POLL: To cover or not to cover?
- Thread starter chad_pierce
- Start date
I cover my tank with 1/4" plexiglass. It's supposed to protect the tank from UV. There is some research to support this view, but many experienced people think UV is not worth worrying about. The cover, along with a 4" Radio Shack fan in the hood, keeps heat away from the water. I check oxygen levels every few months and it's always been fine. I have an airstone in my sump, which I originally put in to keep carbon dioxide levels down, but I think it also helps oxygenate the water. I rinse the salt spray off the cover once a week, which is a fast and easy job. I'm upgrading to a bigger tank this summer and I'm not sure if I'm going to use a cover this time. My reasons for continuing to use a cover would be to (a) protect my lamps (I use a 15W black light for moonlight, which does not have a waterproof socket.), (b) keep out heat from the lamps, and (c) prevent excessive evaporation (I already have plenty.). My only reason for not using a cover would be for easier access to the tank. This subject has been debated a lot on this board. You may want to do a search.
Well, I went ahead and tried to cover my tank for the night, so that I could cut down on noise and eliminate some evap, but when I woke up, (lights are off at night), I discovered that my temperature rose from 82 to 84. WITH NO LIGHTS! So, needless to say, I don't cover any longer.
I have lost enough fish through jumping to always have my tanks covered. I have a eggcrate and/or glass tops on all my tanks.
Some interesting pieces of information:
* clean glass only absorbs about 10% of the light passing through it, so loss of light should not be a concern.
* eggcrate may concentrate light directly under a MH lamp, but as you move out from the centre it will decrease transmission far more than glass.
* if you have a skimmer and an open sump, gas exchange should not be a problem with a tank covered with glass tops.
* glass tops will reduce evaporation, but a fan over the sump quickly cures that - and works as a chiller, too.
* if you keep shallow water corals, UV is not a bad thing as long as you don't have more UV radiation than present in nature. Also note that UV-A and near UV radiation penetrate to 40m in the ocean.
Some interesting pieces of information:
* clean glass only absorbs about 10% of the light passing through it, so loss of light should not be a concern.
* eggcrate may concentrate light directly under a MH lamp, but as you move out from the centre it will decrease transmission far more than glass.
* if you have a skimmer and an open sump, gas exchange should not be a problem with a tank covered with glass tops.
* glass tops will reduce evaporation, but a fan over the sump quickly cures that - and works as a chiller, too.
* if you keep shallow water corals, UV is not a bad thing as long as you don't have more UV radiation than present in nature. Also note that UV-A and near UV radiation penetrate to 40m in the ocean.
I cover my tank for a few reasons. The first is to cut the evap. rate. I really dislike adding gallons of fresh water everyday. The second is to cut the noise level and third to keep the jumpers from...well....jumping. Heat will be a problem if you cover and have no chiller so keep an eye on that.
I hate putting anything between the water and my lights. Any material will attenuate light. Instead, I seal the back of my canopy off with nylon screen mesh. This effectively prevents fish from jumping out, while maintaining the benefits of full evaporation and full light availibility.
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