No Tank Lids vs Yes Tank Lids ?

[Super Fly]

Mesh, lost too many fish w/o lid...

 

[Sidvicious]

Always have a canopy or lid on my tanks. I really don’t understand the rimless/open top craze that’s been taking place. With other furry friends in the house, I couldn’t imagine having an open/rimless tank. Evaporation alone should steer people away from open tanks but companies like Red Sea and the likes have taken a different route. Red Sea tanks of old like the Max series take the cake for me, some of the nicest tanks ever made were those RSM’s from 250 and up.

 

[Nathan Milender]

I’m curious how these corrugated plastic panels fit the bill? My main concern is light penetration, as SPS is on my horizon. Has anyone done real life PAR testing?

I have not done par testing myself but BRS has a video looking at the impact of mesh on par. It is not much and I would consider it clinically insignificant.

 

[Super Fly]

Here's a fun story where a lid could've saved this guy major stress. Years ago I read a post from Ireland that said while the guy was at work his dog went to bathroom on the stairs and pushed his "business" over the side which fell into his fish tank that was next to stairwell. Needless to say he was beside himself upon coming home from work to find this and remove said "business" from tank while frantically doing water changes! ... his tank ended up being fine but yeah I never laughed so hard after reading a post.

 

[Twitchy]

Mesh Lids anytime... they are cheap, easy to make, looks nice when done right, keep the jumpers at bay, and help regulate temperature/ gas exchange. I feel like a color matched mesh lid completes the rimless tank look.

 

[NotFishyFishGuy]

Ive lost way too many fish from jumping. Get a lid. Even a mesh lid works fine, it also lets water evaporate.

My fish jumped...again

Almost a month ago, my clownfish jumped out and died. I got a new clown about 2 weeks ago. He was a platinum percula (not very cheap either). I have a mesh lid covering the tank now so they can’t jump. I was feeding brine shrimp today so I had to remove the lid to put the shrimp in. Then I...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[flying4fish]

It really depends on whether or not you want a coral only tank, or coral and fish. If you want fish...you have to go mesh (or glass, but I prefer mesh). Wrasses and gobies (like flame goby) will jump out sooner than later. And every other type of fish can and will jump out eventually. One thing that makes fish jump is when the lights flick off at the end of the day. Although my lights slowly dim, the last step is an immediate change to darkness from dim light...jump, jump, jump.

 

[phatduckk]

I got a mesh lid for my 350 before I ever bought my fish. I’d read way too many carpet surfing stories here & didn’t want to risk it at all.

The mesh is barely visible so it’s just sitting there “silently” doing it’s job

 

[BornHandy]

You think a mesh top lets more light in than a dirty glass top? Have you ever measured the Par, or that just “seems” right to you?

Just so there is no confusion, when we say "mesh", we mean transparent netting made of mono filament line, so it lets almost all light pass through (not a fiberglass screen mesh).

These types of covers don't build condensate. They don't grow algae on the underside. They aren't affected by the etching ability of the salt creep. They don't require that much in the way of maintenance, and yes - they do let more light pass than a dirty glass top.

The pic was showing a control cable for another post, but you get the idea...

 

[BornHandy]

I have not done par testing myself but BRS has a video looking at the impact of mesh on par. It is not much and I would consider it clinically insignificant.

I did a before and after on mine. It wasn't as small of a drop as BRS tested, but still wasn't much. I still get plenty of par, and peace of mind with a mesh top.

 

[S2G]

I rock glass tops.

 

[darkrabbit]

Mesh lid, ever since I found a goby on my floor when I checked my tank in the AM... three times. Third time I got the goby back in the tank before it died, he must have just jumped out. Still with me today!

 

[Zindebaad]

For aquaria without jumpers, open; for aquaria with jumpers, both glass and mesh lids.

 

[Fishnut]

Glass tops for all my tanks. Summer humidity is an issue where I live and mold grows quickly on exposed basement beams and sub-flooring without glass tops.

 

[EMeyer]

Glass all the way - preventing evaporation is a feature, not a bug!

 

[BornHandy]

Some of us encourage evaporation. Makes dosing enough kalkwasser easy. Just a thought.

 

[sullyman]

I was the first to bring it to Chicago and start the mesh tops. I had to buy a large quantity and started selling it to local hobbyists. Glass tops have to be cleaned every day, they fog up. 1/4" clear bird netting is the answer.

 

[TheOne]

After losing 3 jumpers over 2 years I finally gave up and added a custom 3 piece mesh lid on my 6' tank. I take it off and spray it down maybe once every 4 months and looks brand new again.

I'm not too concerned about the reduction in par. With enough lights it becomes a non issue. I have 7 over my tank now.

 

[Gareth elliott]

I use a mesh lid next build going canopy,
With a mesh lid still lost a small radiant wrasse that went down my overflow. So wrasses can still find a way, to escape. I’ll eventually get another radiant.

 

[Hemmdog]

I am really surprised how many people use glass tops on here, wow. I thought that was purely for freshwater people when I’ve seen them for sale.

Gas exchange guys, gas exchange. It is your reef’s friend.
Get a dehumidifier if you get wet walls/windows.