Aquarium lid is a necessary attribute of any full-fledged aquarium. It isolates the aquarium from falling into foreign objects and promotes the creation of a microclimate. To the cover are attached lamps that provide illumination, and through the hole it is very convenient to fill the fish food.
However, aquarists face problems when choosing a lid. Factory products are produced according to the standard sizes, which sometimes do not coincide with the size of the aquarium. In addition, manufacturers place in the covers no more than 2 lamps , which in the end is not enough for high-grade lighting. If your aquarium is of a non-standard size or you do not trust the conveyor production, then you will benefit from a homemade lid for the aquarium. Its production will take a little time and will require certain skills, but the result will be worth the effort.
How to make a lid for an aquarium?
Before you make a lid for the aquarium with your own hands, you need to stock up on the materials:
- plastic thickness of 5 mm;
- mounting knife;
- adhesive for plastic;
- 4 furniture corners;
- screwdriver / drill for screwing;
- acrylic paint;
- ruler and pencil for markings.
After purchasing the listed materials, you can start working.
- Straighten the sheets and cut them into pieces with the knife (4 side walls, base part of the cover). The plastic is well cut and does not crumble.
- After cutting the plastic, you can proceed to gluing the lid. Attach the side panels to the base of the cover. You need to glue in a circle. Use cyanoacrylate adhesive as a fastener. Remember that the glue dries instantly, so it must be applied very carefully.
- As a result, you will receive such a box.
- Leave the edge 3 cm and glue the plastic corners. Their main function is to prevent the lid from falling into the aquarium and fixing it in a certain position.
- At a level with plastic corners, glue another piece of plastic for greater stability of the cover.
- If there is any excess material left, you can make it out of it. They will make the lid more durable and prevent premature wear. At this stage, you can attach the electronic ballast (electronic ballast), which is needed for the luminaire.
- Cut out the hatch to feed back. It is better to place it away from the coverslips.
- Cut out the holes for the outer filter tube.
- Paint outside the lid with acrylic paint. Cover the inside with food foil.
The lid for the aquarium with your own hands is ready.
How to make an aquarium with a lid and backlight?
You can leave the lid in its original state, or you can embed the luminaire. The backlight will ensure the normal flow of biological processes and turn the aquarium into a bright spot in your apartment. For manufacturing of illumination it will be necessary to get:
- 4 electronic ballasts at 18 volts;
- switch;
- 10 m of white wire (cross section 0.5);
- 3 m of red wire (cross-section 0.75);
- 8 holders for the lamp;
- cartridges for fluorescent lamps;
- clamps, fork for euro outlet.
After you purchase all the attributes, you can proceed to mount the highlight.
- Cut out the hole for the switch at the top of the structure. The hole for the wire is located in the back wall.
- Lamps are connected very simply: one electronic ballast is connected to one lamp. Lamps attach to the bolted holders.
- Lamps can be placed in parallel, and you can show creativity and arrange them at an angle.
- As a result, the cover will look like this.
As a result, you get a lid, ideally suited to the size of the aquarium. Experts advise experimenting with the independent manufacture of rectangular and square caps. A lid for a round aquarium is problematic in manufacturing, as it requires accurate calculations and special bending designs. It is better to buy it with the aquarium.