aluminum?

philosophile · 01/04/2012, 09:54 AM

So I'm in the process of building my 90g tank, and I ran into a problem.... The screens that I'm going to put on top of the tank is going to be made of clear mesh screen from BRS, but I couldn't find window screen frames that were made of anything but aluminum. Is aluminum safe to use? OR should I seek out vinyl/plastic?

Crkbaby · 01/04/2012, 10:27 AM

I would not use any metals unless you plan on powdercoating and clearcoating to protect them.

philosophile · 01/04/2012, 10:31 AM

Yeah, that was my intuition too. I guess its to the return counter I go.

thegrun · 01/04/2012, 11:32 AM

The standard window screen frames from Home Depot or Lowes are painted aluminum and work fine. I've had one for a few years with no sign of deterioration.

Meshmez · 01/04/2012, 11:42 AM

aluminum is probably fine, especially painted, or at it least will be fine for quite a while before it shows any corrosion. Steel, not so much.

philosophile · 01/04/2012, 12:53 PM

hrm, yeah, I looked around and couldn't find any non-aluminum ones. Maybe I'll go back and pick it up again. :P

Zappo · 01/04/2012, 04:39 PM

I used one from home depot for about a year without any issues. I wouldn't want to leave it sitting in the water, but as a cover it seemed to work fine. It was just bare aluminum.

mjm7757 · 01/04/2012, 05:15 PM

Yeah, as just a cover you should be fine. Just give it a quick look every couple weeks when you feed for peace of mind if you want though.

LSUtiger · 01/04/2012, 06:01 PM

You could also use pond netting in a window screen frame.

01/04/2012, 09:54 AM	#1
philosophile Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 1,149	aluminum? So I'm in the process of building my 90g tank, and I ran into a problem.... The screens that I'm going to put on top of the tank is going to be made of clear mesh screen from BRS, but I couldn't find window screen frames that were made of anything but aluminum. Is aluminum safe to use? OR should I seek out vinyl/plastic? __________________ 90 gallon mixed reef XPS1000SSS skimmer, 2 radions gen 1, tunze osmolator w/ kalk dispenser, 70 lbs pukani, mp40w x2; 1 tomini, 1 clown 2 mandarins. Vinegar dosing, and micro bubble scrubbing.

01/04/2012, 10:31 AM	#3
philosophile Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 1,149	Yeah, that was my intuition too. I guess its to the return counter I go. __________________ 90 gallon mixed reef XPS1000SSS skimmer, 2 radions gen 1, tunze osmolator w/ kalk dispenser, 70 lbs pukani, mp40w x2; 1 tomini, 1 clown 2 mandarins. Vinegar dosing, and micro bubble scrubbing.

01/04/2012, 12:53 PM	#6
philosophile Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 1,149	hrm, yeah, I looked around and couldn't find any non-aluminum ones. Maybe I'll go back and pick it up again. :P __________________ 90 gallon mixed reef XPS1000SSS skimmer, 2 radions gen 1, tunze osmolator w/ kalk dispenser, 70 lbs pukani, mp40w x2; 1 tomini, 1 clown 2 mandarins. Vinegar dosing, and micro bubble scrubbing.

01/04/2012, 10:27 AM	#2
Crkbaby Registered Member. Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Cleveland Ohio Posts: 422	I would not use any metals unless you plan on powdercoating and clearcoating to protect them.

01/04/2012, 11:32 AM	#4
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	The standard window screen frames from Home Depot or Lowes are painted aluminum and work fine. I've had one for a few years with no sign of deterioration.

01/04/2012, 11:42 AM	#5
Meshmez Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 1,030	aluminum is probably fine, especially painted, or at it least will be fine for quite a while before it shows any corrosion. Steel, not so much.

01/04/2012, 04:39 PM	#7
Zappo Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Minnetonka, MN Posts: 582	I used one from home depot for about a year without any issues. I wouldn't want to leave it sitting in the water, but as a cover it seemed to work fine. It was just bare aluminum.

01/04/2012, 05:15 PM	#8
mjm7757 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Wichita, KS Posts: 60	Yeah, as just a cover you should be fine. Just give it a quick look every couple weeks when you feed for peace of mind if you want though.

01/04/2012, 06:01 PM	#9
LSUtiger Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Louisiana Posts: 128	You could also use pond netting in a window screen frame.