Cover or no cover?

kenter16 · #1 10-11-2009, 04:36 PM

I am trying to decide if i should leave my glass covers on my tank. They always have evaporation water on them and i think it is effecting my lighting. The only fish i have right now are clowns. I am guessing that i would have to top off my tank more often. Any advice would be very helpful.
Also i am running a 2x96 watt CFL light. My tank demensions are 36x18x24. Is this enought light for a Bubble coral and a Hammer coral?

banditpowdercoat · #2 10-11-2009, 04:45 PM

I have run both ways on my 45 g. Yes, less evap with a glass cover, but thaving to clean it every 2nd day, and the extra heat it traps in the tank.

noirsphynx · #3 10-11-2009, 04:46 PM

I had a pair of clowns and both jumped

I won't get more without a cover now. Here's a great idea for a cover that I plan on doing for my tank http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=817485

banditpowdercoat · #4 10-11-2009, 05:37 PM

Hmm, I got 2 pairs, in different tanks and neither has shown any interest in the waters surface, or the carpet. Strange how fish act differently in differet setups

Evil Guppy · #5 10-11-2009, 06:41 PM

For my tank I had glass tops but stopped using them as it gave very little distance between the T5 fixture and the glass top. This seemed to cause the fixture to get a bit too hot. I found the tops would also require cleaning every couple of days or the light would become blocked by salt buildup and algae.

I stopped using this and had a Percula clown jump out of the back of the tank.

I still have an open top but now have a barrier around the tank to hopefully stop anymore jumping. To make it I used some extra baseboard that we had from our home renovations and build it around the front of the tank.

For the back of the tank, since I had so much equipment and wires with the skimmer, phosban and carbon reactors I made the wall out of Lego Blocks

It doesnt look too pretty but it allowed me to build in holes for all the wires and piping.