Greenhouse lid

[Barbossa]

I cant remember the name of the sheeting but its double walled plastic for green houses. I have used it as the lid for my freshwater tank for 4 years or so with no issue but it is completely planted and i pump co2 into that tank.

I keep seeing air exchange being an issue on sealed reef tanks. Does anyone have any experience with this?

 

[Rob A]

I cant remember the name of the sheeting but its double walled plastic for green houses. I have used it as the lid for my freshwater tank for 4 years or so with no issue but it is completely planted and i pump co2 into that tank.

I keep seeing air exchange being an issue on sealed reef tanks. Does anyone have any experience with this?

If you have a sump air exchange take places there. A skimmer adds even more I use coroplast for lids all the time you can get it a menards. Egg crate works well too for lids if your worried about air exchange

 

[56longroof]

If you have a sump air exchange take places there. A skimmer adds even more I use coroplast for lids all the time you can get it a menards. Egg crate works well too for lids if your worried about air exchange

Egg grate is a light diffuser. In a reef tank that needs brighter lighting I would shy away from it.

 

[Barbossa]

If you have a sump air exchange take places there. A skimmer adds even more I use coroplast for lids all the time you can get it a menards. Egg crate works well too for lids if your worried about air exchange

I do not have a sump or skimmer its only about 5 months old but so far I have had to dose nitrate and phosphate more than remove it. I'd be willing to get a screened lid if I need to but I was hoping to stop some evaporation and its never been an issue on my freshwater tank.

 

[Rob A]

You could put a strip of egg crate/screen across the front or back for ventilation and keep the coroplast over the majority of the tank. Or maybe drill some holes in the coroplast?? But a solid coroplast with no air exchange will cause issues.

 

[RocketEngineer]

Let’s back up a step: Why do you have need for a lid?

Most SW setups don’t use a lid because you get salt crystals on them, blocking the light we want to use to grow corals and such. This means a lid runs counter to our end goal so no lid.

If it is to keep a specific type of fish in the tank, we still fight with the above so instead of using a solid material, a clear mesh is used. The mesh prevents splashes from creating salt spots and only minimally blocks lighting. With the proper size mesh, we can ensure that pesky jumper stays in the water instead of going carpet surfing.

Most techniques from FW don’t transfer well to SW anymore. The two hobbies have learned from each other but today’s reefs and planted systems share little resemblance vs 30 years ago.