Daniel Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 I am going to some lids cut shortly for my big tank shortly. Just imagine that the tank is 180cm long and 65cm wide (front to back) and I need 6 sheets of glass that will each be 62cm long x 23cm wide. Each lid is only supported at the short ends. I want the lids to be sufficiently strong, but also sufficiently light enough to move them around now and again. Should I get these lids cut in 4mm, 5mm or 6mm glass ? Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve24cro Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 i think 4mm in enough, otherwise they will be heavy to move Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjmowens Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 as stated 4mm should do the trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 I do my lids out of 6mm glass. That extra 2mm makes a big difference with breakages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 Thanks guys. I actually already have 6mm lids already that I havnt really used, these lids need to be cleaned up a bit around the edges and two of the lids need to be resized a couple of cms. They are very heavy lids and cumbersome to manouvre at this size, which is why I was looking at something thinner and hence lighter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFishkeeper Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Its also wise to take into account the fish you will be keeping in the tank. Big fish can jump and lift/break a thin lid. I have 5mm lids on my frontosa tank for that reason, while 3mm lids are fine for smaller africans. Cheers, Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted January 22, 2009 Author Share Posted January 22, 2009 I ended up getting 6 x glass lids of 62cm x 23cm in 4mm glass with with machined edges and they were perfect for the job. The only jumpers I have are Rainbowfish and 4mm should be just fine. I got each lid cut and machined edged (a really nice 3 way polished edge) for about $18 each. If anyone is getting lids cut for their tank, I suggest using a figure of 150 as the multiple number to work out the required glass thickness. In other words, 75cm long lids in 5mm, 60cm long lids in 4mm, 45cm long lids in 3mm, 30cm long lids in 2mm glass. Off course you can go a little thicker if you really need to or if weight is not going to be a problem, but the thicker you go, the more potential problem of resulting damage of dropping a glass lid in the tank or on the ground. This is just my opinion and others may have alternative views. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishdance Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Bit too late to post this but next time, why don't you consider sliding lids? You can have up to 50% of the lid section free if your front lids slide under your back lids. Of course you can still remove front and back lids if you need 100% free which doesn't occur very often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 Bit too late to post this but next time, why don't you consider sliding lids? You can have up to 50% of the lid section free if your front lids slide under your back lids. Of course you can still remove front and back lids if you need 100% free which doesn't occur very often. Thanks, yes sliding lids are a good option in many cases, particulrly for cichlid tanks. However, mine is a large planted tank at 183x76x76cm (yes, its bigger than I posted in my initial post as it was easier to explain it with those measurements) 2 end braces of 150mm and one centre brace of 250mm. The 6 x lids actually go on left to right, rather than front to back. They are under metal halide lighting and the sliding lids were not a viable option in my case. In many other cases, they will be an excellent option. But, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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