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Need advice on Acrylic or Poly tank cover.

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MikiCab

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Hello Everyone,
I need advice on getting a tank cover for a Nuvo 15. We already have a net tank cover but we have to top off about 1 gallon a week and it is not even summer yet. I was thinking of getting one made at TAP plastics. I cannot find a ready made one online. I will get a 2 inch cutout in the corner for feeding and put a net over it. My questions are.
1. Acrylic or Poly carbonate?
2. Thickness.
3. Should have have the cover go out to the edge of the tank so it is sitting on the top of the tank or should I make it a little small than the tank and 3d print some tabs that sit on top of that tank.

Any other advice or comments are welcome.
Thank You in advance.
Richard
 
Flat acrylic will warp (my eurobrace is a prime example of this). My old lid was polycarbonate pressed into a mold (so it had grab points and a "spine" that kept it from warping under metal halides). This came with the tank however many years ago.
 
Polycarbonate won’t absorb water therefore won’t warp and bow as much.

Polycarbonate will block out more light than acrylic though.

You can also try reducing surface agitation for less evap.
 
If you are trying to find a solution to not have to top off your tank with water so often than a quality ATO and reservoir container would be money better spent.

Fancy polycarbonate lids are pretty expensive. $200+ depending on cut outs, feed doors, evap cover etc.....
Check out Kraken Reef. They have a cover for the IM 15G. No measuring needed. You can also add on a evaporation cover for an additional $69.

krakenreef.com

Innovative Marine NUVO FUSION 15 All-In-One (AIO) Cube Lid

**NOTE: COLORS IN COMPUTER GENERATED LID IMAGES ARE TO HELP REPRESENT KEY FEATURES OF THE LID, ACTUAL COLOR OF THE LID IS CLEAR WITH CLEAR MESH.** LID STYLES Kraken Reef lids are designed with your tank inhabitant's safety in mind while keeping your aquarium's stunning ascetics. Our LID FRAME is...
krakenreef.com krakenreef.com
 
SupraSaltyReefer said:
If you are trying to find a solution to not have to top off your tank with water so often than a quality ATO and reservoir container would be money better spent.

Fancy polycarbonate lids are pretty expensive. $200+ depending on cut outs, feed doors, evap cover etc.....
Check out Kraken Reef. They have a cover for the IM 15G. No measuring needed. You can also add on a evaporation cover for an additional $69.

krakenreef.com

Innovative Marine NUVO FUSION 15 All-In-One (AIO) Cube Lid

**NOTE: COLORS IN COMPUTER GENERATED LID IMAGES ARE TO HELP REPRESENT KEY FEATURES OF THE LID, ACTUAL COLOR OF THE LID IS CLEAR WITH CLEAR MESH.** LID STYLES Kraken Reef lids are designed with your tank inhabitant's safety in mind while keeping your aquarium's stunning ascetics. Our LID FRAME is...
krakenreef.com krakenreef.com
Click to expand...
I already have an ATO. I think it is just a waste to keep having so much water evaporate. This was just what I was looking for. The only think I don't like is the netting looks like it is 1/4 inch. I already upgraded to 1/8 inch because I already lost a goby. Found it on top of the net. I got extra so I could always re-net it. This is perfect. Only down side is the cover costs twice as much as I paid for the tank :mad:
Thank You.
Richard
 
Use window screen for the netting is what I did. I needed to prevent my Dartfishes and Wrasses from jumping through. Then go to Tap’s Plastic and get a plastic cover cut to size. Pretty sure they have scrape pieces for cheap. Easily replaceable if they warp after a few months.
IMG_9714.jpeg
 
MikiCab said:
Hello Everyone,
I need advice on getting a tank cover for a Nuvo 15. We already have a net tank cover but we have to top off about 1 gallon a week and it is not even summer yet. I was thinking of getting one made at TAP plastics. I cannot find a ready made one online. I will get a 2 inch cutout in the corner for feeding and put a net over it. My questions are.
1. Acrylic or Poly carbonate?
2. Thickness.
3. Should have have the cover go out to the edge of the tank so it is sitting on the top of the tank or should I make it a little small than the tank and 3d print some tabs that sit on top of that tank.

Any other advice or comments are welcome.
Thank You in advance.
Richard
Click to expand...
I also have NUVO 15. Sheet of Polycarbonate from Home Depot $20. DIY - drill plenty of holes for ventilation. Works great on my tank, helps with Evap but I mostly got it to prevent “jumpers”

Acrylic will warp as mentioned by other members.
 
Chromis said:
How are you attaching that mesh to the plastic frame?
Click to expand...
I reused the snap in spline that was already there.

The older version of the IM lid used vinyl spline which you can replace with normal window spline. Just make sure to get the right diameter so it can sit snug in the channel of the frame.
IMG_9732.jpeg
 
I have one from Kraken Reef. It is cheaper than the other options and very fast shipping… I got my custom one in under a week! However the polycarbonate is thin enough that it sags in the middle. They broke my screen up into two 24x18 sections. I heard the other premade brands are thicker. I made my own cutouts with a router. For the evaporative cover, i got glass cut myself because it was less expensive and glass doesn’t warp under my lights. I had it cut into 4 sections and they were pretty thin and light.

For my previous tank I had only a glass cover and no mesh top. I bought these clips (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C91OAJE) and then got some glass cut at Arrow Glass in Albany. The nice thing about this was that the glass fit flush inside the frame of the tank. The clips say 12mm but they fit on my 1/2” thick glass just fine.

I use solid tops because without them, I would get mold issues in my house. After installing the tops, no more issues, not even during the rainy season. I do take the tops off on days I have the windows open mainly for aesthetics; I like the shimmer from my LEDs and glass tops act as a diffuser from the condensation buildup. But I always put them on at night, when the humidity rises the most in my area. I don’t think I have any PAR issues. It is annoying having to remove the panels to get into the tank.
 
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