Should I go topless?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

dolphinsfan

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Nov 30, 2004
Messages
49
Location
Cincinnati
I have been using a glass top on my 26gal FOWLR bow front for a long time. I have noticed from a lot of photos of other tanks and from reading some other posts that a lot of people aren't using any top at all. I have a 65w coralife light fixture and use my liverock and cpr bak pak skimmer as filtration. Would it benefit my tank to ditch the glass top?
 
i did it, no problems except the heat from the halide hits the water directly which heats up my tank more, but i have a chiller so i don't really notice it, and theoretically its suppose to make your water evaporate faster, cause it has no hood to hit and drip back in, but its not enough of a difference for me to tell the difference when i add water.
 
another option that is often mentioned is using eggcrate for the top. This lets the air circulate yet keeps the fish from carpet surfing.
 
Hara said:
another option that is often mentioned is using eggcrate for the top. This lets the air circulate yet keeps the fish from carpet surfing.

(y)
 
I've wondered, I have a MH pendant type canopy hanging over my tank. I use eggcrate to keep fish in and have a fan sucking air into the canopy and out the other side. I've been thinking that if I put glass in the canopy under the lamps, the light energy would mostly pass through to the tank while the heat would be stopped by the glass. Then the fans could do their work and blow the heat out the side of the canopy....just a theory, maybe someone else can comment. But I agree, going topless allows for better gas exchange.
 
topless is the way to go. You get such better light pentration and better gas exchange as mentioned. Just make sure light is elevated from the top of your tank.
 
My PC fixture reccommend that you use a glass cover with your lights. What else can you do to protect the light while removing a cover? Isn't it dangerous to just set the lights on the rim of a tank with no top?
 
I have the plastic legs on my corallife fixture that keeps it about 3 inches above the water surface. Thanks for the input.
 
DO EET!!!!...I'm really sorry, I have no idea what this thread is about.. And I'm really just spamming.. But I can't resist.. with a thread name like " Should I go topless?"
 
Back
Top Bottom