55 Gallon Tank: new lighting

lewisjameel · February 16th, 2009

I just added new t5 lighting to my tank which left me with no lids i actually like the look but it seems that my water is evaporating faster is it me or is this true ? Should i put lids on and if so what kind

sgould · February 16th, 2009

Yep, evaporation will definately accelerate. I have left mine open as you describe, but there are alternatives. If you don't have any fish that like to carpet dive, you can leave it open. If you have jumpers, or don't want to mess with more frequent top offs, you can either buy glass or acrylic tops. You can also cut what I call "egg crate" (may not be the right name though) to the right size and use it as a top as well. That will leave the tank open to the air while putting in a barrier to jumpers.

au01st · February 18th, 2009

Yeah, I've been running open top since mine was set up. I usually put some eggcrate on top of mine when I introduce new fish to keep them from jumping the first night. I've only lost one fish from jumping, my jawfish.

charzar-g · February 19th, 2009

a bit off topic. But is there any benifits from actually having an open top??
It's a bit out of the question for me though... I have a cat :P

Matt · February 19th, 2009

Most likely your cat wont even notice. And if she does then you better hope she can swim

-Matt

Hypnox · February 19th, 2009

I have 3 cats and an open top 20g. Cats leave it alone, one tried to go fishing and got bit by the clownfish. Doesn't do that anymore.

sgould · February 19th, 2009

Advantages...off the top of my head, the more rapid evaporation associated with the open top helps keep the tank from overheating. This is more of a concern with high heat output lights. And when it isn't 2 degrees outside.

au01st · February 19th, 2009

Haha, well I have to keep my temp in my place up a little warmer than I like during the summers or the power bill gets outrageous. This past month was $317...so I run open top to keep cooler. I'm designing a hood that should integrate 4-6 fans and easily keep the water cool.

I also have a cat, and she can't reach the top of the tank, but she's shown very little interest in my SW tank. On the other hand, she loves to lay in front of my FW tank and paw at my clown loach.

I'll be running open top here for the same reason, heat, though I'll probably construct a 3/8" (2 layers so more like 3/16")screen top to keep $250 worth fish in their place...

charzar-g · February 24th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hypnox

I have 3 cats and an open top 20g. Cats leave it alone, one tried to go fishing and got bit by the clownfish. Doesn't do that anymore.

haha the clownfish bit the cat??

But with my FW tank right now, the cat is always on top of it and trying to get his hands wet?...err.. paws...

Would this suggest he has a strong urge to get at this fish? Fw or Sw??

charzar-g · February 24th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by au01st

Haha, well I have to keep my temp in my place up a little warmer than I like during the summers or the power bill gets outrageous. This past month was $317...so I run open top to keep cooler. I'm designing a hood that should integrate 4-6 fans and easily keep the water cool.

I also have a cat, and she can't reach the top of the tank, but she's shown very little interest in my SW tank. On the other hand, she loves to lay in front of my FW tank and paw at my clown loach.

I'll be running open top here for the same reason, heat, though I'll probably construct a 3/8" (2 layers so more like 3/16")screen top to keep $250 worth fish in their place...

Thats interesting that the cat only shows interest in the freshwater tank :/ i wonder why that would be?
Here in the UK i don't really think overheating a much of a problem to be honest, its always cold and raining, and the few days of summer we have don't really seem worth going open top for..
What do you guys suggest i do?

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