# cheap lid!



## frogsoftheworld (Oct 20, 2007)

i learned from a long time frog breeder that glass lids need to be replaced every so often and acrilic warps. the breeder told me to use plastic kitchen wrap. he uses on every one of his tanks and has had no prob. to make it stick you spray the side with water and just put it on. then tape it down or put a mesh lid over that so their are no escapes the plasctic should last as long as glass or acrilic. to feed you take off the lid or tape then put in food then spray the lid then put wrap back on.


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## Chano (Oct 29, 2007)

Just out of curiosity why would you need to replace a glass lid? I could see maby the hinge or something after a few years of opening and closing but i am not getting why you would have to replace the glass.


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## frogsoftheworld (Oct 20, 2007)

the lid get uncleanable or chips after a while.


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## Conman3880 (Jul 8, 2007)

I'd rather replace a 10$ glass lid every few years & have it be secure than use tape & plastic wrap (which will probably cost more than 10 dollars over the same amount of years, anyway).

Good idea for a temporary lid, but I'm not sure if I would trust myself enough to use it.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

Conman3880 said:


> I'd rather replace a 10$ glass lid every few years & have it be secure than use tape & plastic wrap (which will probably cost more than 10 dollars over the same amount of years, anyway).
> 
> Good idea for a temporary lid, but I'm not sure if I would trust myself enough to use it.



I agree, using saran wrap on tanks is not a very secure thing. I have yet to ever replace a glass lid on any of my tanks so i really don't understand that logic.


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## frogsoftheworld (Oct 20, 2007)

ok!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :!: :!: :!: instead of replacing glass i will say that its a good temp and acrilic replacement.

i like mine its easy to use and cheap.


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## brettlt (Oct 5, 2006)

I am using syran wrap temporarily until I make my glass lid on my newest tank. However, I do not have any frogs in the tank. I would not trust it with frogs. Also, glass lids cost $20 for 20 gallon, $40 or less for a 55 gallon. I am making a custom glass lid for an Oceanic Cube and at it will cost me less than $25. It is not a lot of money, and I have never heard of a glass lid that couldn't be cleaned. Maybe if it was dropped in a vat of acid or something along those lines.


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## frogsoftheworld (Oct 20, 2007)

i get it allready ity CANT REPLACE GLASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :evil: i am trying to say i use t his type of top and it works for ME!!!!!!!


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## froggiefriend (Jan 4, 2008)

Thanks for a sharing your good idea! I am always looking for ways of a quick fix if in a bind. So it has to be saran wrap? I am guessing the press n seal stuff wouldn't work well.. have you tried it?


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

brettlt said:


> I am using syran wrap temporarily until I make my glass lid on my newest tank. However, I do not have any frogs in the tank. I would not trust it with frogs. Also, glass lids cost $20 for 20 gallon, $40 or less for a 55 gallon. I am making a custom glass lid for an Oceanic Cube and at it will cost me less than $25. It is not a lot of money, and I have never heard of a glass lid that couldn't be cleaned. Maybe if it was dropped in a vat of acid or something along those lines.


what kind of glass are you buying, starphire? go to a local glass company and i can assure you it won't cost you that much, i pay $3 for a 10 gallon lid and it might be double for a 20 gallon but not as much as you are paying.


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## bruce (Feb 23, 2007)

*Saran lids*

He's referring to Pete Mertens set up where saran wrap is used with reptile covers on top of ten gallon tanks. It works very well for Pete who has been in the business for a long time and has great production of frogs.
He actually is quite innovative in how he takes care of his frogs and I have learned alot from him. Too bad he is not online, he has alot of tricks to keep expenses low and frog enjoyment high.
B.


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## jtrasap (Sep 19, 2007)

Julio said:


> brettlt said:
> 
> 
> > I am using syran wrap temporarily until I make my glass lid on my newest tank. However, I do not have any frogs in the tank. I would not trust it with frogs. Also, glass lids cost $20 for 20 gallon, $40 or less for a 55 gallon. I am making a custom glass lid for an Oceanic Cube and at it will cost me less than $25. It is not a lot of money, and I have never heard of a glass lid that couldn't be cleaned. Maybe if it was dropped in a vat of acid or something along those lines.
> ...


I'll second that julio. I usually get mine cut to fit at my local glass shop with the edges machined smooth and I silicone a cabinet pull to one end and there you have it. Glass and knob total for a ten gallon usually ends up running around $3 and it doesn't go up much for bigger tanks. A 29g usually around $5 and about $10 for a 55g. You can also by a sheet of glass at your local home center and cut your own for even less...


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## brettlt (Oct 5, 2006)

Well, maybe glass prices are just higher around here. Maybe I just prefer thicker glass than you are using.

I am paying $10.80 for two pieces of glass. Both are 3/16" thick, one is 19"X6" and the other is 19"X9". Edges are smoothed. This is a local glass shop. I am picking them up either today or tomorrow.

I paid about $9 at another glass shop to replace part of a lid that was broken by accident. That piece was about 36"X5"X3/16".

The rest of the cost is for the silicone, pull, and I like to use the 2" plastic at the back, like a versa top, to make a vent and hole for a cord.

Also, the costs I was quoting on the 20 gal and 55 gallon were buying versa tops at Petco. I was kind of giving least work, high cost scenarios.

I am making my own top on the Oceanic because while a glass lid might be available from Oceanic, I know it would be more than I would want to pay.


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## frogsoftheworld (Oct 20, 2007)

i only use plastic wrap not press and seal. never tried it though.


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## bluedart (Sep 5, 2005)

Not gonna lie--I use seran wrap on tanks. Granted, they're plant tanks with no frogs. 

In regards to the reliability, I suppose it's functional. Cover the top with a few pieces of seran wrap, secure it down with a screen cover. It's just plain ugly though, you can't clean it, etc. Not to mention I'm conservation oriented--I'd rather spend 5 dollars on a glass top for a tank every 5 years than I would spend 2 dollars for seran wrap. That's just more oil, trees, pollution, etc. 

I wouldn't recommend it. A 10 dollar glass top seems a sound investment for 500 dollars worth of frogs.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

He's not talking about using saran wrap alone here... he's talking about *in conjunction with a screened lid*. Screen lid lets out too much humidity, so you cover the percentage you need. Quicker than trying to make one of those screen/glass things, handy in an emergency (like dropping and shattering your glass lid EEK!), and is good for those tanks that you change the amount of screen shown on a regular basis. Basically, ok sure for the long term you might want your glass tank (which with regular cleaning shouldn't become uncleanable - shame on you if it does!) but it's great to have a screen tank lid and some saran wrap around just in case for whatever the reason you'd need a lid in a jiffy.

I actually do it for the majority of my mantellas... more screen during the dry season, less screen during the wet season... I use a heavier plastic tho so it lasts longer and I use it on top of the screen (since only partially covered leaves a gap for them to get between the plastic and the screening and they can cook). It's partially out of laziness, partially out of habit, and partially because I don't have a glass supplier out here for cheap. My auros have it because I accidently set up their tank in one without an inside frame for the glass lid to sit on so they have the screen/plastic lid until they go into their new set up...


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## frogsoftheworld (Oct 20, 2007)

ok enough about the GLASS i get it!!!!!!!! :evil: :evil: :evil: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: just go agianst me all i am trying to do is spread info i got from a good breeder in st.charles,il....................................................................... :evil: :x :x :x :x nobody mention glass again please :x :x :x :evil: .............................................bluedart i hear your point but i am just trying to help.


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## frogsoftheworld (Oct 20, 2007)

thanks kero


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## Conman3880 (Jul 8, 2007)

Glass. :twisted:

Kidding, kidding. I actually wasnt aware that Pete uses plastic wrap... But now that I think about it, that would explain why he never has lids at the animal shows...

All of us like the idea, frogsoftheworld. Nobody is attacking you, we're just saying that we prefer glass lids. It's just a matter of opinion.


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## frogsoftheworld (Oct 20, 2007)

lol.


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## frogsoftheworld (Oct 20, 2007)

any one try the idea yet.


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## thedude (Nov 28, 2007)

hey naruto  

when i had to flee bomb my house(damn dog) i used seran rap to cover my tanks quite a bit. its not so bad for the smaller tanks like 10 and 15 but for the bigger ones(75g turtle tank) it SUCKS. i think it works fine if you only need ONE SHEET of it though.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

For larger tanks use the press and seal... it looks like crap but the key is that you can easily make the sheets stick together (solid seal) to make one big sheet that won't come apart easily.


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## RRRavelo (Nov 21, 2007)

I'm not sure how you get the saran wrap to be easy to get on and off without having a bunch of escaped FFs.

I had a few screen tops from Herp. applications liying around and some thicker plastic sheeting I had left over from a water feature. I used a big piece of the plastic to cover a 29 gal viv. (first viv. ever) which had a glass top that I had planned to keep 1 inch short of the front of the tank for ventilation with the screen top over it. I had a bunch of escaped FFs the came up the glass and through the larger bore screen. 
I got the plastic and used it to cover the glass and then put the screen top on that with a lighting unit on top. No more escapees. 

I have also used the same plastic sheeting tapped under a smaller screen top to partly cover a screen to about 2/3rds of the way with the finer bug-proof screen attached to allow for vetilation on the other third. The glass top tended to fog up the glass and kept the humidity at 98% all the time. With the partial screen I was better able to play with the numbers and the top came off normally.

How do you keep the thin wrap from bunching or rolling when you remove the top?


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

I sit the saran wrap on top of the mesh, not under the lid. This way I can easily move it around to control humidity, and don't have to tear it up. I've also been known to chop up plastic grocery bags for the sake of my tanks...


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## Raymond (Aug 26, 2006)

No need to throw a fit, we're allowed to give feedback on ideas.

I've used this method in the past as a quick fix, when I had nothing else available. As well as to seal up the screen on some tanks. 

I'd say it's a good idea for a temporary fix, but I wouldn't recommend it for long term use. As someone previously mentioned, why pay so much money for the frogs, and be as cheap as possible regarding the tank?


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## yours (Nov 11, 2007)

I use saran wrap for my tanks too! Great to hold the humidity in, and it also rests atop the screen tops............tree frogs and anole love it!


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## Tundragirl (Nov 13, 2006)

how does this work in conjunction with you light fixtures? Wouldn't the high wattage melt the saran wrap? I have a screen lid on one of my tanks with a thin sheet of plexi glass that I shift around for humidity adjustments.
Cindy


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## jehitch (Jun 8, 2007)

KeroKero said:


> I sit the saran wrap on top of the mesh, not under the lid. This way I can easily move it around to control humidity, and don't have to tear it up. I've also been known to chop up plastic grocery bags for the sake of my tanks...


I've been doing this for quite a while. I tape the saran wrap down with packing tape. It's versatile: One month a tank might have a high humidity species, and a couple months later I've sold all those, and am getting in some waxy frogs. It's easy to adjust how much screen is open. And, when you want to cut holes in the saran wrap to let more air circulate, you can put a piece of packing tape over where you want to cut, and it makes it easier to cut the saran wrap.


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