# Tired of Jumpers...Need advice on top for tank!



## Sharkbait (Jun 15, 2010)

Hi everyone!

So last night around 1am my wife gets me up saying that she's hearing a noise coming from our crawl space. Now, I live in Sooke, and have had raccoons in my attic before. I call my landlord to come check it out and, long story short, it turns out that a 4 inch clown loach decided to see what life was like outside the tank.

It was still breathing, but it was a good 30 minutes, so I put it back in the tank. It was spinning and swimming very fast for a few minutes, and then disappeared behind an amazon sword. The lights haven't come on yet this morning, but I hope it's ok. These guys are supposed to live 30 years! I've had it for 2.

Anyway, my tank is a 90 gallon Hagen Osaka. It's curved at the front to corners, and then square (or regular I guess) at the back. I've lost quite a few fish as jumpers (two SAEs, and who knows how many shrimp). 

I want to get a top for the tank, but I don't want it to affect the light coming in the tank. Can you help me with a couple options?

1. Get a netting to go from one side to the other. This should keep condensation down in the tank (the whole point of an open top I would think). What material would I use?

2. A glass/acrylic cover. This is probably what's going to happen, but I'm not sure how it will sit on the top of the tank with the front corners being curved. I don't want it to sit on the support brace in the middle. 

Would having a square hole the size of my fixture be alright? Or does that defeat the entire purpose of having a top?

How will this affect the light coming from my fixture? It's not going to melt the top being at such a close range is it?

Is it possible to have something with a sliding door to make feedings easy? I would hate to have to remove my fixture, then remove the top every day just to feed. 

What would something like this cost? (Tank size - 4 feet long, two feet wide, curved front corners) I assume the curves and the sliding panel would be custom. And custom = $$$

Lastly, where would I go about getting one of these? (on the island)

Sorry for all the questions. I have been thinking about this for a while, and I think this is the last straw. 

*OR*

Any other ideas to keep fish inside the tank? lol.

Thanks again for all your input!

-Aaron


----------



## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Probably the most elegant solution would be to get a glass shop to come and cut a custom piece for you to fit in the hole of the Osaka. Likely there is no ledge for the glass to sit on so they may need to silicone a strip of glass on the inside of the lip on either side of the tank for the glass to sit on. You could do it in two pieces so that one piece slides over the top of the other piece so that you can have easy access to the tank. ie. The two pieces in total are bigger than the opening but they will overlap when the lid is closed. That's more or less the style of a standard Hagen glass top. Only difference being that standard tanks have a lip for the covers to sit on. 

Only other non glass option that may not look nearly as good is just to create the similar ledge for the glass to sit on but to use custom cut lighting egg crate to form a screen to prevent fish from getting out. 

Good luck and let us know what you figure out!


----------



## Aquaman (Apr 21, 2010)

WoW 30 minuets...heres hoping the little guys okay. You must have a nice land lord .
You are faced with a bit of a problem due to the style of the tank. There are few options .Mostly not cheap. My first thoughts are lower the water level .Or if your handy with a sewing machine you could make an overgrown hair net type thing with an elastic that you could pull taunt over the lower lip of the upper trim strip. ( Not like your holding a cat in or anything) or if you have access to some thin plexi glass strips you could attach a euro type brace on the outer edges ( hidden by the trim ) as most fish jump out as they are scooting up the glass .
good luck with your task and hope the little fella is okay


----------



## Aquaman (Apr 21, 2010)

tony1928 said:


> Only other non glass option that may not look nearly as good is just to create the similar ledge for the glass to sit on but to use custom cut lighting egg crate to form a screen to prevent fish from getting out.
> 
> Good luck and let us know what you figure out!


Hey I like that one Tony 
.If you were to trim a piece to fit inside you would only need a few blocks siliconed here and there to hold it up as its quite light. also wont restrict light or hold in the heat. And fish food falls through the grate .
As far as looks it would be counter sunk and you can get them in chrome  that would look sweet.
much better than a hair net ..


----------



## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

LOL. I almost spilled my coffee on the keyboard!



Aquaman said:


> Not like your holding a cat in or anything


----------



## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Yeah, I was thinking that would actually be pretty easy to do. Chrome...bling...given that its a super nice Osaka tank too, I would think that aesthetics are important.



Aquaman said:


> Hey I like that one Tony
> .If you were to trim a piece to fit inside you would only need a few blocks siliconed here and there to hold it up as its quite light. also wont restrict light or hold in the heat. And fish food falls through the grate .
> As far as looks it would be counter sunk and you can get them in chrome  that would look sweet.
> much better than a hair net ..


----------



## Kitsune (Jul 17, 2010)

Sharkbait, I have the same type of tank as you (same curved corner thing) and i made a cover out of plexi glass with it. Here's how it works:
- 2 pieces of 1/4" plexi glass from home depot
- got it cut so it fits snug on the inside of the tank.
- got a piece of plexi glass strip that i glued to the side of the tank at the same height as the middle support piece (using aquarium safe glue from home depot). So the lid is supported by the middle support and these two strips at the side (i.e. a ledge).
- drilled two holes in each plexi glass and installed brushed chrome looking ikea handles on it.
- cut additional back pieces out for my filter, heater etc 

I will take a photo this evening and post it for you.

p.s. only catch with the 1/4" plexi is that it warps quite a bit. Next time I do this I might get a thicker piece...


----------



## Sharkbait (Jun 15, 2010)

tony1928 said:


> Probably the most elegant solution would be to get a glass shop to come and cut a custom piece for you to fit in the hole of the Osaka. Likely there is no ledge for the glass to sit on so they may need to silicone a strip of glass on the inside of the lip on either side of the tank for the glass to sit on. You could do it in two pieces so that one piece slides over the top of the other piece so that you can have easy access to the tank. ie. The two pieces in total are bigger than the opening but they will overlap when the lid is closed. That's more or less the style of a standard Hagen glass top. Only difference being that standard tanks have a lip for the covers to sit on.


This sounds best. However, I have no idea where to get it done, or how much it will cost. I'll call a couple aquarium stores. Surely I'm not the only one who has wanted a cover for this particular tank.

There is no ledge, correct. I think I can picture what it is you're describing. Would it be better for me to get holes cut for the equipment (filter input/output, heater, etc.) Or just leave it straight cut? That would affect how it slides I think.

Thanks for the advice!


----------



## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

I'd probably hit up a local glass shop rather than an aquarium shop. Cuz really, you are only after some cut glass. Not sure how much it would be. I'd probably leave it straight cut if it was my tank just for simplicity though I can't really picture your equipment situation at the back of the tank. I know that the Hagen tops basically provide you with a plastic strip that attaches to the rear of the glass top so that you could do your own equipment cutouts. That way, you won't have unnecessary gaps. Not sure if that would be a concern for you.

Lots of ways to do this. I actually like the chrome egg crate option for cost and simplicity. Just need to go to home depot for that and it can be cut easily with a pair of cutting pliers.



Sharkbait said:


> This sounds best. However, I have no idea where to get it done, or how much it will cost. I'll call a couple aquarium stores. Surely I'm not the only one who has wanted a cover for this particular tank.
> 
> There is no ledge, correct. I think I can picture what it is you're describing. Would it be better for me to get holes cut for the equipment (filter input/output, heater, etc.) Or just leave it straight cut? That would affect how it slides I think.
> 
> Thanks for the advice!


----------



## Smiladon (Apr 23, 2010)

Aquaman said:


> Hey I like that one Tony
> .If you were to trim a piece to fit inside you would only need a few blocks siliconed here and there to hold it up as its quite light. also wont restrict light or hold in the heat. And fish food falls through the grate .
> As far as looks it would be counter sunk and you can get them in chrome  that would look sweet.
> much better than a hair net ..


well....if you silicone the egg crate to the top of the tank, how can he take it off for water change etc? or do I have the picture wrong?


----------



## Sharkbait (Jun 15, 2010)

So I called a couple places and some say acrylic, some say glass. 

Which would be better? There's a glass shop here in Victoria that can apparently do it. I called Industrial Plastics and Paints and they even recommend glass, saying that acrylic will melt.

I'm still thinking about this...because I like how the open top tank breathes. Are there any other benefits to having an open top tank?


----------



## neven (May 15, 2010)

if the lighting is close to the top, then glass as acryllic will distort with the heat.

You could get it cut into 3 sections with the middle overlapping and just sitting on top of the sides, this way its easy to slide for maintnence and what not


----------



## Aquaman (Apr 21, 2010)

Smiladon said:


> well....if you silicone the egg crate to the top of the tank, how can he take it off for water change etc? or do I have the picture wrong?


 You have the wrong picture  QUOTE" .If you were to trim a piece to fit inside you would only need a few blocks siliconed here and there :unquote The key words...a few blocks  but ya would be a pain cleaning otherwise


Sharkbait said:


> So I called a couple places and some say acrylic, some say glass. adding fish otherwise
> 
> Which would be better? There's a glass shop here in Victoria that can apparently do it. I called Industrial Plastics and Paints and they even recommend glass, saying that acrylic will melt.
> 
> I'm still thinking about this...because I like how the open top tank breathes. Are there any other benefits to having an open top tank?


Egg crate would not melt, as well it would let your tank breath and heat escape. easy to make holes too .


----------



## Smiladon (Apr 23, 2010)

Aquaman said:


> You have the wrong picture  QUOTE" .If you were to trim a piece to fit inside you would only need a few blocks siliconed here and there :unquote The key words...a few blocks  but ya would be a pain cleaning otherwise
> 
> Egg crate would not melt, as well it would let your tank breath and heat escape. easy to make holes too .


Makes sense now 

A few blocks siliconed will work nicely.


----------



## 182 (Apr 21, 2010)

Eggcrate sounds like a great idea. Can you get it in a clear plastic?

I strongly doubt plexiglass will melt. Especially not Lexan. I have a half glass half acrylic top on my tank - and I sit my Glo fixture directly on top of it. Doesn't come anywhere CLOSE to melting... and it's only 1/4''.


----------



## TCR (Jul 13, 2010)

or a mesh topper... you can make it out of lumber and taught mesh


----------



## Sharkbait (Jun 15, 2010)

*Update*

The clown loach is OK! 

Amazing


----------



## Aquaman (Apr 21, 2010)

Sharkbait said:


> *Update*
> 
> The clown loach is OK!
> 
> Amazing


----------



## TCR (Jul 13, 2010)

Sharkbait said:


> *Update*
> 
> The clown loach is OK!
> 
> Amazing


theres a good loach


----------



## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Acrylic wouldn't melt but would possibly begin to flex from the heat given that you are probably using a fairly thin sheet. I too like the open top tank which does help with condensation and also providing more oxygen to tank. One good aspect of a closed top is that it really keeps the heat in, saving you money on electricity.



Sharkbait said:


> So I called a couple places and some say acrylic, some say glass.
> 
> Which would be better? There's a glass shop here in Victoria that can apparently do it. I called Industrial Plastics and Paints and they even recommend glass, saying that acrylic will melt.
> 
> I'm still thinking about this...because I like how the open top tank breathes. Are there any other benefits to having an open top tank?


----------

