Cali Kid Corals

Custom Tank Cover / Lids - Wrasse ready - Recommendations and Lessons Learned

Have you considered kreativereefer.com? The owner is extremely accommodating and they can also create custom lids that are tailored to your preferences. I purchased a lid from him some time ago for a fluval 32.5 flex tank. For this particular tank, the price was more affordable, the lead times were exceptional, and the quality was outstanding.
 
Reefer Madness said:
Have you considered kreativereefer.com? The owner is extremely accommodating and they can also create custom lids that are tailored to your preferences. I purchased a lid from him some time ago for a fluval 32.5 flex tank. For this particular tank, the price was more affordable, the lead times were exceptional, and the quality was outstanding.
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Thank you. I did not know them and have actually reached out to them now and lets see how it goes.
 
Alexander1312 said:
I am planning to get my first wrasse in the next few weeks, but I hesitated due to their tendency to jump - currently planning to get a pseudochelinus ocellatus.

View attachment 57840

Finding a tank cover appears more difficult than anticipated. One reason is that the IM 150 is not a super standard tank, so we will need to measure from scratch, etc. Another reason is that the cost of a good cover appears to be very (!) high, even for reefing standards. Lastly, there seem to be many cutouts to decide on, and I worry that I might not be forward-looking enough with my decisions and then regret not adding them to the requests (e.g., adding a suitable cutout for the AVAST plank feeder).

I wonder if anyone has experience with the three companies below or other recommendations. Also, I would be very interested in any lessons from custom tank lids, missing cutouts, etc., from which I could benefit.
(P.S.: I do have a tank cover that came with the tank, but it is very annoying during feeding time and has a lot of openings from all the cables coming out of the tank).
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Hi Alex
You didn't get a lid for your IM 150 Lagoon? I just got a 150 EXT and do have the lid. I am not using it. Maybe I can trade for something if interested. Lmk thx Jerry
 
jgsolo32 said:
Hi Alex
You didn't get a lid for your IM 150 Lagoon? I just got a 150 EXT and do have the lid. I am not using it. Maybe I can trade for something if interested. Lmk thx Jerry
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Hi Jerry. Thank you very much for the offer. Yes, I did get a lid but I do not like it since it has to be taken off entirely, has no opening for feeding etc.
 
Oh okay. Yeh it's a decent. Kraken is expensive but for that tank they make 2 separate lids and you you can add all the corners and/or feeding holes. Great quality lid too.
Good luck Alex!!! Great tank!!
 
So I have decided to go with @Reefer Madness recommendation Kreative Reefer: https://kreativereefer.com/

@Reefer Madness: Chris greatly appreciated your recommendation.

I liked the idea of going with a less-known vendor who is possibly of the same or better quality than the well-known brands. I will see, but I was willing to take the risks to be proven wrong.

Price mattered to me to some extent, but it was not my main focus as I knew it would be expensive. I instead wanted to get something that I truly liked. However, the 400 USD he charged me seemed to be on the lower/lowest end of the range (e.g., Top Lids would have been around 600 USD).

Also, delivery estimates seem significantly shorter but let's see.

The potential concern with the lid could be the honeycomb 0.3-inch diameter holes, which could be too large to prevent fish from jumping out. Chris seems confident that this will work, and I like the design.
 
Alexander1312 said:
So I have decided to go with @Reefer Madness recommendation Kreative Reefer: https://kreativereefer.com/

@Reefer Madness: Chris greatly appreciated your recommendation.

I liked the idea of going with a less-known vendor who is possibly of the same or better quality than the well-known brands. I will see, but I was willing to take the risks to be proven wrong.

Price mattered to me to some extent, but it was not my main focus as I knew it would be expensive. I instead wanted to get something that I truly liked. However, the 400 USD he charged me seemed to be on the lower/lowest end of the range (e.g., Top Lids would have been around 600 USD).

Also, delivery estimates seem significantly shorter but let's see.

The potential concern with the lid could be the honeycomb 0.3-inch diameter holes, which could be too large to prevent fish from jumping out. Chris seems confident that this will work, and I like the design.
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Did you go with a two piece set up? How custom did you make the lid?
 
Reefer Madness said:
Did you go with a two piece set up? How custom did you make the lid?
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Yes, two parts, several cutouts, including gyre specific cutouts, two auto feeder including the AVAST going forward. Latest drawing.

EXT150_Mockup_v1.png
 
I would ask how big the cord cut outs are going to be. It might help to have some extra room so it makes it easy taking off the lid. I know when I had mine they fit in perfectly but with that it would hold onto the cord so I would physically have to make sure the were free from the lid.
 
Reefer Madness said:
I would ask how big the cord cut outs are going to be. It might help to have some extra room so it makes it easy taking off the lid. I know when I had mine they fit in perfectly but with that it would hold onto the cord so I would physically have to make sure the were free from the lid.
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Yes, he had them at 1 inch and I asked him to expand them to 1.5 inch due to the same concerns. Good point though.
 
The only thing I would be concerned about is the lid being made out of acrylic. I’m under the impression that acrylic warps under led lights due to the heat and UV? That’s why most of the other manufacturers use polycarbonate for their lids.

Are there any examples of Kreative Reefer lids after long term use? What’s their warranty if it warps?
 
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