Glass aquarium covers. Do you have them

[Mike7744]

I have a 75 gal aquarium I'm using glass covers. I'm thinking of taking them off.
I know it helps with evaporation . But it seems to hinder viewing and light penitration.
What are your thoughts on glass covers?

 

[Snoopy 67]

Unless kept spotless lighting is greatly affected and may increase temps a bit.

 

[Tommy B]

I keep a screen top for sufficient gas exchange. Glass may hinder that unless you are getting gas exchange by some other means.

 

[PotatoPig]

I had glass covers on my 75g, then moved to a DIY mesh.

They didn’t seem to have all that big an impact on light, and did have a huge impact on evaporation. I changed them in the end because:

1. They’d build up salt and other detritus and I’d need to clean these panes of glass about once a week or so.

2. They seemed to reflect up a small amount of light above the tank, and I didn’t like the way it looked.

3. One got chipped and it became a hazard for cuts when handling.

Overall pretty happy with the change to the DIY screen. Corals look a tiny bit better, no issues with condensation, etc. and much easier handling.

The evaporation is higher, but I switched to using the ATO to dose Alk through the day for stabler levels than manual dosing so the evaporation works with me rather than against, and I have an RODI system so water isn’t really an issue.

 

[VintageReefer]

I used glass covers for 8ish years on my current 75g tank and never had an issue. I prefer to have evap reduced and some heat retained. if I wanted top down viewing I just open the lid or remove it. I would clean salt creep off in the kitchen sink with the sprayer

 

[formallydehyde]

I have them because I ultimately figured that every other option seemed more expensive and failure prone in the long run.

 

[exnisstech]

I ditched them a few years ago because keeping them clean so they didn't reduce light was more of a hassle than I wanted. I'm all open top now but I don't keep fish that are typically jumpers.