The "top" of my 2ft tank needs "fixing" - Page 2 - Aquarium Advice

tawolcott · 03-23-2008, 09:09 AM

Aquarium Hoods and Glass Aquarium Canopies at AquariumGuys.com

marchmaxima · 03-23-2008, 09:42 AM

Gotta be a local distributor mate... Assuming these guys can accept an international c/card trx (you'd be surprised so many don't) the shipping to Oz would be expensive and risky.

Worse comes to worst, my in-laws are in the US. So if I asked they would buy those black hinges and backing bits and send them over to me and I could get it custom-made.

tawolcott · 03-23-2008, 11:21 AM

Can't you take a printout of what you're looking for to your local fish or pet store and see if they can order for you?

**jsoong** · 03-23-2008, 03:56 PM

You don't absolutely have to have a hinge, although it is much more convinient.

You can simply lay the 2 cut pieces on top of the tank. Glue a couple of handles to the front piece (make the front piece 3-4" wide for ease of handling). Then all you do is lift the front piece off for feeding or cleaning. <A risky way if you are like me ... I'd put the glass down somewhere & sit on it!!

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marchmaxima · 03-23-2008, 07:06 PM

I will certainly be giving that a shot first Tawolcott. I just can't believe that these are just sold in every LFS! They seem so handy and convenient.

mattrox · 03-25-2008, 07:46 AM

It would be easy just to get the glazier to cut the existing piece of glass to fit the length of the tank. Then cut it into two pieces length-wise. The front bit can be the lid that gets removed and the back bit stays in place. You can get the corners cut to a custom size while you are at it. Only my 3 and 4ft tanks have a brace in the middle. None of the 2ft tanks I have had have the middle brace. I'll try and get a pic of the top of my 2ft. It only has a plastic rim that the glass sits on. Your glass lip is much more stable.

edit --- oops ..... What Jsoong said! Snap

marchmaxima · 03-25-2008, 08:05 AM

Yeah, I've decided that's exactly what I'm going to do... Then, I'm going to use neilanh's fabulously documented plans and suspend the lighting above the tank.

I purchased all the bits n bobs for that project on the weekend. Unless you go to a wholesaler, you can only buy conduit made of PVC, but it was only $6.00 for 4 meters and you can buy 90 degree corners that slip on for $2.00 each. Total spend for everything needed was = $26.00.

My only other problem is buying chair tips that fit onto the ends to hide my terrible cutting job. The conduits are 20mm. Naturally the chair covers come in 19mm and 22mm..... Go figure

mattrox · 03-25-2008, 08:15 AM

For future refernece, This brand comes with plastic mounts that hold the light above the tank. It's what I use on my 4 ft. The brackets slide along the aluminium housing therefore will fit right on the rim of the glass.

Heto, StreamLined, Light Unit, 24 inch, single

marchmaxima · 03-26-2008, 03:30 AM

Well, I got my class cut today, so that part is fixed. They buggered it up completely and had to replace my existing glass, so they only charged me $10.

And because I caught the cold my husband brought home, I also cheered myself up by going next door to the aquarium and picked up some Java Ferns (I asked for 2 and I got 5!) and some few driftwood.

I knew going to the glazier next door to the LFS was a dangerous idea

And thanks for that Mattrox! They look good and I'll keep that link. Until I work up the courage to implement CO2, I'll stick to low-lighting in this tank.

**Purrbox** · 03-26-2008, 10:38 AM

Sounds like you got an awesome deal on those Java Ferns. They really do look great when grown into a nice large heathy clump on a big piece of driftwood or rock.