Tops or no tops

[turboTSI]

i am going to do a 55g reef setup with some fish.... the lighting I picked is
Coralife 260watts-includes two 21" 65watt actinic and 2 21" 65watt 10000K bulbs

now I bought 2 Vesatops for the tank.. should I just use those or nothing or what?

Dave

 

[brndfrb]

no don't put a top on the tank.

 

[turboTSI]

ok so what do I use so my cats dont jump ina dn my fish dont jump out?

Dave

 

[brndfrb]

Well you will have a canopy on it wont you? If you have a canopy then you wont need the glass tops and nothing should be able ot get in there./

 

[Leahdanilalton]

I have been told that lighting egg crate from DIY stores like Home Depot is the thing to have. But I guess you have to have you lights suspened enough so that it doesn't get too hot and melt. Thats assuming though that you have some really powerful lights. I plan on looking into this myself

 

[turboTSI]

I wont have a canopy no.. just the fixture sitting on top of the tank.. thus why I deceided to do the versa tops

Dave

 

[lando]

I prefer going topless. Ever since I removed my glass top, all of my corals have really started to bloom. You might need to do daily fresh water top-offs as evaporation is more of an issue.

 

[turboTSI]

well we shallsee I dont want my cats to end up on top of the tank or fallin in

Dave

 

[lando]

I think it all depends on where you put it. We have two cats and have not had a problem (knock on wood). If you are worried and have actually observed your cat on the tank then I would get a canopy or cover just for your own peice of mind.

 

[Bearfan]

I have a top on my aquarium with the plastic trim strip removed for ventilation.

 

[turboTSI]

right that is what I planned on doing was putting on the versa tops and dont install the plastic strips.... besides Iwill have my filtration and skimmers back there along with my heater and powerhead cords

Dave

 

[darb2]

I would put the tops on without the back strips and watch the temp. If the temp rises too much when the lights are on then I would look int egg crate.