Glass or net lid??

Karen00

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I have 2 cats roaming around so I went with glass.

On the rimmed tank there is a 1/2" gap on the back so it doesn't actually rest on the back rim. The tank is in my basement so no heat issues, and there is a sump+skimmer so no worries a out gas exchange; and as mentioned the fresh water condensate that forms on top keeps most of the salt creep at bay, I still get some around the top where the lid rests on the rim on the sides and front of the tank. I clean the top simply because of the cat hair.


On my rimless tank there is ~ 1/4 of an inch clearance on the sides, I keep it pushed to the front so there is ~1 inch open on the back of the tank
Interesting... I think that's a very important point. Having a sump for gas exchange. I don't run a sump (at least not yet). Mine is a 5g so that might determine the route I go. My tank is upstairs so heat can become an issue. I'm glad I asked you about this. Thanks!! This might help the OP as well.
 

rustyreefer

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I'm setting up my first saltwater mixed reef tank. Its a 40 gal breeder that is almost ready for water. I was wondering how much a glass lid would effect my lights. I'm running 2 ai prime reefs. Im trying to figure out if the benefits of glass for evaporation outweigh the effects on the lighting? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
No comparison. net top
 

Karen00

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I know for me that the reason my salt creep issue existed was that I had a lot of water breaking the surface tension, and that caused misting/splashing which lead to the salt creep on my glass... Not sure how others have the same thing but no salt creep though...
I know, it's weird how it's literally a polar opposite experience with people, even people with the same setups/conditions just like you mentioned. I started my tank four months ago and I'm no closer to making a decision in glass/acrylic or mesh. Haha. Hopefully it's easier for the OP.
 

bnord

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I am going form mesh to glass on a 15 WB today, coincidentally - will let you know how it goes

PAR was not my concern as much as spectrum

AI 15 for the recoed
 

Chrisv.

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strange how 2 people can have very different experiences... I had major salt creep on my 55, to the point that if I missed a week of cleaning the glass tops, they'd look like frosted glass after 2 weeks.
Wow that would certainly cause issues!
 

Chrisv.

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Do you have an area for gas exchange and to let heat escape? I'm still trying to decide between glass/acrylic or a screen top. I wonder why some members have issues with glass or acrylic but others such as yourself don't.
I have two tanks running right now. The one with the glass lid is a 8 gallon pico. The tank is rimless and the glass lid sits on plastic clips and there is about a half of a centimeter gap around all edges of the lid (in the areas where there are no clips). The lid also has a hole in the center that's about 2 cm in diameter. The back of the aio tank is open and gas exchange happens there without issues. The tank is low tech-- there is a heater and a return pump (a Sicce 1.0). The return is on a spinning mechanism and provides all the flow for the tank. I have no issues with overheating, but I do run ac in the summer.

My second tank has a hard plastic lid (it's a fluvial flex) that I have modified to take a kessil a360we. That lid covers the whole tank, including the back compartments. I've found that in this tank, I have MAJOR gas exchange issues. I was having random problems all the time and added an airstone to the tank and the problems were solved practically overnight. I do have overheating issues in this tank. I run a heater, a return pump, a mp10 and a 5w uv sterilizer. If my house is over 75 for any length of time the tank temp swings up. I have a suitable chiller for the tank but I really don't want to deal with running a chiller.
 

Chrisv.

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I am going form mesh to glass on a 15 WB today, coincidentally - will let you know how it goes

PAR was not my concern as much as spectrum

AI 15 for the recoed
I'm in the process of putting up a WB 15 as well. I will use a mesh top but will have a glass panel that I can insert.

I really like having less evaporation. I live in a cold climate and find that a lot of water condenses on the windows at night in the winter. Anything to cut down on that is worth it to me.
 

Chrisv.

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Decent lids are essential for me due to a cat and a kid. If I had a lifestyle that supported mesh only, I would use them.
 

JNalley

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My second tank has a hard plastic lid (it's a fluvial flex) that I have modified to take a kessil a360we.
Is that the 15 or the 32 Flex? I currently have a 32 that I'm modifying the top for 2x AI Prime HD's. Going to cut out the top leaving just a frame and then glue in mesh. I'd love it if I could fabricate an acrylic insert instead of mesh, but I think that's a dream for another day, lol.
 

Chrisv.

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Is that the 15 or the 32 Flex? I currently have a 32 that I'm modifying the top for 2x AI Prime HD's. Going to cut out the top leaving just a frame and then glue in mesh. I'd love it if I could fabricate an acrylic insert instead of mesh, but I think that's a dream for another day, lol.
It's the 15. I cut a circle out of the top and cobbled together a housing that fits into the hole. The kessil sits directly in the housing and therefore no light spills out. I don't want to open the same old can of worms, but I personally don't want my toddler looking up into my kessil directly, so I set it up this way to make it impossible.
 

Karen00

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I have two tanks running right now. The one with the glass lid is a 8 gallon pico. The tank is rimless and the glass lid sits on plastic clips and there is about a half of a centimeter gap around all edges of the lid (in the areas where there are no clips). The lid also has a hole in the center that's about 2 cm in diameter. The back of the aio tank is open and gas exchange happens there without issues. The tank is low tech-- there is a heater and a return pump (a Sicce 1.0). The return is on a spinning mechanism and provides all the flow for the tank. I have no issues with overheating, but I do run ac in the summer.

My second tank has a hard plastic lid (it's a fluvial flex) that I have modified to take a kessil a360we. That lid covers the whole tank, including the back compartments. I've found that in this tank, I have MAJOR gas exchange issues. I was having random problems all the time and added an airstone to the tank and the problems were solved practically overnight. I do have overheating issues in this tank. I run a heater, a return pump, a mp10 and a 5w uv sterilizer. If my house is over 75 for any length of time the tank temp swings up. I have a suitable chiller for the tank but I really don't want to deal with running a chiller.
Thanks for this! I'm glad I asked. It's always good to have context regarding the different setups members have to better understand why something works for one person but not another. My tank is a 5g pico. It's an AIO by Top Fin. If I had to do it over I probably wouldn't do this tank for saltwater but admittedly it was built for freshwater. The stock lid is plastic and covers the entire tank. The lights are mounted underneath. Even though I keep my house on the cooler side if I don't keep the lid cracked the temperature spikes and I can only assume gases build up as well. I can't imagine it's a good setup for freshwater either. It also has a feeding port in the lid so I have periodically cracked this open during the rare times I fit the lid properly (usually after I add a new fish and I want to prevent jumping out). After reading the comments on here I think my options would be to do glass/acrylic but leave part of the AIO sump area open for gas exchange/heat dissipation or do a mesh lid that covers the entire tank. I want to get rid of the stock lid so I can setup the new lights I bought. I hope the OP gets some good insights as well. In some cases it might be trial and error. Try one and if it doesn't work then try the other. :)
 

JNalley

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It's the 15. I cut a circle out of the top and cobbled together a housing that fits into the hole. The kessil sits directly in the housing and therefore no light spills out. I don't want to open the same old can of worms, but I personally don't want my toddler looking up into my kessil directly, so I set it up this way to make it impossible.
Yeah, my flex is in my 2-year-old daughters room, it's her nightlight pretty much, so I bought the 3DReefing Shades and diffusers for the same reason. The tank is high enough up that she could never get her hands in the top of it, so not really worried about the netting aspect, but the lights in her eyes were definitely a concern.
 

Jeffcb

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I'm setting up my first saltwater mixed reef tank. Its a 40 gal breeder that is almost ready for water. I was wondering how much a glass lid would effect my lights. I'm running 2 ai prime reefs. Im trying to figure out if the benefits of glass for evaporation outweigh the effects on the lighting? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Net is better IMO. Better light, better gas exchange, better heat exchange and dose not need as much cleaning. Net will probably have more evaporation but easily corrected with ATO or adding top off water manually.
 

Chrisv.

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Yeah, my flex is in my 2-year-old daughters room, it's her nightlight pretty much, so I bought the 3DReefing Shades and diffusers for the same reason. The tank is high enough up that she could never get her hands in the top of it, so not really worried about the netting aspect, but the lights in her eyes were definitely a concern.
I will get some photos of the set up I put together tonight and send them in case they are of interest.

I have the 3d reefing shade on the AI prime I use for the smaller tank as well. That one is on my nightstand, so my kid doesn't encounter it very often. The flex is on a kitchen counter, so very high traffic.
 

SHINYSuccubus

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I'm setting up my first saltwater mixed reef tank. Its a 40 gal breeder that is almost ready for water. I was wondering how much a glass lid would effect my lights. I'm running 2 ai prime reefs. Im trying to figure out if the benefits of glass for evaporation outweigh the effects on the lighting? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
i had a glass top and i wasn’t very happy with it at all - i switched to mesh which has worked well for my 150
 

JNalley

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I will get some photos of the set up I put together tonight and send them in case they are of interest.

I have the 3d reefing shade on the AI prime I use for the smaller tank as well. That one is on my nightstand, so my kid doesn't encounter it very often. The flex is on a kitchen counter, so very high traffic.
I'm toying with the idea of fashioning a reflector to put inside of the shade so that all of the light exits the bottom without absorbing into the black shade... Could be as simple as cutting 4 trapezoid pieces of mirror and gluing them together, or as complicated as coating an acrylic bowl with mirror coating... do you think it would make much difference? The lights and Shades arrive on Friday so I haven't had a chance to look at them just yet
 

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Do you have an area for gas exchange and to let heat escape? I'm still trying to decide between glass/acrylic or a screen top. I wonder why some members have issues with glass or acrylic but others such as yourself don't.
I have 2 tanks, both have lids,
One has a sump so gas exchange isn't an issue. That tank has my wrasses, so their splashing means the lids are covered in salt creep, but my lights arent anywhere near maxed out with the lid on.

The other tank is lower energy, it has a hob filter to aid in gas exchange and seems okay, it went through an australian summer without issue.
 

Karen00

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I have 2 tanks, both have lids,
One has a sump so gas exchange isn't an issue. That tank has my wrasses, so their splashing means the lids are covered in salt creep, but my lights arent anywhere near maxed out with the lid on.

The other tank is lower energy, it has a hob filter to aid in gas exchange and seems okay, it went through an australian summer without issue.
Wow, that's amazing that your hob tank made it through one of your summers!! Now I'm back to undecided. I thought I had mailed it down to a mesh lid but now I'm not so sure. Haha. Ironically I already ordered the clips to hold a glass/acrylic lid awhile ago. Then I wavered and was leaning toward mesh. Now I'm back to possibly glass or acrylic. I like the idea that was mentioned of cutting an opening for lights in a glass or acrylic top so they fit right in. I'm assuming they're water resistant and you wouldn't lose any PAR. :)
 

fluked

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Wow, that's amazing that your hob tank made it through one of your summers!! Now I'm back to undecided. I thought I had mailed it down to a mesh lid but now I'm not so sure. Haha. Ironically I already ordered the clips to hold a glass/acrylic lid awhile ago. Then I wavered and was leaning toward mesh. Now I'm back to possibly glass or acrylic. I like the idea that was mentioned of cutting an opening for lights in a glass or acrylic top so they fit right in. I'm assuming they're water resistant and you wouldn't lose any PAR. :)
Don't let me influence you, just giving my experiences.
Honestly, if you have modern lights i would be suprised if that's required. Unless you are running your lights at 100% it wouldn't be an issue. I have 2x viparspectras over my 56G, they are only running around 50%, so loss of par from lids isn't an issue, in my mind it just increases spread lol.

I also (still) manually add rodi to top up, so lids = doing that less which is nice.
 

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