DIY Screen tank cover....questions.

[EllisJuan]

OK, so after scooping my Carpenter's wrasse off the floor once and fishing him out of the overflow once I have decided I need a cover for my tank. My tank is a 65g (36x18x24) with a center brace and an overflow. I bought clear 1/4" mesh from BRS, screen frame, corners, spline, and spline tool. I made the cover for the half of my tank that does not have the overflow. Now I need to make the cover for the side with the overflow. Here are my two questions:

1. My durso standpipe sticks up above the frame. What is the best way to accommodate this? Just cut a hole in the screen?

2. My tank has two powerheads in it. One on each side. What is the best way to accommodate the cords? If I was to just cut a hole in the screen and run them through (which is what I have done for now and don't like), it would make removing the covers for feeding, coral placement, etc. a pain.

[Raptor72]

I cut a notch right at the center edge of my frame and it fits perfectly around the wire. To keep the cable in the exact same spot, I put one of those wire plastic clips that stick on and placed it on the side of the canopy. Sorry, no pics right now.

[billdogg]

I made mine in two sections. The back pieces are just wide enough to allow for cords and stay in place. The larger front sections are easily removable for feeding and general access

[billdogg]

Here's a picture of mine. Sure, it takes twice as many corner pieces and almost double the amount of frame, but I have not had to touch the back pieces since I put them in place last August.

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/billdogg_photos/120g%20build/img_0459.jpg (http://s289.photobucket.com/user/billdogg_photos/media/120g%20build/img_0459.jpg.html)

not the greatest picture to show you what I'm talking about, but hth

[sleepydoc]

You can either do what Billdog described, or get a long piece of plexiglass for the back 3-4 inches of your tank and make some notches it it.

It's also possible to have a corner cut out of the screen if you get creative with the corner pieces for the frame, but the frame won't be as study without extra bracing.

[NTP66]

Can you take a photo of your current top to give us an idea on your overflow area? I love billdogg's solution if you need sections that never have to be touched.

I notched areas for power cords, and you can see how they look below. You'll have to imagine a cord coming out of there, as I now have MP40s. :)

http://i59.*******.com/svmf40.jpg

Here's a close-up of the notch (ignore the salt creep). You can either use a dremel or a small notch saw/hack saw to do it. I cut it so that I could push back the metal inside the frame to leave a smooth area where the cord passed through, and also wrapped the cord in electrical tape just in case.

http://i60.*******.com/2q319a0.jpg

[EllisJuan]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I think I have come up with a plan. I am going to go see my acrylic guy and see what it will cost me to make these:

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd214/TahoeDust/bb882640-1c90-4e29-a29b-9f33f68c0552.png

[NTP66]

Are the 1" notches in the corners for wires? Another idea you could try would be to get a really thin piece of acrylic cut in a circle to allow your durso to stick out. Basically, it'd be a donut, and you could glue it to the top of the mesh. Once done, you can cut out the center to allow for the durso.

[EllisJuan]

Are the 1" notches in the corners for wires? Another idea you could try would be to get a really thin piece of acrylic cut in a circle to allow your durso to stick out. Basically, it'd be a donut, and you could glue it to the top of the mesh. Once done, you can cut out the center to allow for the durso.

Yep. The 1" notches are for the wires. Taking into account the lip of the tank rim it should only be about 1/2" opening. My acrylic guy said $25 and they should be done tomorrow or Monday. After they are in place I will make the screens to cover the rest..

[billdogg]

the problem you will have with acrylic, especially since it will only be supported on three sides is that it will quickly warp.

[EllisJuan]

the problem you will have with acrylic, especially since it will only be supported on three sides is that it will quickly warp.

He is going to run a 1/2" strip attached vertically along the unsupported edge. He said that should keep it from sagging.

[karimwassef]

Doesn't this reduce the light to the tank?
Has anyone done a PAR reading before and after?

[EllisJuan]

Doesn't this reduce the light to the tank?
Has anyone done a PAR reading before and after?

I'm not sure. In my case my tank is way overlit and I can not run my lights at full tilt anyways. I may bump them up a bit after putting the covers on.

[Poseidon]

Doesn't this reduce the light to the tank?
Has anyone done a PAR reading before and after?

In my tank, with LED at the time, it was about a 5-10% loss. Mostly the difference was visible on the ceiling. When the screen was on, there was a reflection of light on the ceiling that was significantly brighter then when the screen was not on the tank.

[karimwassef]

has anyone compared it to white or metallic colored eggcrate? there's 1/8" I think.

[Fishmommy]

I took PAR measurements with white egg crate and the difference was about 50 PAR by my measurements. I will do the same when I get my screen installed.

[karimwassef]

yes!!! data...

that's a lot on the eggcrate.

what was it before and after? like 100 to 50, or 75 to 25?

[EllisJuan]

We'll see how this works...

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd214/TahoeDust/Top.jpg

[EllisJuan]

So far, so good. pH is running about the same as without the cover. He ended up only charging me $20 for the acrylic pieces. He said if they start to sag he would put that support strip on there.

[hickoryboy]

My local Home Depot has insect mesh screen, can this be used to make screen covers? Thanks for any help! Or any suggestions ono where to purchase the screen that is needed.

[old_mr2]

insect mesh can be very dense and will block light/gather dust. Try to get some thing with larger holes seen above.

[sleepydoc]

Bulk Reef Supply carries clear ¼" screen. It's pretty hard to find anywhere else.

A couple of other ideas - if you just have a small cord for a powerhead, make the screen ¼" too short so there's a small gap at the back for the cord to pass through. if it's small enough, the fish won't fit.

For something bigger like a return pipe, I had the idea to cut the corner out of the screen and then have a wedge-shaped piece of plexiglass with a hole for the pipe and extending a couple inches over the screen frame on either side with stainless steel screws holding it in place. This would keep the screen braced and allow a notch for the pipe. Planning on trying this when I move my tank; I'lll post when Ive tried it, unless someone wants to try it for me before then! :p

[m.adamschwartz]

The acrylic is a nice idea. I could see how it may warp over time but for 20 bucks not a big deal to replace either. Personally, I probably would have went ahead and put the "anti warp" strips on ahead of time because I like over engineering things but what you have looks great! By the way, that is a nice looking reef you've built!

[Daimyo68]

Acrylic warps for sure. I DIY'd my screen/fame for my rimpless (too many jumpers), it was slick and looked great on there when I first put it on, but several months later, all 4 corners warped up, and the rear started to sag down towards the surface of the water.

There was another thread somewhere and the acrylic frame was set just inside the glass with retaining tabs. It looked promising, I'll have to find the link.

http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg578/68Daimyo/DSC05137_zpscc7381c8.jpg
http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg578/68Daimyo/DSC05144_zps936fe4ba.jpg
http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg578/68Daimyo/DSC05142_zps61e9da4d.jpg
http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg578/68Daimyo/DSC05506_zpsa3f7f46e.jpg
http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg578/68Daimyo/DSC05502_zpsca60e8e5.jpg
http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg578/68Daimyo/DSC05505_zpsa821a99e.jpg

[neuro]

Just buy additional "L" joiners (http://www.midlandhardware.com/Slide-Co-White-Nylon-Screen-Frame-Corners-100-Pack-880930.html?gclid=Cj0KEQiA-PGiBRDRz4jH9o39yZwBEiQAWCBZNTRmdjI27mhWEXMxLP3QuPYlZ2gJKzMXr8eh-bD1ALkaAt3X8P8HAQ#.VF1sM-dDupg) with the screens. You can get them at home depot, lowes etc.

That way you can create the frame that goes around your piping.