Tank topper questions!

[Justthreehermitcrabs]

Hello!
I currently own 3 PP’s in a 55 gallon tank. I want to change up their tank a little bit so it’s more efficient and enjoyable for the crabs. One of my ideas is to use an extra 20 gallon tall aquarium I have laying around to make a tank topper, but I’m not sure if it’s a good idea. Here are some questions I have:

The 20 gallon should fit pretty perfectly on top of my tank without gaps on the sides, but how should I cover the remaining half of the tank? I was thinking about using the screen lid I have from the 20 gallon but I think it’s an inch too short width wise. Would it be possible to cut my current 55 gallons screen lid in half?

My next question is about accessibility. I’m thinking of attaching the topper on with Velcro so I can remove it for cleaning but I can’t imagine it would be very easy to access on a day to day basis. I was thinking that it would be nice for the top half to also be open, but I’m not sure how I would remove the bottom panel of glass. Could I carefully break it out with a hammer or would that risk shattering the whole tank?

Any input is appreciated, thanks!

[SilverHermits]

What I use is a sheet of plastic as the lid. It keeps in the humidity and can move easily, it's cheap and all you have to do is cut it to the right size.

[Hermielover121]

I would not use plexiglass. I used plexiglass for my lid with my topper and it totally curved and now I have to weight it down and it’s kinda annoying. The reason it curved because of the difference of temp in and outside the tank.


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[Wlfwo]

I have been considering something similar, been toying with the idea of glass, with a knob glued on each end and trimmed in either plastic or rubber.

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[Hermielover121]

Yes that works I am doing that for my new tank the only thing is it’s a little annoying that you have to lift up a heavy piece of glass every time.


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[Wlfwo]

I have to lift a heavy mesh lid with a piece of glass duct taped to it now, can't be much worse. LOL

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[Wlfwo]

Wonder if these would allow to much humidity out.
https://www.amazon.com/Acryl-Hinge-Acry ... G8QMNT8W83


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[GotButterflies]

You would be better to use a razor blade and cut the glass out instead of using a hammer. Shattered glass is a pain to clean up, and the fragments can go everywhere.

IF at all possible, monetarily, I highly recommend purchasing a used exo terra off of OfferUp, LetGo, Craigslist, VarageSale, Facebook Marketplace, etc.
With the exo terra topper, you simply remove the screen top, flip it up upside down, and duct tape it (with whatever color or design that you choose) to your existing tank. Then you have two access doors to the topper. As far closing the gap for the distance between the topper and the rest of the tank, I used a glass lid.

[odelayheehoo]

I have done two toppers myself, and on one of them I did have to break the glass to remove it, but I did it carefully by only breaking off large pieces at a time and removing them. I definitely would also recommend against breaking the glass if you can, but it can crack easily during this time.

If you use an ExoTerra tank, which has a screen on the top, you can easily remove that and flip it upside down to place on the main tank.

[Justthreehermitcrabs]

Thanks for all the replies! I ended up just using the 20 gallon as it is without altering the top, it’s not very accessible but it will do until I can attempt to get the bottom panel off. I covered the other half of the tank by lifting up one of the sides on the 20 gallon mesh lid with some pliers until it was at a right angle, it fits perfectly!