the tank is I was not mindful.
I got it for the modular feature. I know that is a selling point for them but I do wounder if reefers are going it??

I believe I heard there where also meant to be made it home to save on shipping. but ppl could not do it right , so they went back to shipping the it pre- made.

I am leaning towards the kraken lid. just cant predict what the future of the tank will be.
so was wondering of others had modded there "custom lids"

 

[TARHEEL78]

I had a clear view on my RS 650P was nice the feed door would fall into the tank is I was not mindful.
I got it for the modular feature. I know that is a selling point for them but I do wounder if reefers are going it??

I believe I heard there where also meant to be made it home to save on shipping. but ppl could not do it right , so they went back to shipping the it pre- made.

I am leaning towards the kraken lid. just cant predict what the future of the tank will be.
so was wondering of others had modded there "custom lids"

Gotcha

 

[OctaviusBrine]

I bought a second hand clearview lid. The person that had it before me had his lights hanging. I have rms mounts so I had to cut it with a dremel.

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

yeah I have made my far share of window frame top in my life. no more of that for me plz..haha

yeah the question was not worded right.
guess it should tave been:
best tool to cur poly lids.
or
how did you add an auto feeder to your lid with out a custom cut out. those add up

router with up cut fluted bit works great. Router table will help with straight line cuts or cut outs. If you don't include a spot for the feed port in your design, you will need to make one with rings that clamp onto the mesh when screwed together. the picture below is my lid design being cut out (left side) you can see how my feed port was designed into it.

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

yeah I have made my far share of window frame top in my life. no more of that for me plz..haha

yeah the question was not worded right.
guess it should tave been:
best tool to cur poly lids.
or
how did you add an auto feeder to your lid with out a custom cut out. those add up

Jig saw, Dremel, hole saw and drill, table saw, circular saw, and miter saw will cut it. how accurate depends on you and what you use

 

[Kraken Reef]

The key with cutting polycarbonate with a drill or saw is to go SLOW. You don't want to melt the polycarbonate, rather cut it. We would recommend using ~1/4" drill bit for corner radius' and then a Dremel with plastic cutoff wheel for straight sections, at a low speed. A router table could also be used if you have access to those, but I'd guess that router bit could be "grabby" on the polycarbonate.

 

[Devaji]

The key with cutting polycarbonate with a drill or saw is to go SLOW. You don't want to melt the polycarbonate, rather cut it. We would recommend using ~1/4" drill bit for corner radius' and then a Dremel with plastic cutoff wheel for straight sections, at a low speed. A router table could also be used if you have access to those, but I'd guess that router bit could be "grabby" on the polycarbonate.

Hey guys thanks for chiming in. I see you have an auto feeder attachment for your feed doors. looks like the pellets/flakes go into the screen top then fall into the tank. is that correct.

I see its test on a few of the auto feeders. does it not pull up the corner of the lid?
how long can they be used at a time with out causing damage to your new fancy lid?

oh if you add that your your lid do you get both feed doors?

 

[Kraken Reef]

Hey guys thanks for chiming in. I see you have an auto feeder attachment for your feed doors. looks like the pellets/flakes go into the screen top then fall into the tank. is that correct.

I see its test on a few of the auto feeders. does it not pull up the corner of the lid?
how long can they be used at a time with out causing damage to your new fancy lid?

oh if you add that your your lid do you get both feed doors?

It is designed to be balanced over the opening (offset bar to mount the feeder to) and should not cause damage to the lid. You can get 2 premium feed openings on the 2 piece lids regardless, the adapter is just an add-on piece.

 

[Devaji]

It is designed to be balanced over the opening (offset bar to mount the feeder to) and should not cause damage to the lid. You can get 2 premium feed openings on the 2 piece lids regardless, the adapter is just an add-on piece.

just placed an order. went with a single feed door to keep the price down. I am excited to get it.