polycarbonate sheet on top of screen top.. bad idea?

[newfly]

My tank is coming next week. Yay! I have almost everything thought out, except for the lid.

I would like have a lid that can reduce heat lost, and evaporation. The room temp at night can drop to 60 and having a lid can help a great deal on keeping the temp stable besides saving $$ on heating cost. I have a ductless AC/Heatpump system for everyroom, so at night the room where the tank is not heated at night. Wife told me i'm crazy to heat up the living room for the fish tank. Heating up the living room practically heating up the entire house . We have an open kitchen/dining room. Not going to win the battle there.

Most custom lid i found is the mesh type. Clearview have a new insert for their pixo lid, but man these puppy is expensive. It will be ~$300 all in.

I'm thinking of using something like RedSea DIY screen top, and put a thin 1/8 (?) polycarbonate sheet on top. I have no experience with this, so i am reaching out to see if anyone have the RedSea or similiar mesh screen top can comment if it is solid enough to hold a thin polycarbonate sheet weight. I can remove the polycarbonate sheet in summer and have just the mesh.

Its a 48x20 tank. Thinking of making 2x 24x20 frame section for the lid.

Any idea?

 

[MnFish1]

we routinely turn our heat down to 65 or so at night - and don't have a problem keeping a stable temperature. You just need a large enough heater. Also - depending on the volume of water - you may not notice that much of a change - so you will be giving up oxygenation (potentially) - with the cover - to save a little on heating. BTW - if you're going to go with a cover - I would consider just getting a custom made 'solid' cover rather than buying the clear view and covering it - it will make maintenance easier - and will look better IMHO. BTW - I have a clear view cover - and they are excellent quality - IMO