tank lid glass or acrilic?

Justinandkrista · 12/08/2007, 11:47 PM

Would it be a waste to put a lid on it or would it be more benifcial to not have one?

Would t5's penatrate glass or acrilic beter?

Is the normal house dust a problem if it lands in my tank with out a lid?

tmz · 12/09/2007, 12:04 AM

Some fish jump out. The lid will also reduce evaporation. It will also limit air exchange. Some use lighting grate or plastic screening . I think glass will hold up better and be easier to clean of calcium deposits. I have plenty of open water in the basement. I also have two dogs,so I have dust. No issues with it .I would guess it could be an issue in some circumstances.

pjf · 12/09/2007, 12:16 AM

Over my sump, I use a two-part cover to minimize the spray. One part is acrylic that is cut by a CNC machine to fit against the overflow pipe and against the skimmer. The second part is a rectangular piece of glass. The glass is tempered in order to reduce the chance of breaking into shards. The advantage of glass is that it does not warp as acrylic does.

mg426 · 12/09/2007, 12:17 AM

I run my 125 open top.

Justinandkrista · 12/09/2007, 12:35 AM

I think runing it open is what i will do or look into a canopy

Justinandkrista · 12/09/2007, 12:36 AM

Thx for the veiws

dmurphy1 · 12/09/2007, 12:02 PM

Do you have to have a layer of glass if you are running metal halides?

Justinandkrista · 12/09/2007, 12:12 PM

No im running t5's no halides

tmz · 12/09/2007, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dmurphy1
Do you have to have a layer of glass if you are running metal halides?

I believe you do with hqi bulbs (double ended) but not with mogul( single ended) since they hae a uv shielding layer and hqi do not.

Wryknow · 12/10/2007, 10:28 AM

My $.02 is to use the light diffusing eggcrate if you don't have a canopy to keeo jumpers in. The eggcrate is designed for use with lighting so the light loss isn't too bad plus it allows for good light transmission. IMPE glass builds up salt deposits so fast that I lost a lot of light transmission even when I cleaned it daily (and that got to be a pain.)

Fishy Bizz · 12/10/2007, 11:18 AM

i just run my tank topless, no issues at all.

12/08/2007, 11:47 PM	#1
Justinandkrista Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Port Angeles,WA Posts: 691	tank lid glass or acrilic? Would it be a waste to put a lid on it or would it be more benifcial to not have one? Would t5's penatrate glass or acrilic beter? Is the normal house dust a problem if it lands in my tank with out a lid?

12/09/2007, 12:04 AM	#2
tmz ReefKeeping Mag staff Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: West Seneca NY Posts: 27,691	Some fish jump out. The lid will also reduce evaporation. It will also limit air exchange. Some use lighting grate or plastic screening . I think glass will hold up better and be easier to clean of calcium deposits. I have plenty of open water in the basement. I also have two dogs,so I have dust. No issues with it .I would guess it could be an issue in some circumstances. __________________ Tom Current Tank Info: Tank of the Month , November 2011 : 600gal integrated system: 3 display tanks (120 g, 90g, 89g),several frag/grow out tanks, macroalgae refugia, cryptic zones. 40+ fish, seahorses, sps,lps,leathers, zoanthidae and non photosynthetic corals.

12/09/2007, 12:17 AM	#4
mg426 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: maryland Posts: 6,923	I run my 125 open top. __________________ I found a way to make a small fortune running a reef tank. Start with a large fortune. Unofficial President of the SEACLONE haters club Current Tank Info: 125 mixed reef 110 lbs LR, 1x250watt XM 20K MH 2x175watt XM 20K MH on Magetics 2X96 watt actinic PC, 220 watt VHO actinic, 30 gallon refugium, closed loop system powered by Sequence Dart MSX 200 skimmer 38 gallon sump, Oceansmotions squirt

12/10/2007, 10:28 AM	#10
Wryknow Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 1,203	My $.02 is to use the light diffusing eggcrate if you don't have a canopy to keeo jumpers in. The eggcrate is designed for use with lighting so the light loss isn't too bad plus it allows for good light transmission. IMPE glass builds up salt deposits so fast that I lost a lot of light transmission even when I cleaned it daily (and that got to be a pain.) __________________ You cannot use reason to change the opinion of a person that did not use reason to form their opinion in the first place. Current Tank Info: 65 G RR, w/ 50 G sump/refugium, DIY LED lighting, AquaMaxx CO-1 skimmer, Tunze 1073.050 return

12/09/2007, 12:16 AM	#3
pjf Premium Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Colorado Posts: 2,954	Over my sump, I use a two-part cover to minimize the spray. One part is acrylic that is cut by a CNC machine to fit against the overflow pipe and against the skimmer. The second part is a rectangular piece of glass. The glass is tempered in order to reduce the chance of breaking into shards. The advantage of glass is that it does not warp as acrylic does.

12/09/2007, 12:35 AM	#5
Justinandkrista Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Port Angeles,WA Posts: 691	I think runing it open is what i will do or look into a canopy

12/09/2007, 12:36 AM	#6
Justinandkrista Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Port Angeles,WA Posts: 691	Thx for the veiws

12/09/2007, 12:02 PM	#7
dmurphy1 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 15	Do you have to have a layer of glass if you are running metal halides?

12/09/2007, 12:12 PM	#8
Justinandkrista Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Port Angeles,WA Posts: 691	No im running t5's no halides

12/10/2007, 11:18 AM	#11
Fishy Bizz Moved On Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Algonquin IL Posts: 65	i just run my tank topless, no issues at all.