So I ran my aquarium open top since I started 1.5yrs back. Everything was awesome until couple of weeks back I lost 2 fish in 2 days - a fire goby and an orange back fairy wrasse. Found both of them dried up on the floor 
I was looking for mesh lids for bowfronts and couldnt find anything that was commercially available. Couple of quotes I got for custom made mesh lids were above $250.
Decided to make my own. I knew that it wont be as nice looking as the custom made but my main concern was to avoid any more fish deaths.
Here is the material I used -
1. Twin wall plastic sheets ( 2 --> 24"X36") - https://www.homedepot.com/p/Coroplast-24-in-x-36-in-Twin-wall-Plastic-Sheet-COR-2436/202090128
2. FPVS sheets (2 --> 24"X36") - could not find the exact link but this is pretty close to what I got except the item in the link is only 12" X 12" https://www.homedepot.com/p/Palight...-118-in-Foam-PVC-White-Sheet-156246/205853883
3. Mesh netting from BRS -- https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/clear-netting.html
The actual build was pretty straightforward. I cut a cardboard template and then cut the sheets to the size. I used the glass lid that came with aquarium for tracing the curve. I cut twin plastic sheet for the top layer and FPVC for bottom layer.
Once the layers were cut, I sandwiched mesh netting in the middle and stapled all of them together. I used the weights to ensure that the mesh stays tout while I was stapling it together.
Here is how the final product looks not pretty but will serve the purpose -
and on the tank
Final thoughts -
If I have to do it again, I will just use twin plastic sheets for both layers (instead of twin plastic for top and fpvc for bottom). I am thinking of painting it using aquarium safe paint like krylon fusion.
Also I was not too happy to use stapler, as I fear it might rust. I did it to finish it in a rush and had no silicon based glue available. I might end up making another one in near future.
Hopefully someone will find this post useful at some time (hopefully before losing any fish).
I was looking for mesh lids for bowfronts and couldnt find anything that was commercially available. Couple of quotes I got for custom made mesh lids were above $250.
Decided to make my own. I knew that it wont be as nice looking as the custom made but my main concern was to avoid any more fish deaths.
Here is the material I used -
1. Twin wall plastic sheets ( 2 --> 24"X36") - https://www.homedepot.com/p/Coroplast-24-in-x-36-in-Twin-wall-Plastic-Sheet-COR-2436/202090128
2. FPVS sheets (2 --> 24"X36") - could not find the exact link but this is pretty close to what I got except the item in the link is only 12" X 12" https://www.homedepot.com/p/Palight...-118-in-Foam-PVC-White-Sheet-156246/205853883
3. Mesh netting from BRS -- https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/clear-netting.html
The actual build was pretty straightforward. I cut a cardboard template and then cut the sheets to the size. I used the glass lid that came with aquarium for tracing the curve. I cut twin plastic sheet for the top layer and FPVC for bottom layer.
Once the layers were cut, I sandwiched mesh netting in the middle and stapled all of them together. I used the weights to ensure that the mesh stays tout while I was stapling it together.
Here is how the final product looks not pretty but will serve the purpose -
and on the tank
Final thoughts -
If I have to do it again, I will just use twin plastic sheets for both layers (instead of twin plastic for top and fpvc for bottom). I am thinking of painting it using aquarium safe paint like krylon fusion.
Also I was not too happy to use stapler, as I fear it might rust. I did it to finish it in a rush and had no silicon based glue available. I might end up making another one in near future.
Hopefully someone will find this post useful at some time (hopefully before losing any fish).
