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Glass Lids?


mogurnda

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This may sound heretical, but has anyone but me gone back to glass lids on their tanks?  I haven't used glass tops on my coral tanks for about 18 years, but have recently gone back.  It started in my algae culture tanks, when I realized that growth was not limited by light intensity, and I put the lids back on my 90 reef while I was away this winter.  Even with some splash and salt deposits, I only lose about 20% of my PAR, but I'm only using the LEDs at 60% anyway.  Cuts the evaporation rate by about 80%, so I don't have to think about the ATO as often.  Corals have as much color and growth as ever so far.

 

Anyway, is it time to rethink the topless thing?  Now that most people have shifted to LED fixtures, which put out more than enough PAR, and don't have the heat issues of halides, is there a benefit to being lidless?  I guess is looks cleaner, especially for a rimless tank, but otherwise it just means you have to top off more and use some form of screen to prevent the occasional fish jump.

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I still use glass lids on my tank since I began saltwater almost 10 years ago. It’s a pain to have to remove and clean every now and then but it does reduce evaporation and less splash.

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I went lidless well over a decade ago and haven't gone back. In the beginning, there was an added benefit to going lidless (in addition to light penetration): More topoff meant more kalkwasser, a higher pH and delayed the need for additional supplementation. As the tank grew, though, I eventually added a calcium reactor but I still dose kalk to counter the pH-lowering tendency of the reactor. The ATO capacity is not an issue for me since I chain a 10-gallon reservoir with another 75 gallon under automated control. 

 

The only downside? We have to deal with the extra humidity in the house. In my case, though, the humidity is pumped through the house and, remarkably, keeps the house pretty stable at 50-55% throughout the year (which is perfect for my daughter's baby grand piano).

 

 

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I have been contemplating the same thing for my next build.  In the past I’ve run glass lids on my reefs with t5s above.  I never had a hood and this solution was the best for me in terms of a clean look.  With those setups I thought a couple gallons evaporation a week was a lot.  I did however have to clean the lids quite frequently.

My current aquariums are all lidless.  I easily run through 5 gallons of evaporation a week, depending on season.  With open top aquariums, stocking is another major consideration.  I first lost a blenny that decided to go “wood surfing” after about a week.  And my six line kept jumping into my weir so I placed him in another tank (also topless) since the overflow is slightly different and water level is lower in this tank.  He was good for maybe 2 months then I eventually found him on my floor :sad:.  

With the 240, I’m planning on a canopy, so I’ll probably either go with a screen or glass top (I’m more leaning towards screen) but evaporation is really a large concern of mine.

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I run glass lids, find par is sufficient also only have evap of just under 1 gal per week on a 75 gallon tank + 45 gallon sump. I constantly hear some of my fish splashing out and thumping on my glass lid, not dealing with dead fish and salt creep warrants having lids for me let alone less ATO upkeep. I run a combo of T5's + LEDs.

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I simply don’t care for the aesthetics of lids. But my tank is also designed to be viewed from all sides except the back pane and bottom. One of the most flattering views is a topless rimless top down. Yeah baby!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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On 1/29/2019 at 12:12 PM, YHSublime said:

I simply don’t care for the aesthetics of lids. But my tank is also designed to be viewed from all sides except the back pane and bottom. One of the most flattering views is a topless rimless top down. Yeah baby!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My tanks always sit high, so I miss out on the top view.  Good point.  

 

 

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