Fish Tank Lid/canopy Important?

I have a tank that Hagen doesn't make anymore, hasn't for years! It's so old that it doesn't even have a brace bar like tanks do now. So unfortunately, they don't make the hood for it anymore, and my the original I have for it literally snapped in half.. And because there is no brace bar, I cannot use two (e.g.) 23"/24" glass tops or other dual hoods on it, not to mention, the ones I found were like $65 a piece. The tank is 48"W x 16"D x 22"H so it's hard to find a lid for it.

But I am wondering, does it even matter? I have denison's barb(roseline sharks), red tail shark, cherry barbs, cardinal tetras, angle fish and gourami in the tank. I am not sure if any of these would jump out of the tank. I see all these nice tanks on the internet that don't even use lids. So if anyone could tell me whether I should or not use a lid, that would be great! (Really don't want to use unsightly mesh or something).

 

I don't think any of your fish would jump out unless provoked towards the surface. The main benefit I find with lids is evaporation control but other than that they are not the most important equipment to have

 

This one would be a bit short in the back but if you really wanted one, I think this one would suffice. Plus it is not that expensive

 

Many tanks don't have lids but I think it's best to have one because
Some fish are naturally jumpers but most fish will jump if water conditions are bad or they get a fright.
It stops cats dipping their paws in (a big problem in my house)
It stops too much evaporation.
It stops things falling into the tank (I once had a huge spider fall into one of my tanks, it was not fun to fish out)

You should be ok without a lid but there are benefits of having one.

 

There's also tons of ways to make your own glass lid. Just need some glass cut to size ( most hardware stores will cut it for you) and a drill bit to make a hole or two to lift it up but IME lids aren't super important unless you have hatchetfish. None of my bettas,fish,loaches,eels or snails leave the tanks

 

I don't have a cat so that is no issue and my lights are secure. Nothing but fish food should be falling into the tank. I find my fish are very peaceful unless an algae wafer is dropped in. Not sure why but all my fish love them and will fight for a share. I tend to break it into pieces just so everyone will calmly share. Evaporation is something I don't worry about. I also have a hose hooked up to a sink near by so filling the inch it may evaporate by the time a water change is due, is no issue at all. I'll keep my eyes opened for any jumping habits as my fish are still young. At the first sight of any issues, I'll put a screen on top for temporary use.

 

Just buy some acrylic sheets from home depot and cut them to the correct length and width