Hood

[Ter]

Was wondering after checking out a lot of tank pictures....
a lot, if not over half seem 2 have no hood?
yet the fresh water tanks all seem 2 have hoods!
what do you guys do or think about all that?
I have no hood ATM
Ter

 

[sianeds]

Good question

I have hoods on all my tanks for the following reasons:

1: It lessens evaporation so not as much topping up the tank which I find helps me to keep my salinity really stable

2: It stops the fish jumping out!

3: It stops my daughter putting things in the water (which used to be a problem) and it also keeps the dog hairs out

4: I prefer the look of a tank with a lid

But.....I do find it difficult sometimes to upgrade my lighting as am really restricted to what will fit in the hood. Also I have to chop holes in the hoods to get my skimmers on which is a pain.

My next reef tank is going to be hoodless!

 

[Ter]

good good.. anyone elsE?
Ter

 

[SkiFletch]

good good.. anyone elsE?
Ter

I have wrasses, if I didnt have a hood, I'd have lots of carpet surfing going on...

Reasons to have a hood: Jumping fish, clean look, good place for DIY lighting, aesthetics, lower evaporation for less topoffs

Reasons for open top: Powerful lights that REQUIRE high evap to maintain low temperatures, no jumping fish, like the "clean" look of a stylish over-tank luminaire, easy way to view corals from the top down.

 

[Betta5]

Can't all fish jump, my guppies do, so go my catfish

 

[SkiFletch]

They can, yet some are way more prone to it than others

 

[Betta5]

So shouldent you always have some sort of cover on a tank

 

[Mr Miagi]

Not always. As Ski said, more fish are prone to jumping, others arnt. I havnt had a hood since I had my tank, and my Occy Clown hasnt jumped once. You would want a lid with a wrasse, Firefish, or something similar, who jump frequently. Lids can affect lighting, so its not always welcomed.

Hoods can increase the temperature surrounding the tank, can be expensive if you need a custom made, but can prevent fish from jumping, look neater etc.

 

[andywg]

I get around it by having a very tall hood (usually at least a foot from bottom of decorations to top of hood) so that I can throw halides over a tank without them being so close as to super heat the tank. Also, to prevent jumpage, one can always go open top and put glass cover plates or plastic condensation trays on the tank.

 

[SkiFletch]

And dont forget egg-crate for a cover

 

[Mr.September15]

I was thinking since I'm getting a new lighting fixture to get a square piece of [size=-1]Acrylic [/size]to cover the top of the tank since my other hood wont work. My question is which is better, the egg crate or the Acrylic covering?

 

[SkiFletch]

Egg crate is lower maintenance than acrylic and prolly cheaper. Its drawback is that its a little unsightly. If you do go the acrylic route, go with acrylic thats AT LEAST 1/4" thick, prefferably at least 5/16" thick

 

[Mr.September15]

Yeah I have this plastic store that sells everything plastic It smells weird and has nerds working the place, but they have acrylic cutting so I have to get the dimensions and space for everything to fit (Wires,Filter,Possibly a place for the skimmer if it wants to work with me).

 

[maestro]

Most reefers run a very serious lighting system, 500-1000 watts is not uncommon, if you had these high power lights under an enclosed lid then you would fry your tank in next to no time.

Another benefit is better gas exchange, without an enlcosde lid you get much more fresh air circulating above it, these helps keep the PH of the water nice and high through c02 reduction in the water