[Leah]

Hi. I'm getting some amano shrimp and want to cover my standard 10g tank. Very much dislike the standard covers with the black strip down the middle of it. My plan it to have the cover made in two pieces so that I can easily remove the front piece for feeding, tank cleaning, moving plants around, etc. I could either have it cut loose enough that I can get a finger between the edge and the cover to pick it up, or have a circular hole cut in it. The back piece won't be quite rectangular, I'll have a cut out for the HOB filter, heater wire, etc. I'll take the glass store cardboard templates (as suggested here, thanks!).

My questions:
--what type of glass should I ask for? What thickness? Anything else I should specify?

--I realize that this will not exactly be escape proof, but I figure that it will be better than it is now, which is completely open. Any suggestions on design change, however?

--Any opinions on whether I should have the (small) round hole cut in the front piece to make it easier to remove it?

Thank you!

Leah

 

[redfalconf35]

You could probably fashion some sort of handle to attach to the piece, whether a legitimate handle, or even just a small strip of glass attached at the edge of the cover so you can get a grip on the piece.. as far as thickness, you wouldn't have to go very thick... 1/4" would probably be plenty.

Another option as opposed to the hole would be a small notch cut on the front edge of the glass so you can get a couple fingers in between the glass and the rim of the tank and grip it there. If anything escaped out of a hole like that, then they are the houdini of fish and deserve to be recognized for their feat!

 

[HD Blazingwolf]

1/4 is thick.. probably as thick as the glass on ur 10.. for the top i'd think like 1/8 or less

 

[BlueJack]

I bought this 12" X 36" glass slab and cut it down to size. It was my first time doing this and it wasn't that hard, although my craftsmanship was quite suspect. You can go to lowes and if you buy it there they'll cut it down for you for free. I left a little gap in the back so air can flow in and out, and it's pretty easy to remove. It's 3/32" and holds a dual 24" T8 strip and a single 24" T8 strip without bowing. This also lets in a lot more light than my old glass top with the brown strip in the middle.

 

[jasonpatterson]

A typical 10g tank is made with double strength glass, 1/8" thick. The lid could be the same if you like, or you could use single strength glass (3/32") from Lowes/Home Depot. It doesn't have to be strong at all, and single strength is plenty strong for a lid.

If you're wanting a hole cut in your glass you'd probably want to go with double strength at least. It would just be too easy to break the single. Assuming you don't know how to cut/drill a hole in the glass yourself it's going to take a glass shop and some time to get the job done.

Lowes will still cut it to size for you but I don't believe that Home Depot will. You could get a smallish handle and attach it with double sided tape and you're golden.

You also can get a sheet of acrylic cut at Lowes (or from a place like TAP Plastics online) for a reasonable price. Drilling a hole in it is a piece of cake to do yourself (at least I've not had trouble with it, go slow, keep the hole an inch or so from the edge and step up the sizes gradually or it can crack.) You'd want to go a bit thicker with acrylic, not because it's not strong enough, but because it is more flexible and can sag over time. A piece this small in 1/4" ought to be more than rigid enough though.

 

[Leah]

Thank you again. I will definitely just have the glass place cut it--there's one very close to me and they are great about doing small jobs. The shrimp arrived before I had time to do anything, so I just put them all in one tank and moved the cover-that-I-dislike to it. Will do this eventually, however!

Leah