Which Lid Company?

[reeferKen]

Anyone grab this yesterday

 

[minus9]

Just as a side note with mesh lids, I did some real world testing between black and clear mesh yesterday. I recorded short videos of the results to get an average of the three variables: black mesh, clear mesh and no lid. The screen shots below represent the average of each.

Black mesh, range between 290 - 310.

Clear mesh range from 297 - 338.

No lid/mesh range 359 - 409.
I repeated the test multiple times with the sensor resting on the sand in the same location with the results being the same with the range being +/- 5 on either side.
The difference between clear and black mesh was minimal, with a range of 10-15 par. But trying to gain enough light efficiency, I'm going back to clear mesh for the foreseeable future.

 

[Kraken Reef]

I'm shopping for a custom lid and noticed for Kraken it says they only do 24x24 for custom lids on the form? This kind of makes it where I'm having to go through Octo for my 8' tank.

@Kraken Reef ?

Our current max panel size is 24" x 24" and max tank size is 48" x 24".

 

[ID-Reefer]

I went with ClearView for my Red Sea 900. Its a Tsunami 3 section. Took a long time to get as I knew it would. They made a mistake on cut outs for my UV intake and return lines so the center section had to be sent back so in total it was almost a 4 month wait. I haven't had any jumpers (besides snails) that Im aware of so part of me wonders if I should have even bought a lid... but I guess better to be safe.

In general Im happy with it. It looks better than any other lid I've personally seen. Well built and very light and easy to remove. It does glow a bit so I still prefer the no lid look but I don't regret going with clear view. Be prepared to wait and spend $$$.

 

[Hydrored]

Our current max panel size is 24" x 24" and max tank size is 48" x 24".

Can a person purchase 4 panels for an 8' tank, or is that not something you can support?

 

[Kraken Reef]

Can a person purchase 4 panels for an 8' tank, or is that not something you can support?

Our focus is on nano and pico aquariums, so this is not something we would build. Sorry.

 

[jmichaelh7]

No way I’m spending $800 on a lid that’s ludacris

 

[ggNoRe]

Haha that's what I thought when I read his post. But now here we are a couple months later and I ended up buying one for about $650. I went with Toplids after all. Their customer service compared to the other companies I reached out to was just SOOOO much better. Made the order just a couple weeks ago so have not received the lid yet. Went with 2 pieces instead of one for my 5 ft long tank after reading from many that it was so much easier to manage that way. Thus far Toplids has been exceptional.

 

[Zionas]

Aww come on my homie just drop it like it’s hot

 

[Fish Care Practitioner]

I used Clear View for my tank lid and received a top quality product that fit my 80" x 24 " custom tank perfectly. Yes, it was expensive and the wait is 3 months, but after spending thousands and thousands of dollars on a tank, fish, coral, controls, pumps, etc, do you want to place a screen door on top of it? My problem with the screen door is that any sizeable fish can dislodge it unless it is weighted down. I doubt that could happen with a Clear View lid. It seamlessly blends in with the tank. JMHO.

 

[KingTideCorals]

Just want to get opinions on which company to go with in ordering a custom clear lid.

I have seen a few post on this but nothing recent.

The companies I've seen thus far are Octo Lids, Top Lids, and Clear View.

Have a Peninsula tank 60L x 26W from Prostar Aquariums. Any and all opinions would be greatly appreciated.

I have a TopLid and LOVE IT!

Can see it on my tank on my IG and Youtube I show it off quite a bit! Check it out on King Tide Corals

 

[BiggestE222]

sorry, he does or he does not. This conflicts a bit with what you describe later. He being OctoReef I assume? How long from placing the order to receiving the lid was it? How big is your tank?

I used ClearView Lids. High quality product and in my case they have the specs of the Waterbox peninsula in their system. They will produce a custom version based on your dimensions and requirements.

ClearView Lids - The Difference is Clear and the answer is here!

ClearView Lids are designed specifically for your aquarium. Our polycarbonate aquarium lids feature a much more durable design than can be found with acrylic fish tank lids or aluminum frame lids. ClearView Lids are available for popular tanks such as those made by Red Sea, WaterBox, Innovative...

www.clearviewlids.com

Just ordered a kraken lid $300 bucks expedited for my RedSea cube. Premium look. I did everything on my tank mostly but I struggled getting a DIY lid to look right. Will get here in less than a week

 

[BiggestE222]

No. As I said, several years ago. They're not cheap, but I don't mind paying for quality. As a percentage of the entire reef build cost? A few drops in the barrel ;D

Exactly just paid $200 on a 50 polyp gold hammer.

 

[BostonReefer300]

I have a lid from Kraken for my daughter's waterbox 20. It is excellent. (I also bought some other stuff from him that was all great too.) I have been waiting on lids from ClearView for several weeks (not complaining, they were honest about their lead time) and they just came last night. Can't wait to try them out later today!

 

[jmichaelh7]

Same lid on a 90 gallon is $500. I just don’t see myself doing that

 

[ggNoRe]

I ended up going with Toplids due to most responsive customer service. It was $650 as I decided to go with 2 panels thanks to the advice I got on here. SOOO happy I did that, having 2 panels makes it really easy to manage around and do maintenance definitely worth the difference in price. Overall I am very happy.

 

[powers2001]

Anyone that bought from Octo Lids or just do you know if he uses Polycarbonate vs. Acrylic? I know acrylic has the tendency to bow or warp over time.

 

[minus9]

Anyone that bought from Octo Lids or just do you know if he uses Polycarbonate vs. Acrylic? I know acrylic has the tendency to bow or warp over time.

Matt uses polycarbonate I believe. My lid from him is polycarbonate. @cromag27 can you chime in?

 

[Greybeard]

Bought my 60" x 30" Octo lid in May, 2019. Can't say what sort of plastic it's made from, but I've not experienced any warping, swelling, or any quality issues at all. Put it in the shower stall and rinse the salt and dust off once in a while, still looks great.

 

[minus9]

Bought my 60" x 30" Octo lid in May, 2019. Can't say what sort of plastic it's made from, but I've not experienced any warping, swelling, or any quality issues at all. Put it in the shower stall and rinse the salt and dust off once in a while, still looks great.

That's been my experience since 2017.