# Perspex plastic for Exo roof?



## Dark Valentino (Mar 15, 2013)

Ello Ello,

Found a load of sheets of Perspex/Acrylic in the warehouse last week, all of different thickness.

Could anyone give me some pointers on what thickness is best to use? And what you used to cut to size?
Wanting to mod a few of my Exo Terra roofs, not the whole top just half on each exo..
Main reason is too higher humidity in the tanks..

Cheers
Zac


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## buddah (Dec 23, 2009)

4-5 mm thickness, I pulled all the mesh out and the rubber holding it in. Drilled holes in the acrylic front and back, Then siliconed it In.


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## Dark Valentino (Mar 15, 2013)

buddah said:


> 4-5 mm thickness, I pulled all the mesh out and the rubber holding it in. Drilled holes in the acrylic front and back, Then siliconed it In.


Alright brilliant, Do you have lighting on top?
Also whats easiest way to to cut the sizes out?


Cheers: victory:


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## buddah (Dec 23, 2009)

I used a band saw then just polished the edges with wet and dry although you won see the edges because they will be under the lip of the roof. Yeah I use an exo terra hood above obviously no uv will go through the acrylic lid but it allows a lot more visable light through than the mesh. I've also got a 45 cube where the rear part of the lid is acrylic and the front part is half mesh half acrylic, but I'm going to change this to all acrylic with drilled ventilation. It looks a lot neater and the mesh rusts.

You could use a coping saw to cut although it would be quite difficult and take quite a while.


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## Dark Valentino (Mar 15, 2013)

buddah said:


> I used a band saw then just polished the edges with wet and dry although you won see the edges because they will be under the lip of the roof. Yeah I use an exo terra hood above obviously no uv will go through the acrylic lid but it allows a lot more visable light through than the mesh. I've also got a 45 cube where the rear part of the lid is acrylic and the front part is half mesh half acrylic, but I'm going to change this to all acrylic with drilled ventilation. It looks a lot neater and the mesh rusts.
> 
> You could use a coping saw to cut although it would be quite difficult and take quite a while.


Thanks, that clears a lot up :2thumb:
Pretty sure I have something similar to a bandsaw that I can use.
As for the UV, the lightings only for the plants really, so no UV isnt an issue.

I agree the mesh roofing looks naff to be fair.

Cheers


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## darrensimps (Aug 16, 2009)

Perspex/ acrylic tends to warp and bend under the heat and humidity in my experience. I throw away the lid all together in my exos, and replace with 4mm twin wall poly carb and silicone that in place with a strip of mesh along the back, cheaper and easier than Perspex too.


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## Dark Valentino (Mar 15, 2013)

darrensimps said:


> Perspex/ acrylic tends to warp and bend under the heat and humidity in my experience. I throw away the lid all together in my exos, and replace with 4mm twin wall poly carb and silicone that in place with a strip of mesh along the back, cheaper and easier than Perspex too.


Cheers for the heads up : victory: the perspex cost nothing and I have plenty of it, if it needs replacing.
Will be using T5 lighting above, from what I've read T5 don't give off a lot of heat...

I suppose there's only one way to find out though :whistling2: haha


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## grizzlymonkyboy (Jan 15, 2011)

I used clingfilm in the past wrap up that hood and away u go


Thanks 
Dane


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## Wolfenrook (Jul 2, 2010)

He's right about the warping sadly, and it's often more than a little too.

I've found the UV passing stuff is ok on a 45x45cm square, bigger than that though and I use either twin wall polycarbonate or Lexan (single wall polycarbonate basically) as neither of these warp.

One other bit of advice, normal silicone is of little use for acrylic or plastics of other types long term (I've had a twin wall lid fall off after 10 months and have to be redone using aquarium silicone to fasten it to glass). I've found though that although expensive Gold Label pond sealant works a treat and doesn't discolour like clear aquarium silicone does over time. : victory:

Ade


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## Dark Valentino (Mar 15, 2013)

Ah dammit..
Should I just pass it off as a bad idea then? I'm not losing anything as the perspex didn't cost a dime..
Might have to invest in this poly then, or possibly some optiwhite glass..


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

You could just place the acrylic on top of the mesh, it can't warp then lol. I would replace the mesh with good quality stainless steel mesh.


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## Dark Valentino (Mar 15, 2013)

plasma234 said:


> You could just place the acrylic on top of the mesh, it can't warp then lol. I would replace the mesh with good quality stainless steel mesh.


Good idea : victory:
But wouldn't that mean the light getting blocked even more?


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

Erm yes, but you won't have any escaped flies :lol2:

I have an exo which I have swapped the mesh with fly mesh, light got through okay, but your right, probably about a 25-30% drop off. You will want to swap the exoterra mesh anyway, it rusts so quickly.


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

I cover the front mesh panel with loose, cut to fit pieces of plastic/perspex/glass- depending on the viv and what I have handy, and use the lighting on the back. As somebody or other pointed out, this can cause the mesh to rust in the covered areas, though


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## fatlad69 (Oct 22, 2009)

I used the UV passing perspex on my 60 wide exo and it warped leaving a huge gap. Luckily I had no plants in there. In the end I went for 4mm opti white and haven't looked back.

Adam


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## Dark Valentino (Mar 15, 2013)

plasma234 said:


> Erm yes, but you won't have any escaped flies :lol2:
> 
> I have an exo which I have swapped the mesh with fly mesh, light got through okay, but your right, probably about a 25-30% drop off. You will want to swap the exoterra mesh anyway, it rusts so quickly.


Flies? No flies here... :whistling2: well apart from the odd compast gnat :bash:



fatlad69 said:


> I used the UV passing perspex on my 60 wide exo and it warped leaving a huge gap. Luckily I had no plants in there. In the end I went for 4mm opti white and haven't looked back.
> 
> Adam


Hmm, Iv'e heard and read a lot about this opti white, was looking to save a few quid though :whistling2: hah.. Might just have to go for it as it seems like the best option tbh : victory:

Cheers


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## Wolfenrook (Jul 2, 2010)

Well if you were buying, rather than getting it free, Optiwhite is actually cheaper than acrylic, and a LOT cheaper than Lexan or UV passing acrylic.

The down side with it is that it's more fragile (Lexan for example is the stuff that they now use for bus shelters as it's stupidly tough) and a LOT harder to work with. When I say this, I mean that unless you are confident with cutting glass and drilling holes in it then you find yourself paying somebody else to do this, which increases the price.

Twin wall polycarbonate looks terrible, but you can cut it with decent scissors and putting holes in it is a snap. It's also fairly cheap.

Lexan looks good (clearer than glass, but harder to scratch than acrylic) and you can cut it with a fine toothed jigsaw blade (been there, done that) and you can drill it with normal drill bits. The trick is not to try to go too fast, if you do the Lexan melts and snarly your bit.

As I mentioned before, I wouldn't use UV passing acrylic on anything over 45cm square, and I wouldn't use standard acrylic at all.

This is why I prefer to pay more and use Lexan. : victory: With Exos though, I grind off the plastic lugs and replace the ENTIRE lid. I then bond the new one directly to the top plastic surround with Gold Label pond sealant.

This shows how I built the lid for my 60x45x60cm Exo, it still has the protective plastic film on the Lexan:-










This illustrates how clear the Gold Label sealant cures:-










Lastly, the HUGE difference the Lexan made to light levels in the viv:-










Before I was using a T5HO AND a 30 watt LED spotlight to try to punch some light through the rusty old mesh:-










You can even see how plant growth improved once I'd replaced it!

But yeah, get rid of the mesh bud. : victory: Whatever you use to replace it will be WAY better.

Ade


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## johne.ev (Sep 14, 2008)

Do you not need to allow for ventilation? 
Must admit i only seal the front mesh sections on my exo -terras & have the compact hoods on the back sections. I use thin perspex, but this has no lighting directly over it, so doesn't warp/bend.


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## Wolfenrook (Jul 2, 2010)

That's what the big rectangular hole covered in fruit fly proof stainless steel mesh is for. : victory:


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## Dark Valentino (Mar 15, 2013)

Wolfenrook said:


> Well if you were buying, rather than getting it free, Optiwhite is actually cheaper than acrylic, and a LOT cheaper than Lexan or UV passing acrylic.
> 
> The down side with it is that it's more fragile (Lexan for example is the stuff that they now use for bus shelters as it's stupidly tough) and a LOT harder to work with. When I say this, I mean that unless you are confident with cutting glass and drilling holes in it then you find yourself paying somebody else to do this, which increases the price.
> 
> ...


Wow, what a difference a decent roof makes :mf_dribble: loving the growth in that viv Ade, Looks Awesome!

I am now also seeing the light.. why I've being using these mesh roofs for so long is beyond me.

I shall have to look into both Lexan and Optiwhite some more to get a rough idea on prices as at the moment I don't have a clue.
I have 4 Exo's that need modding :gasp:

Although this Lexan is weighing up to be a good one to go for, would be lighter than glass and less fragile, and if the kids at the bus stop can't kick it in..... well, that looks like a winner : victory:

Cheers for the detailed reply :2thumb:


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## johne.ev (Sep 14, 2008)

Wolfenrook said:


> That's what the big rectangular hole covered in fruit fly proof stainless steel mesh is for. : victory:


Yeah i saw that on your one mate, but others have been saying about sealing up the roof.
What grade mesh is fly proof & where is the best place to purchase it from please?


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## Wolfenrook (Jul 2, 2010)

0.5mm Holes. Last time I just bought it from Dartfrog, a strip of the 12cm wide as I've found that even for darts a little bit wider is actually better.: victory:

Ade


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

For love of god wear gloves when you are ripping out and when cutting/fitting the new mesh. I look like I had been attacked by a rabid cat when I did mine.


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## johne.ev (Sep 14, 2008)

Cheers Ade, just seen it on dartfrog site.


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## JRB 89 (Aug 5, 2013)

I've just cut cling film to size and put it over the mesh. Works beautifully. And you can adjust humidity by covering or uncovering mesh as you see fit. Its great :2thumb:


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