I requested an estimate on a new tank and stand combination for a new saltwater aquarium I'm planning. The dealer gave me a price on a tank, cabinet, versa top, cap and overflow. I know what the tank and cabinet are but do not know what the others are. I assume, and am probably wrong, that the cap is the hood. Can anyone explain what these items are so that I won't have to go back to the dealer to find out?
versa top, cap, and overflow?
- Thread starter chase33
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dskidmore
Aquarium Advice Addict
Overflow is a filtration conponent prefered in saltwater that allows water feeding into the filter to come from the surface of the water. The best kind is completely contained inside the aquarium, and the water comes out a bulkhead fixture in the bottom. Less desireable is the "overflow box" that hangs over the side of the tank, and is more prone to failure. This works best with a wet/dry filter or a sump setup. A canister filter running in this config may suck air and stop working.
A versa top is a glass cover, with a small plastic strip in the back that you can trim holes in for accessories. I use one in winter, but leave my tank uncovered in the summer.
I asume by cap, he means the light fixture, but I'm not familiar with the terminology. You would place your light fixture on top of the versa top.
What do you want to do with your saltwater tank? Do you know what kind of filtration you'll want? What kind of animals, corals, invertabrates do you want? These things can affect the overflow, top and lighting design.
A versa top is a glass cover, with a small plastic strip in the back that you can trim holes in for accessories. I use one in winter, but leave my tank uncovered in the summer.
I asume by cap, he means the light fixture, but I'm not familiar with the terminology. You would place your light fixture on top of the versa top.
What do you want to do with your saltwater tank? Do you know what kind of filtration you'll want? What kind of animals, corals, invertabrates do you want? These things can affect the overflow, top and lighting design.
Just keep in mind that a glass cover will affect your PH. It will promote poor gas exchange at the surface lowering your PH. I always recommend not using a glass cover and using eggcrate to keep jumpers in if you have any later on. As Dskidmore asked What are your plans for the tank. I`m going to move this to the right forum.
dskidmore
Aquarium Advice Addict
Well gas related pH swings depends on lots of factors. If you're running a protien skimmer as part of your filtration system, gas exchange shouldn't be a big concern.melosu58 said:
The glass will trap heat, which is usually a good thing in the winter and a bad thing in the summer for low-moderate lighting systems, and a bad thing all the time for high lighting systems. Without any specs on this "cap" I'm guessing the lighting is low enough to not cause a heat issue. If heat isn't an issue, the glass will reduce evaporation, and reduce the salinity swings due to the evaporation and topoff cycle.
Is the "cap" a wooden hood that matches the stand? You could see if you can order that with diffrent kinds of lighting.
tropicalfish
Aquarium Advice Freak
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no, a canopy would be a wooden hood that matches the stand...
dskidmore
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yes, usually. I was wondering if cap was a synonym.
Thanks for the replies. I didn't see them earlier for some reason. I was (and still am I guess) new to the forums and didn't realize there were responses. Now that I've learned more I realize that he used the term cap to reference the hood. I'm in the process of setting up the tank without a glass top. Thanks again for the info.
dskidmore
Aquarium Advice Addict
There's some odd bug that you're not watching a topic automatically when you start it, only if you reply to it. You have to subscribe to the thread after you make your first post if you want it to show up in your watched topics list.
loganj
Aquarium Advice Addict
If you haven't already bought the tank, I would suggest looking into a tank with an internal overflow. External overflows are risky although some are better than others. You are depending on a siphon...if it ever breaks for any reason, you will have water in the floor. Internal overflows do not suffer from this weakness although they do cost a little more. JMHO. I would also advocate using eggcrate instead of glass tops on the tank.
Ziggy953
Aquarium Advice Addict
I agree with the eggcrate! I have an external overflow box on my tank and haven't had any trouble with it. Of course I check my tank and the U-Tubes every day, but I can see how it could easily lead to a mess on the floor!
