I previosly looked into building a wooden enclosure for my Retail Boa. I was planning on going with 5'x3'x3'. I wanted to go larger, but with the space available could not. For now, I'll be holding off on the large enclosure, And will instead build a lid for my 75 gallon glass tank (4'x18"x21")

Im working the construction around a few other things, (including a few works in progress, but a enclosure for an animal I have takes precedence over finishing enclosures for animals I want.

Because this is somewhat temporary, I have tried to keep the cost on the lid down, without sacrificing safety. I have bought MSB board (used to build speakers out of) And will be cutting it to size. Because it is MSB, it may not hold up to moisture as well as some other types of board, but it is a lid, so im hoping that will not be as much of a problem. Additionaly i'm planning on sealing, and painting the board.
The 75 gallon tank is one that was built to have a sliding lid on top, so I have had to get creative about that, ill be siliconing a piece of wood trim, left over from a renovation job onto the part that is slightly lowered from the plastic rim on the top of the tank to match it with the rest of the rim.
I also bought 1/4" hardware cloth type metal screening, and will be cutting holes in the wood top, and covering them with the hardware cloth, giving clamp lamps a place to sit, letting light through the top. I may be switching the heating to primarily a ceramic heat emmiter, But think I may make 4 clamp lamp sized cutouts on top of the lid, giving plenty of freedom to move the lights and heat source around, and providing airflow.
As for locking the lid down, i plan on using latches, siliconed to the glass, and screwed into the wood, to lock the tank down.

As for painting, and sealing the lid, i had a few questions. What is the best paint to use here, as it is the lid, not the entire enclosure.
Also, water based sealers only? Correct?

Just looking for other peoples opinions before I start in on it.
Anyone have any advice, critisism, ideas.

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If you use a product designed for childrens rooms it will be non-toxic and give off very little fumes. Even while drying. I use a product called Painters Touch by Rustoleum. There are many great colours.
You will have an issue trying to paint the cut edges of the board. Paint will continue to soak in as you put in coat after coat.
If you want to finish it off a little nicer, you'll need to glue or iron on some wood edgebanding to cover the edges.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

Thanks. I bought a 48"x24" Board, so I only have to cut one side to get it to 48"x18" And could usie a piece of the same trim I have used to match the plastic rim over this part to make it look nicer, and prevent the paint from soaking in.

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Just Linking this, tying up loose ends so this thread is'nt just sitting there, This is the lid I built, and a walkthrough for building it.
Custom Tank Lid

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"Nobody can do Everything, but Everybody can do Something."