To lid, or not to lid?

[FreshwaterCole]

Like the title says, wasn't sure if right place to post.

 

[NotSoAggressiveAquatics]

Yes yes yes. Any fish can jump without a lid and I tried lidless once and after like a month my water got some dust in it

 

[TClare]

Agreed. Also helps avoid evaporation and heat loss.

 

[Rachaeljuno]

yes lid. I've had fish jump before, all kinds, mollies, guppies, bettas (no surprise with that one lol), etc. Luckily I was there to put them back in but yeah always have a lid.

 

[jpaquatics]

Yes! Evaporation in the Summer without one is terrible!

 

[Flyfisha]

Definitely with lid.

 

[FreshwaterCole]

Thanks for the replies, I too rather the safety and the less evaporation/avoiding dust and other particles that may end up in the water.
I do like a lid-less tank especially a planted.. unfortunate the cons outweigh the pros

 

[JPH1970]

There's no reason to not have a lid on

 

[pagoda]

A lid is essential for all the reasons stated above but if you don't want a clunky great thing that spoils the looks of your aquarium, you can get clear plastic condensation trays for aquariums. They are very thin, clear plastic that are ribbed for strength, they have a lip to them which allows the tray to sit comfortably and safely on the top rim of the aquarium.

They stop fish escaping, they return condensating water back to where it belongs and they have a feeding flap built in too. Very easy to get in pet stores or online and under 10 quid to buy. They come in a variet of sizes to suit most aquariums and can be trimmed to fit hoses, pipes etc too

 

[MacZ]

I'll be the odd one out:
It depends on the fish and the setup whether a lid is necessary or not. I have a lowered waterline so I can have semi-emersed plants grow over the rim of the glass. Just for safety reasons (I have pencilfish), I have a jumpguard made of fly screen on top instead of a closed lid.
The evaporation in my tank is high anyway due to the pothos and floating plants. Open or closed doesn't change much for me.

 

[FreshwaterCole]

I'll be the odd one out:
It depends on the fish and the setup whether a lid is necessary or not. I have a lowered waterline so I can have semi-emersed plants grow over the rim of the glass. Just for safety reasons (I have pencilfish), I have a jumpguard made of fly screen on top instead of a closed lid.
The evaporation in my tank is high anyway due to the pothos and floating plants. Open or closed doesn't change much for me.

Great idea on the fly screen.

Yeah I agree depends on stock, like our Polypterus have a lid 1000% lol but currently 2 of 3 of our guppy and endler fry tanks are lid-less.
No extreme evaporation, and temp holds at 75 during night. 77-78 day. And they are in a rack, with led light underneath the shelf above them. And not really any particulates as they are in and under something.

There's no reason to not have a lid on

The first thing that comes to mind immediately is the tank is breathing better.