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I've recently come into possession of a used aquarium; while it includes all the basic parts (tank, stand, hood, and canopy), the glass canopy was dropped at some point and a chunk is missing out of the corner.

The tank is a 60 gallon setup, but the measurements are different from what I've seen for other 60 gallon tanks; I attempted to purchase a replacement canopy yesterday at the same chain pet store where the aquarium was originally purchased, but that canopy (sold as 30", physically measuring just over 29" in actual width) is about 1/4" too long to fit this tank.

The tank itself measures just barely under 30" across and about 17 7/8" deep (measuring the glass, not the rim at the top). The opening measured up about 28 3/4" across and 16 3/4" deep; obviously space will need to be left for the filters at the back, so the canopy itself would not cover the full depth.

I haven't had much luck trying to find a canopy at this very slightly smaller-than-standard size so far, so I'm looking for what my other options may be to cover this tank. As it will be a cold-water planted tank for axolotls, I'd like to know what I can purchase or create that would work for the intended setup.

How can I best cover an oddly sized tank with a broken canopy?

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  • What should the canopy work for? Against evaporation? Hold a lightning? Holds the animals inside? Against dust and other to fall in the water?
    – Allerleirauh
    Apr 27, 2020 at 14:29
  • The same use of any aquarium cover. Evaporation may not be a concern (I have seen references to "evaporative cooling" for axie tanks), but keeping the correct creatures both in and out is important, as well as preventing objects from falling into the water.
    – Allison C
    Apr 27, 2020 at 14:39
  • I asked because I have not seen a tank covered with glass except in the zoo. All buyable I know have a cover out of wood or plastics. Do you think about building it yourself or is this no option?
    – Allerleirauh
    Apr 28, 2020 at 8:52
  • @Allerleirauh sounds like a regional difference; all purchasable home tanks here come with a glass cover. I am considering using the pieces of the broken cover with other materials to reconstruct it, yes, but I want to know what other options exist first.
    – Allison C
    Apr 28, 2020 at 13:20

1 Answer 1

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As I see it, you have three options:

  • buy something that will not fit the measures exactly

  • make another person (friend or company) build you something fitting, or

  • built it by yourself

If you do not need to have a light in the cover, building it by yourself will be much easier than with electricity near water... First point you have discovered yourself, so I will write about two and three.

Become someone to built it for you: there are shops you could buy tanks, boards and cover at the measures you like to have. You could find one and ask for a price, depending on quality you could pay more or less. Or you have a friend who built you one on the lines of point three.

Point three: DIY will depending on your experience with materials. You could buy a thicker window glass and cut it in the right shape. This seems to be more easy than I guessed, but working with glass I have no experience.

My choose would be a cover based an a wooden frame in the shape of the tanks top. This I would divide into three or four parts with two or three bars/ledges. (Please see the scratch below.) Then you additional need three or four light boards to close the rectangle holes. If you want to feed or clean you only need one board to open. enter image description here My tank looks like the next picture. Red arrow shows the ledge, green arrow the board to cover the holes, blue arrow shows some connection to place the ledge in. Because turtles need air circulation I use only one board to store the food and tools. The middle ledge I have removed because of the bubble-stone-pump (blue). enter image description here enter image description here

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  • Please consider including your drawings in answers more often. I love them, they're so adorable! I have a twisted sense of spatial imagination, so I always praise people who include sketches and drawings to describe their ideas beyond text.
    – lila
    May 22, 2020 at 15:31
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    I ended up going with a variation on point 3, using window glass. I would have preferred a plexiglass/plastic product, but most were unavailable due to the pandemic, and regular window glass is too thin and fragile. So I covered it with a clear self-adhesive plastic/shelf liner (Contact paper) to build up thickness and make it more sturdy. It does the job!
    – Allison C
    Jul 7, 2020 at 17:58

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