Habitat - Indoor :: aquarium screen

[Daniel3507]

i bought a basic mesh screen top for my tank the other week but i didnt end up using it because it wouldnt fit over my outlet hose for the filter. today i went and bought one of the egg crate things to use and cut it to a tight fit. i was just wondering if anyone has used them for a screen and if so, have you noticed it blocking any heat or anything like that?

[TheComputerGremlin]

"Egg crate", if I recall, is used in lighting in buildings, so I don't think there is worry about heat. However, are the spaces at least 1/2" wide? If not, there will be a drastic decrease in UVB potency. I would imagine that some heat would be lost, but the only thing you can do is try it out and measure the temps and see what happens.

[Daniel3507]

yes they are used in lighting in buildings. the spaces are 1/2'' wide which is the main reason i got it. once i put it on the temp went down alot more than i suspected. so much so that i decided to cut out a portion in the middle. i left enough that cujo cant get out though.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Good idea! The other option would be to up the wattage of the basking bulb.

[Daniel3507]

i thought about that but i have an MVB bulb adn decided to just make a slight modification instead of droping $50 bucks on a bulb. haha.

[mat012]

I would still watch it to see if it is affected by the heat. Isnt egg crate primarily used with florescent fixtures, rather than incandescent Florescents dont emit the heat like the other bulbs, especially an mVB. The hole though should prevent it from warping from the heat tho - well I would think....

[Raphulk]

i used to have a piece of eggcrate as somewhat of a screen for the top of my tank. what i did was cut the piece of eggcrate where the light seemed to do the most shining, thus the hottest part wouldnt be hitting the eggcrate. the eggcrate was mostly used to block my turtles from getting out.

[Chrisbarnett]

I have customized screens for tanks before. It's simple. I use a dremel with a high speed cutting dish and mark out the space you need and cut out that portion of the screen. You can also cut it with pliers. which ever one is available to you.

I did this with my moms 55gal fish tank. I marked out the spots for the HOB filters and cut out the spaces. it works really well.

In your case, cut out a circle large enough to put the outlet hose, close to the edge of the screen, then put the hose through.

[Daniel3507]

thats exactly what i did chris

[Chrisbarnett]

I know, I was just saying you could have done it with the original screen you bought.

[Daniel3507]

yeah i figured i would be able too, but then the whole lazyness factor kicked in