# questions about home made canopy



## fishcatcher&keeper (Sep 5, 2008)

Hi all,
My tank was set up a terrarium when I bought it (from a garage sale) It came with a wire mesh top that suck's for the fish. I was loosing two inches a week in the summer due to evaporation and I had to hang my filter and heater low enough to allow the lid to fit thus I could only fill the tank three inches from the top. 
Anyways I am building a new lid using plexiglass that I had in my garage. the plexi is to soft and sags in the middle if I just place it on the tank. I was worried that it might fall in taking the lights with it and fry all my babies. I came up with the idea to use the frame from the mesh top and attach the plexi to that. so my question is this: is there an adhesive I can use that would be safe or should I just use aquarium grade silicone?

oh yeah and should I worry about there not being any evaporation or more specifically no air hitting the surface of the tank. I have a trickle type filter and an air pump attached to one of my decorations (whitchever I have in the tank this week) so co2 shouldn't be a problem.
any help would be appreciated
thanx
Peter


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## fishcatcher&keeper (Sep 5, 2008)

no one is awnsering so I will try and refine my questions.
1) Is there any other adheisive that would work in this aplication?. The canopy will not be submerged but will come into contact with drips of condesation.
2) is there any concerns with not having enough air circulation on the surface water? 
thanx
Peter


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## Amphitrite (Sep 8, 2006)

Hi there Peter, do you have a picture of the tank, the plexiglass and the mesh lid? It would make your questions a little easier to answer


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

100% silicone from a hardware store would work. theres 2 different kinds tho.. 1 has some chemical that prevents mold, you do NOT want this one, choose the other one .. you should be just fine with the gas exchange. im assuming theres holes cut out for the filter and heater cord anyways? gas can escape and enter thru these. as long as the bubler is disrupting surface tension.

did you take the screen out of the screen mesh top? i wouldnt want it to rust from water contact.


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## iamntbatman (Jan 3, 2008)

Since sealant manufacturers aren't really considering the tropical fish hobbyist, I've found it's really difficult to know for sure which brands of sealant are safe and which aren't. I can't comment on other brands, but I do know that G & E Window and Door Clear Silicone I sealant is aquarium safe, but G & E Window and Dooor Clear Silicone II sealant is *not* safe, as it includes a mold inhibitor that's toxic. I've had a lot of trouble finding the Silicone I sealant though, so you might have to just use actual aquarium sealant.


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## fishcatcher&keeper (Sep 5, 2008)

I just got aquarium grade silicone from the pet store and I paid an arm and a leg for it. It almost felt like I was at the gas pump! Meaning that I feel that I got ripped off. Some hardare stores do carry 100% sillicone 1 but you may need to order it. take my word for it its alot cheaper I just didn't want to wait any longer. I will still buy a tube when it comes in to the hardware store just in case!
Yes I did take the mesh out of the terrarium lid but I don't think that rusting would be a problem as the mesh has a plastic coating on it. Most terrariums have some form of moisture be it a plant or big water dish, so it was designed to be around moisture.
I hope to have it finished by today< I will post pics later
thanks for your help everyone!
Peter


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## iamntbatman (Jan 3, 2008)

I forgot to add: rusting shouldn't be a big concern if you're using it for freshwater. I also don't think you've got to worry about "too little air flow" at the surface of the water if you've got an air pump. All of the air *is* eventually getting to the surface and displacing the air that was there out of whatever opening there is, so you should have some decent air flow.


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