Rimless or Hooded tank

[Badfishofbabylon]

I really like the look of rimless tanks with hanging lights but I don't know anything about them. I looking in to a 100-120 gal. It seem like it would be hard to keep the water clean for stuff falling in. Does anyone have any suggestions and what are some pros and cons

 

[jenatron]

You could try a custom glass/acrylic top to sit on top, so it wouldn't be too obtrusive. IME, having no lid whatsoever requires very frequent top-offs, as the evaporation is crazy.

 

[mfdrookie516]

I have no lid on any of my tanks.. no issues with evap, dust, dirt, etc. Makes cleaning and feeding much easier, and just looks better IMO. Glass/plastic lids tend to get foggy after a short time IME

 

[fort384]

I don't use lids on any of my tanks either, fwiw. Concur with mfd...

 

[mr_X]

rimless is the way to go if you can afford it!
hang the fixture from the ceiling and go topless. it will look fantastic. yeah, nothing "falls in" unexpectedly, unless your ceiling is falling in on a regular basis!...lol.

 

[mfdrookie516]

It also helps with gas exchange... I had an issue with glass lids on my 150g when I first started it up. The lack of oxygen exchange caused my pH to crash.

 

[Badfishofbabylon]

I mention like particles in the air, also I have a bull dog who shed little white hairs like crazy so i would worry about white hair all over the tank

 

[Badfishofbabylon]

What about salt forming on you walls or anything, kind like it does on the inside of glass lids and lights

 

[jenatron]

What about salt forming on you walls or anything, kind like it does on the inside of glass lids and lights

I don't know about salt, because I only do freshwater, but I have some sort of.. stuff on my wall behind my open-top tank, lol. I don't personally know what it's from, but it's there.

 

[mr_X]

i've always had open top tanks, and i've not seen anything out of the ordinary in the way of salt creep all over, except in instances of excessive bubbles or turbulent water flow.

 

[Badfishofbabylon]

What about the life tank? Do the seems leak easier? And is 90 gal too big for rimless?

 

[mudraker]

I have two large dogs and five cats, some with long hair, that sleep in the same bedroom as my five tanks, three are topless. There are no issues.

 

[mr_X]

no, you can get pretty much any size home tank in rimless.

 

[Badfishofbabylon]

Well I think I'm going to go rimless. Now I just have to decide on what type of lights...

 

[mr_X]

where are you located? i know a good company that makes tanks to specs.

 

[Badfishofbabylon]

Michigan, just moved back 2 months ago from Cali. Miss the fish stores out there

 

[mr_X]

well, then check out glass cages. they are the cheapest, and they are from ohio if i remember correctly.

 

[Badfishofbabylon]

Yeah thats who I was looking at

 

[cabezon]

Oh god, here it comes. In our local club mentioning glass cages. Is like putting a tang in a biocube

 

[Badfishofbabylon]

Why? Are they no good or something?