Clear top for 180.

cilyjr

Chris
I removed and replaced my braces some time ago to have clear acrylic to eliminate the shadows many of us have. The process was easy and went well. If you ever plan to do this you MUST brace the tank temporarily while cutting out the old brace.

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Well after doing so keeping aluminum frames for the clear netting seemed to defeat the purpose so I built these out of acrylic. (Seen in 1st pic)
The 1st round was actually 2 frames sandwiched together with the screen glued inbetween. It worked ok but they were bulky and when the screen eventually tore (I use MH lighting and it gets brittle over time. That made it hard to replace.


The final incarnation of the project is this.
3/8th acrylic ripped into 3/4 thick strips. Adhered with scigrip(weldon) 4. Then I predrilled and sunk stainless steel screws leaving the head and a small amount of shank exposed. Then simply stretched the netting across the screws. It was easy to stretch tightly and will be easy to replace without building new frames in the future.

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Nice!! I'm doing something similar, in going to attempt to router a groove into 1/2" pvc sheet stock and set the screen with the rubber cord. The acrylic netting is a game changer though huh?

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I thought about that then decided the anchor points (stainless screws) was easier in A. Stretch B. Replace in the future.

I've used the clear screen for years just with aluminum frames. They make the complex shapes troublesome though and they aren't clear
 
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