How many of you use lids?

[reefkeeper23]

How many of you use glass lids on your aquarium?

I use them to cut down on evaporation, but I am concerned about them filtering the light.

I have a 37 with 4 VHO's mounted in a wooden cap over a glass canopy, and a 120 with a 2 halide and 2 PC hood resting on the tank. I use the glass canopy with that too.

Should I lose the glass, or keep it?

BTW - Hi! This is my first post!

[es53]

Hi reefkeeper23, and welcome!
I use to have a glass lid but changed to eggcrate a couple of years ago.

[jdg]

I didn't vote because I do both ... The tank w/ the Snowflake Eel in it has a glass cover; my nano (Eclipse 12) is covered as well -- just because that's the way it comes. :)

All my other tanks are open. :)

I've thought about the eggcrate thing recently though as I've read a thread or two about people using it.

Does anyone have any good info on the eggcrate setup?

Thanks!

Joe.

[es53]

jdg - I looked up a post that helped me tremendously when I was putting eggcrate on my tank, it was posted by zerrez on 06/05/01 (yep, 2001). It tells how to cut eggcrate - and it works great! I copied it for you:

"This is a really funny question for me. I cut tons and tons of it with my dremel using a big cut off bit, the disk things. It works great but man got that stuff everywhere and all over me. But it works great.

Then I was telling a friend of mine to use some for this plant stand he was making so we bought a sheet of it. But he didnt have anything to cut it with so he was going to just buy a small hacksaw to cut it with. He came in the next day telling me he had it all toghether and I said how did you cut it. Funny funny, his girlfriend came up with an idea and man it works better than any cutting ive ever tried.

Just take a large screwdriver or something else heavy, hold the eggcrate up against the ground or something, and just tap the screwdriver where you want to cut the stuff, it just chips right off at perfect angles. Then just chip all the way to the bottom of your cut. It works flawless and does not make that much mess, no grinding and no sawing. I laughed and laughed at how easy it was compared to using the dremel.

Oh well, my two cents. It really works well.

Hmm reread it and dont think I explained it well. I hold the eggcrate up against the ground, take the shaft of the screwdriver not the end, and just wack at a downward angle into the eggcrate with the side of the shaft. It just snaps right off and at a smooth perfect break. Then just wack your way to the bottom. It will break off whole pieces very smooth. That easier to picture?"

Anyway, hope that helps. You can also do a search on eggcrate setup if this wasn't what you were looking for.

Good Luck!

[reefkeeper23]

my main reason for asking this was because I was worried about gas exchange and if the glass filters the UV rays from the lights. I think I will use egg crate, but do you think it will melt from the heat of the halides? I wish I had never bought that damn hood!

How much do you think keeping the glass on it limits evaporation and gas exchange?

[Fizz71]

I didn't vote because I think you're missing an option, or I'm mis-reading it....

I don't have a glass top, but I have a hood. There are really 3 main setups: Open air (no hood), Hooded, or some kind of Glass top (w/ or w/out a hood).

My first system was INITIALLY a glass top with suspended lighting but I got too much salt creep and not enough gas exchage so I went completely open. The open lighting also gave me too much annoying abient lighting so I started hanging a curtain around it.

When the tank was rebuilt I went with a hooded setup (no glass) and my new system going up is a tall hood. I have EggCrate in there now, but I haven't decided if I'm keeping it.

Either way though..no more glass for me.

--Fizz

[reefkeeper23]

yeah, i think that when I get some free time (yeah right), I'm going to build a tall wooden hood for the 120 and disassemble the light fixture and mount it in the hood with no glass. For now though, i will remove the glass and just put the splash guard back in the light fixture.