Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 150 gallon glass aquarium that I plan on converting into a Living area for some collared lizards. I was wondering if anyone has some plans for making a canopy/top for an aquarium to house the lighting, give ventillation and allow for easy access to the animals. I have built one for a 125 gallon fish tank, but think those plans won't work very well in this application. Thanks for any help.
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-Scott

Hail, Hail, the gang's all here
Leave your worries at the door boy, they're not going anywhere.
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-Dropkick Murphy's

Basically build a raised hood without a back. It will be very similar to the false ceiling design I use in my cages. I'll post and explain in a pic below.

With the high radiant temps required for a this species you will create a strong convection current that will essentially create a constant updraft during the day. This will help lift some of the heavier gasses out of the aquarium.

Okay, here's my false ceiling design. This picture is taken of the ceiling of the inside of a cage I built along with and for a friend of mine.

What you see here is a frame made of 1"x1" pine. On top of the frame wire mesh was stapled on. Metal "L" braces and straps were screwed onto top of all of this to strengthen the joints.

I'll explain more in the next picture.

This picture is to (hopefully) better explain the false ceiling design.

If you look the wall behind the cage in this picture you can see the light shining out of the back top of the cage.

With the false ceiling design the back wall panel of the cage stops about 8" from the top of the cage. The frame (previous picture) then runs from the top of the back panel to the bottom of the upper lip on the front of the cage (where the top part of the glass track runs).

What this creates is an 8" tall open area all along the back of the cage. In this picture you can see the light cast on the wall by this area. This allows for a lot of ventilation and also an area to access lights, etc. It holds heat slightly better than a full screen top.

For your project you will essentially build the top 8" of this cage (dimesions modified for your needs) and use it on your tank. I'd try to hinge it in some way.

Just my opinion on how I would make a lid for an aquarium holding Collard Lizards.