Using a lid/cover - does this inhibit anything?

[Andy D]

Hi All,

Just a random thought today. On just about every tank I see on here no-one has a cover or lid on their tank. Is this just an aesthetics thing or does a lid/cover cause problems.

I have a 30 litre nano that is my first foray into a 'proper' planted set-up which has a glass cover and I just wondered whether it is necessary to remove it?

 

[Iain Sutherland]

purely aesthetical andy, i have a glass lid on mine as it stops most jumpers and reduces the evaporation by about 90% which becomes even more important during winter months when evaporation is high. If people are coming to visit i take it off as looking in from the top does add a different perspective.

The down side being i used to dip my hands in the tank every time i saw something i didnt like now it has to wait until water change day unless its important... that and keeping them watermark free is a bit of a pain.

 

[Andy D]

Thanks Iain.

That watermark is a pain!

 

[Trevor Pleco]

Good question, often wondered the same. I now have two simple perspex cover panels on top of my 760l which I take off during the day if I remember, but they are mainly to stop heat loss on the surface at night.. as our local electricity rates have gone through the roof. If I leave it on I can't see much drop in light with the powerful ATIs above, but guess I need to check properly with a par meter, which I don't have.. .

 

[GreenNeedle]

aesthetics AND even clean glass reduces PAR substantially. I once saw a PAR test on flouros over a marine tank and the PAR was virtually halved with the glass covers on!!! They weren't crystal clear of course but by no way dirty. Even evaporation leaves a layer of droplets on the underside.

Unfortunately with a 2 year old in the house I made my own DIY acrylic covers. Wet children's hands is the least of my concerns there

 

[Trevor Pleco]

I presume the ATI plexiglass cover is designed not to do this..? The plexiglass covers I made up for the tank are exactly the same brand unless there are special more transparent grades ?

 

[Tim Harrison]

What Ian said...so just your view and ease of maintenance, and lower PAR obviously but I can just lower my light to compensate. For me the pros outweigh the cons...I got fed up with picking dehydrated husks of the floor, so I use one on my high-energy tank...especially at night which seems to drastically cut down on escapees.

 

[Trevor Pleco]

what type of fish are jumping, presume your water level is also high ?

 

[roadmaster]

I like the open top tank's but I too lose too many fishes this way.
What types of fishes jump from my tank's?? those that can.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

what type of fish are jumping, presume your water level is also high ?

I have some form of lid or cover on all the tanks and floating plants, but as well as shrimps I've had Apistogramma juveniles, Pencil fish (N. marginatus), Killies (Rocket Killi (Epiplatys annulatus), Norman's Lamp-eye (Poropanchax normani)), Marbled Hatchet (Carnegiella straigata) and my champion jumper the Splash "Tetra" Copella arnoldi, alljump.

If you want to keep Epiplatys annulatus or Copella arnoldi, you need a lid that fits pretty tightly. A lower water level works for Killi's, but for Copella you need at least 15cm of space as they leap a long way towards the light when spawning.

cheers Darrel