Bowfront tank needs mesh lid!

[lilcountrygirl]

I have a 36g bowfront aquarium that I need to somehow make a well ventilated lid for, and of course they don't sell the regular lids for the bowfronts. (This is for my momma rat and her babies, not a snake). Any bright ideas on how I can go about that with my limited DIY knowledge? Don't really want to go out and buy another aquarium when I have these already lying around.

Thanks ya'll!

[zachbinger]

Buy acrylic and cut it to size then drill out holes and get simple latches to hold down or weight on the corners

[lilcountrygirl]

Buy acrylic and cut it to size then drill out holes and get simple latches to hold down or weight on the corners

I thought about that but I don't know if that would be adequate ventilation?

[jclaiborne]

You can buy perforated metal and cut that to size, that way you have some rigidity to it.

[Firemaniv]

Angled aluminium from lowes. I used. rivits to hold it together. Mine is for a 46 gal bow front. Make the back and side first then the front. I used a dremal to cut angled relieve cuts in the front so the angled aluminium would bend.

[lilcountrygirl]

^^^you wouldn't have any more detailed explanation on how to do this would you? Or possibly pictures? I'm SO not the person who would walk into a home depot asking for...tapered aluminum? Sorry about my naïveté about this kind of stuff

[Firemaniv]

ok well that sucks, i just typed out how i made the lid but when I submitted it, i was asked to log in again and it lost all of it. sooooooo. I am on day 3 at the fire station but i go home tomorrow. I have been planning on making a video on how I made the lid. I will try and find a moment to do so when I make it home. I also think without pics for it would be hard to follow the directions just typed out.

here is a list of stuff you will need:
rivet gun
http://www.lowes.com/pd_45272-412-RH...gun&facetInfo=

rivets
http://www.lowes.com/pd_45310-412-RM...vet&facetInfo=

angled aliumium,you want the thinnest but widest you can get. get 2 of the sections, one is extra in case of a mistake.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_103633-37672...7C1&facetInfo=

metal screen: not any screen porch kind, you want it strong but thin with small holes. you will have to get a roll of it and will not use most of it. it will need to be wider/deeper than the depth of your tank from front to back


drill
dremel with metal cutting wheel
sharpie
side cutters
tape mesasure

stay tuned for the video for instructions.

[Firemaniv]

Here is the video. Let me know if you have anymore qurstions.

DIY screen lid for a bow front aquarium: http://youtu.be/l87Smn6CRI8