Sharing and documenting my attempt at DIYing an acrylic mesh lid. For my tank (83" x 26") it'll run about $600 from many of the vendors. Cost aside, the feeling of needing to have all the cut outs planned ahead of time makes me nervous since I change it up every now and then. When I bought my tank used it came with the Red Sea kit which has aluminum frames. It does the job fine and is visually discreet with a large euro brace, but the solid frame creates a bunch of shadow effects which is the thing I want to solve. I know it won't be as clean and sturdy like the solid piece milled ones.
Just finished the proof of concept which is a plain rectangular frame for the center panel. The next step is to create the left and right panels which will need cut out holes for cords and the auto feeder, so a bit more complex.
Cost so far for one of three panels. Does not include cost of specialty equipment I already had like a table saw, acrylic blade, miter gauge, push block
Step 1: Cutting grooves into the square rods to fit the screen and spline. With a quality acrylic blade and tape, the cut was fairly clean. This step I was nervous about because extruded acrylic, versus cast, does not cut or mill as well and is susceptible to chipping and melting.
Test fit with a screen and spline was a success
Step 2: Cut rods to length with 45º miter corners.
Step 3: Glue it up. I used Weld-On 16 which is more viscous cement instead of the liquid solvent. Mostly to allow me more leeway on having perfectly tight contact points.
Test Fit: Test fit turned out good. Each corner I glued on a 1x1" square which acts as a gusset for support and as tabs to hang on the tank rim. Original red sea aluminum lid on the right
Just finished the proof of concept which is a plain rectangular frame for the center panel. The next step is to create the left and right panels which will need cut out holes for cords and the auto feeder, so a bit more complex.
Cost so far for one of three panels. Does not include cost of specialty equipment I already had like a table saw, acrylic blade, miter gauge, push block
| Item | Qty | Unit Price | Total Price |
| 1/2" sqaure rods, 6ft | 2 | 14 | $ 29 |
| 1x1" squares | 4 | 2 | $ 6 |
| Netting | 1 | 11 | $ 11 |
| TOTAL | $ 45 |
Step 1: Cutting grooves into the square rods to fit the screen and spline. With a quality acrylic blade and tape, the cut was fairly clean. This step I was nervous about because extruded acrylic, versus cast, does not cut or mill as well and is susceptible to chipping and melting.
Test fit with a screen and spline was a success
Step 2: Cut rods to length with 45º miter corners.
Step 3: Glue it up. I used Weld-On 16 which is more viscous cement instead of the liquid solvent. Mostly to allow me more leeway on having perfectly tight contact points.
Test Fit: Test fit turned out good. Each corner I glued on a 1x1" square which acts as a gusset for support and as tabs to hang on the tank rim. Original red sea aluminum lid on the right
