poly carbonate/ Lexan aquarium top

tippin.turtle · Mar 20, 2020

I decided to use poly carbonate sheeting as a lid for my aquariums in an effort to reduce evaporative loss.
Having power cords going into the tanks requires some sort of hole or notch to be created in the panel.
I chose to use the " tops" of desk grommets on either side of the panel to give it more of a "clean"
appearance, rather than it being just an open hole.
I'm not sure what others have done concerning this issue. Thought I'd reach out to others who may
have more creative ideas/solutions I haven't yet considered. Please share!

Florida Sunshine · Mar 20, 2020

Looks nice and clean.
I assume this is not a reef as I do think this will cut down on your lighting considerably.

tippin.turtle · Mar 20, 2020

Florida Sunshine said:
Looks nice and clean.
I assume this is not a reef as I do think this will cut down on your lighting considerably.

These lids are for "frag" tanks. I've heard that one can reasonably expect a 20% reduction in
PAR value. I will be testing with a PAR meter before placing any coral in the tanks to ensure the
lighting is adequate.
The tanks are 48x24x10; I am utilizing T5 fixtures which can be lowered virtually to the surface of the water. Being only 10 inches in depth I would think it possible to achieve the required PAR values.
Worst case scenario: I have lids on my aquarium during the cycle process :)