Do you vent your hood???

[lovemybarbs]

I don't want the fish to get out, but I want to know to know how many people out there vent their hood or seal it completely.

I have a lot of condensation that accumulates and I have hard water. I'd rather vent it, but how much??

My hood is glass and I have the strips on the back.

 

[hc8719]

i dont vent mine. i do notice water droplets on the glass part of the hood if thats what your refering too

 

[trotty]

I've always used wooden hoods on my tanks. They come with a cut out at the back for filter and light leads. Up untill recently i never had alot of light on my tanks(main heat producer), BUT i have upgraded my lighting on one of the tanks and i now have to keep the lid open for fresh air!
Its a SW setup using 3x 24' 20w flouros. not the best setup but it works for the moment. With limited space it heats up pretty quickly. I'm thinking of installing some PC fans at the back to create some movement and hopefully be able to close the lid again.
I've never seen condensation in my hoods either. I do get water droplets that form under my glass lids. This could be as simple as splashing from bubbles thats burst at the water surface, or even fish splashing around. It wasn't uncommon for my oscar to unload a couple of litres onto the floor when he was thrashing around.

As far as the fish jumping out i have a gap @ the back of the tank where the glass lids stop at the HOB, so there is about 2' gap all the way along the back of my tank. So far no losses, but most fish jump. So i'll have to get the glass cut to go around the filter.

I hope that covers it and helps...

 

[Squirt0170]

the only opening I have is around the filter for the water to flow into the tank.. I have a glass lid and have never had any fish try to jump out (Thankfully)

 

[lovemybarbs]

The reason why I ask is because it is almost like steam is building up under there making the glass foggy immediately when I close the door.

I have also heard that if you keep it sealed up something can build up in there air under there, but I can't remember what it was.

 

[Devilishturtles]

I don't think the way most of our hoods are built now would cause a problem. If you have a glass top that sits over the tank completely, I would vent it a little.

Main reasons...to help with gas exchange (this is a bigger problem w/ sw tanks where glass tops are bad ideas usually), lets heat escape, keeps watermolds from forming on equipment and glass (which it does on mine). I don't think any uneccesary gas can build up. It'd have to be seriously air tight. My guess is the water you see on your glass top is from evaporation.