Suggestions on making a hinge for this top?

[ange]

I'm refurbishing an old aquarium and need to repair the hinge on the lid. It was previously held together with silicone that was dried out when I purchased it. I don't believe it ever had a handle however my idea was to create a hinge+handle that is a very similar style to one of the Aqueon versa tops. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to accomplish this? I know that some stores sell replacement pieces for versa tops and planned to purchase one of the handles, but I'm hoping for an alternative that will allow me to use a clear adhesive instead of their black strip. Thank you in advance for all suggestions!

[Bill Smith]

Yeah, it's a tricky one, no doubt. A couple years ago I spent a lot of time looking for clear hinge material that I was sure would fit, and although they exist on Amazon, I've never been confident they'll grip the glass tightly enough.

However, I have had decent luck with these clear acrylic hinges:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071DPMQXV

I bonded them to glass with epoxy, and they hold reasonably well.

Lately, making my own lids from polycarbonate sheets from Home Depot has been most effective:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sunlite-24-in-x-48-in-x-5-16-in-Polycarbonate-Clear-Twinwall-Sheet-174040/305560353

That material is so lightweight that I can literally use clear packing tape as my hinge, and it holds well!

Hope some of that helps!

[Robin]

Do you have a picture of the polycarbonate lids you made? I'd love to see how it looks and fits. Is it clear like glass so the plants get all the light they need?

[Mr. Ed's Aquatics]

Clear gorilla tape works pretty good as a DIY hinge. Lasts quite a while and is easily replaced when needed. 

[Bill Smith]

3 hours ago, Robin said:

Do you have a picture of the polycarbonate lids you made? I'd love to see how it looks and fits. Is it clear like glass so the plants get all the light they need?

I think Tazawa tanks explains it best. This is the video that inspired me to do it:

Here's a picture of my own application:

[ange]

I love the idea of using an acrylic hinge instead of the adhesive strips, thank you so much for the suggestion! I'll definitely be trying them out.

[KBOzzie59]

If you have a local glass shop give them a try!  Someone that deals with glass daily has all kinds of resources available.

[ange]

There's a shop in the area that I've used for cutting projects so I may have to pay them a visit if the acrylic hinges don't work out for me.

[Terry M]

On 8/30/2020 at 4:00 PM, Mr. Ed's Aquatics said:

Clear gorilla tape works pretty good as a DIY hinge. Lasts quite a while and is easily replaced when needed. 

That's what I did for my lid. 2 pieces glass, with about 3/8" gap in the middle. Taped both sides. I added craft mesh to go around the filter, etc. to keep my(future) Nerite snails in. Oh, and I added a ring pull to pull it open.