project

I'm always thinking of things I want to improve with the aquariums, and this past weekend I tackled one. Tried to make a sliding lid for Oliver's tank. Read about it here. I did not use glass, I got some lexan (a polycarbonate) panels cut. It's supposed to be stronger than glass, nearly as clear (loosing only 20% light transmission as read by a PAR meter according to some) but I don't mind that because I want a bit less light here- I lowered my light again (the legs had been propped up higher) and took the annoying sheet of plastic wrap off, hoping I don't end up with algae overgrowth again. So. The clear panels fit into a plastic edging thing that has a channel and an upper lip- it wasn't exactly the item recommended but I couldn't find that so got what looked like would work. The panes overlap in center- back one stays stationary and front one slides under it, in the channel, to open/close. Already I like this simple mechanism much better than a hinge, but there's just one problem. Two, actually. I didn't get it cut to size right so had to trim some off at home (ruler plus box cutter, old steak knife, pliers to bend/crack it and sandpaper). Now there's some scratches, because I can't do it exactly careful, bah.

And the overlap was too much at first, so I cut again to reduce that.

And it bows down some. You can actually see the light bending behind the tank. I don't mind this as long as its not dipping into the water or sticking in the channel, and I know its not going to break, but from a certain angle it just looks imperfect. I think the piece I got was just not thick enough to avoid sagging slightly in the center. If I do this on the forty (which I'm already imaginging!) I would do two sections, meeting at the support brace not spanning it, and try to find thicker panes.