Polycarbonate Lids

[Jimmy]

Going to cut lids for 23 aquariums today. It’s the thick twin wall. I don’t have a table saw anymore. So I ask what’s my second best option for cutting? Utility blade can cut through one layer obviously but it would be slow. I do have a jig saw.

secondly if I was to drill a 1 inch feeding hole in every aquarium how much effectiveness in reducing humidity would I sacrifice? Every lid will be hinged but opening that many aquariums takes time.

[Odd Duck]

I think a skill saw (circular saw) would work just fine.  I don’t think a 1” hole would be a big issue.  I’ve only made mine for small tanks (5 gallon culture tanks and a 2.1 G cube) so I didn’t get hinges, just overlapped 2 pieces by a couple inches on the 5’s.  The cube I bought lid supports so it just sits lightly on those and it’s very easy to move even though I haven’t gotten around to adding the handles.

I did add metal tape to the open ends to keep moisture out of the channels.  I see this width is currently unavailable, but this is what I got.  It’s just wide enough to cover with only a little rolled up on the edge.

 

[lefty o]

a jigsaw or circular saw should do the trick. id lean towards a finer tooth blade. id also put down a couple inch strip of tape , so the saw doesnt scuff up the plastic unnecessarily, can also be handy to draw a nice clean line to cut along.

[Odd Duck]

On 8/28/2021 at 11:03 AM, lefty o said:

a jigsaw or circular saw should do the trick. id lean towards a finer tooth blade. id also put down a couple inch strip of tape , so the saw doesnt scuff up the plastic unnecessarily, can also be handy to draw a nice clean line to cut along.

Good points, especially about the finer toothed blade.  Meant to mention that and forgot because I’m about brain dead from fatigue at this point but the brain is now strangely wired.

[lefty o]

On 8/28/2021 at 11:11 AM, Odd Duck said:

Good points, especially about the finer toothed blade.  Meant to mention that and forgot because I’m about brain dead from fatigue at this point but the brain is now strangely wired.

you arent the only one!

[Jimmy]

On 8/28/2021 at 8:54 AM, Odd Duck said:

I think a skill saw (circular saw) would work just fine.  I don’t think a 1” hole would be a big issue.  I’ve only made mine for small tanks (5 gallon culture tanks and a 2.1 G cube) so I didn’t get hinges, just overlapped 2 pieces by a couple inches on the 5’s.  The cube I bought lid supports so it just sits lightly on those and it’s very easy to move even though I haven’t gotten around to adding the handles.

I did add metal tape to the open ends to keep moisture out of the channels.  I see this width is currently unavailable, but this is what I got.  It’s just wide enough to cover with only a little rolled up on the edge.

 

I have minimal moisture getting into the channels I’m not terribly concerned. I bought 60 hinges and 30 plastic door knobs. It will be a lot of super glue lol

[Jimmy]

On 8/28/2021 at 9:03 AM, lefty o said:

a jigsaw or circular saw should do the trick. id lean towards a finer tooth blade. id also put down a couple inch strip of tape , so the saw doesnt scuff up the plastic unnecessarily, can also be handy to draw a nice clean line to cut along.

The tape trick is good I like it. I have an assortment of jig saw blades but none for circular. Hopefully I can take good measurements and get a template to copy lines. Hope I have a steady hand lol

[StevesFishTanks]

you can use a 2x4 or something similar as a fence to help you rip the sections.

here is a video I found showing the same idea. It will work the same with a jigsaw

 

[Jimmy]

On 8/28/2021 at 4:00 PM, s1_ said:

you can use a 2x4 or something similar as a fence to help you rip the sections.

here is a video I found showing the same idea. It will work the same with a jigsaw

 

I was thinking something along the same lines, thanks for the feedback. I’ve used some of his videos for reference before 

[Atitagain]

On 8/28/2021 at 11:54 AM, Odd Duck said:

 

I did add metal tape to the open ends to keep moisture out of the channels.  I see this width is currently unavailable, but this is what I got.  It’s just wide enough to cover with only a little rolled up on the edge.

 

This is an amazing idea @Jimmy if you haven’t used this type of lid before you should really reconsider not using this tape. I thought the same thing 

 

On 8/28/2021 at 5:47 PM, Jimmy said:

On 8/28/2021 at 11:54 AM, Odd Duck said:

I have minimal moisture getting into the channels I’m not terribly concerned

Drop in in the water once or even long term seepage moisture it will most definitely build algae! I was thinking of redoing the tanks I have these lids on because of this reason. 

thanks @Odd Duck👍

[Odd Duck]

@Atitagain Your welcome!  I wanted badly to build a greenhouse some years ago and this is what they use to seal these panels against condensation build up, which causes fogging and limits light transmission.  That’s how I knew about it, because it was included in the kit builds I was checking into for the greenhouse that never got built.

[Jimmy]

On 8/28/2021 at 5:09 PM, Atitagain said:

This is an amazing idea @Jimmy if you haven’t used this type of lid before you should really reconsider not using this tape. I thought the same thing 

 

Drop in in the water once or even long term seepage moisture it will most definitely build algae! I was thinking of redoing the tanks I have these lids on because of this reason. 

thanks @Odd Duck👍

Interesting. My 40b has twin wall it doesn’t have any buildup in it no mold or algae.

[Atitagain]

On 8/28/2021 at 9:16 PM, Jimmy said:

Interesting. My 40b has twin wall it doesn’t have any buildup in it no mold or algae.

To be clear mine aren’t that bad, I’m just very picky and need to add some to different tanks and was gonna fix old ones. But if I was just starting would definitely use the tape.