Glass lid or Aryclic lid?

[Milad]

Which allows more light to go through? Which is prefered and why?

[kien]

Which allows more light to go through? Which is prefered and why?

If your intent is to cover your entire top then no lid is preferred. A cover will trap heat and harmful gasses and not allow it to escape. A lid is also a pain to keep clean as you will have to wipe it frequently (lots of salt creep) otherwise the buildup will dramatically reduce light.

So why are you wanting to put a lid on it? If you want to keep critters from jumping out there are other approaches, like building a mesh net cover.

It is funny though, some people like to put lids on their tanks to reduce the amount of evaporation, which works great for that, but that evaporation is what's helping to keep your tank cool.

Anyway, that's my take on it, others may disagree :biggrin:

[BlueWorldAquatic]

If you decide on a lid, go glass.

It will let more of the light spectrum in, and easier to clean.

Ken - BWA

[Milad]

everyone is telling me to get a lid because of the evap and jumping fish

[lastlight]

If I had the glass top on my tank that came with it I'm sure my temps would be in the 85+ range rather than the solid 79 I have with evaporation. Of course evaporation might be nicer with a 34g rather than a 180.

If you must have a lid and you have halides i think you have no choice but to use glass. Won't those bulbs melt/crack the acrylic much like they can do to bracing?

In regards to jumping fish...what do they place under circus performers just in case. Glass, acrylic or netting? And why? Lol...there's your answer. Be nice to those jumper!

[kien]

everyone is telling me to get a lid because of the evap and jumping fish

Ya, this is another one of those cases where the individual hobbyist has to weight the pros and cons and decide for themselves which route to take. A lid will definitely cut down on evap and keep your fish inside your tank, but at a cost (or several costs).

[gsar]

Acrylic can sag when you use it as a lid. I tried it and that's what it did. Looked bad and always had to be cleaned.

If you're into making things you can go to RONA or Home Depot and pickup a framing kit that's used to make screens for doors and windows. Instead of using a wire screen go and get some bird netting and use that instead. Real easy to build and not expensive.

It's nice to be able to feed the fish without having to take off the lids and there are no shadows that I can see from the netting.

[lastlight]

I know some have been able to purchase the clear stuff as opposed to the black bird stuff. I'm just winging it right now but after my first jumper I plan to build some sort of mesh and source some of that clear stuff.

[gsar]

Yea i saw the clear stuff after I already made mine but it doesn't seem to make a difference in how the light penetrates though. Mostly cosmetic as far as what you like the top of the tank to look like.

[sitandwatch]

My vote is for a DIY mesh top, easy to do keeps the fish in and allows for evaporation to keep the tank cool and no constant cleaning needed.

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/picture.php?albumid=334&pictureid=3111

[lastlight]

Yeah looks great. Well it's a 'looks great if I can't go totally rimless' looks great.

I am in love with the rimless look of my solana now and really have my fingers crossed I don't ever need even the netting since it would still detract from the look.

[Milad]

where you get the clear stuff?

[sitandwatch]

where you get the clear stuff?

I ordered if from a guy that did the same thing here is a link to his build, he had to order the mesh in bulk so he is selling it off, it was around 30 bucks including shipping for just over 6x2 feet if I recall.

http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=34002

[Madreefer]

I used eggcrate for my top for quite a while. I did'nt like the weird shaped rays that the eggcrate casted with the lights on. Someone on this site who I forgot (Carman I think) was talking about the bird mesh so I went to HomeDepot and found only the black mesh. Really cheap like $8 for 14x20. I just cut out the center peice of my eggcrate top below the light lenses and used fishing line to fasten it on. It actually made my tank appear alot brighter and the little rays are now gone. As for getting the clear or the black mesh I really don't think it matters anyways as it is so thin, plus your going to get salt creap either way. Here's a couple of pics of my top.
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh135/gulflube/top003.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh135/gulflube/top002.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh135/gulflube/top001.jpg

[Milad]

welp im gonna head to home depot after work to see what I can find!

[xtreme]

The stuff at Home Depot is a 3/4" mesh which is a little big, some fish can fit through. I was able to find a roll of mesh at Totem which is 3/8" and it works great for me. Not sure if they have any Totem's in BC though.

[Milad]

Ya home depot stuff looks big. Anyone got other ideas for places to check in bc?

[gsar]

Most garden centers carry the stuff. You might just have look around at a few of them.

[Milad]

i gave up and ordered from the states from the guy listed above

what was funny was when i was at home depot, while ****ed off i put my head down and was like, wtf am i suppose to do for netting and in the corner of my eye, in behind a box, in a corner i saw CLEAR PLASTIC NETTING!!!! anyways, i try to buy it but they wouldnt sell it to me, lol I think it was for their operations.