Canopy with glass tops?

I need some opinions. When I first set up my 55 gallon tank, I made some DIY sliding glass tops but I didn’t care for the light reflecting off the top and distracting from the tank itself. So I built a low profile canopy to block out the light and I think it improved the overall look immensely. My only problem is algae builds up on the underside of the glass. I was wondering if i should remove the glass tops all together because the canopy itself should prevent escapes. Do others use glass tops WITH canopies or is the canopy alone the only lid you use?

thanks for the input.

 

Nice tank OP, that's beautiful.

I am curious about your question as well

 

The double top is not necessary. You're trapping a lot of condensation under the glass and not just algae, but also fungi and mould will colonise the glass tops sooner or later if you don't remove the water under it. Choose between glass or canopy.

 

The double top is not necessary. You're trapping a lot of condensation under the glass and not just algae, but also fungi and mould will colonise the glass tops sooner or later if you don't remove the water under it. Choose between glass or canopy.

Will the canopy keep the evaporation down, without the glass?

 

Sure, but it will also be easier to clean. The condensation has to be whiped off regularly.

 

We have glass tops alone. The condensation does need to be wiped/cleaned once a week on water change days.

 

Mostly

We have glass tops alone. The condensation does need to be wiped/cleaned once a week on water change days.

Mostly I am thinking about the wall behind it. All the tanks I've kept before were next to painted walls. The quarantine tank I set up the other day is in front of wall cloth (like a really high grade wall paper). I am a bit worried about the moisture.
The quarantine tank has a glass lid that covers most of the tank but not all. The stand has a space ready for a 40 gallon tank too, later, but most of the tanks here are rim-less.
If I grow mold on that wall, I will have to kick my own arse.

 

The double top is not necessary. You're trapping a lot of condensation under the glass and not just algae, but also fungi and mould will colonise the glass tops sooner or later if you don't remove the water under it. Choose between glass or canopy.

Thanks. I’ll be removing those nasty glass tops TODAY!