topless or not

[RobNJ]

just curious, how many people go topless? right now i have a glass canopy. my tank is on average 79-80 degrees. I am upgrading to MH lights, will the tank boil if i have a glass canopy with MH lights above?

[six.line]

I'm personally not a fan of how much lighting halides give off outside of my tank, so I prefer a canopy. some people build their canopies to leave the back entirely open, and this helps diffuse heat. A couple of computer case fans properly rigged up can also help diffuse heat.

It's all your choice, really. If you get halides without a canopy, you'll need them to have some sort of housing unit, be it a pendant, or something you rig up yourself.

[ToTaLCHaoS13]

I have my MH's in an enclosed, vented canopy and do not use glass tops on the tank. With the glass tops on the water just stayed too hot.

[markandkristen]

my nano is topless(in our bedroom). using the orbit 20" pc 2x80 watt.
the only other thing i worry about in our room is reminding my wife not to spray hairspray in our bedroom. on a open hood you are more suspetable to accidently spraying air freshners as well.
be careful witha open hood. when it comes to those things.

now my 90 is very enclosed with fans in the canopy. using the icecap fans they really suck in alot of air. im able to keep halides 6 inches off the water.( this is not recommended but my only choice for now.) also if you do this make sure you use 14k or 20k bulbs they dont burn as hot. just a thought

[TacoKing]

RobNJ, are you talking about the glass top that's over your tank or a canopy enclosing your lights?


If you're talking about a glass top, remove it. You'll get better evaporation and gas exchange.

Canopys, now that's a preference opinion. I'm currently running open top, with only pendents hanging from the ceiling. That's soon going to change though. I'm going to switch from 4x250w HQI bulbs to a T5 setup.

-Rob

[RobNJ]

I was speaking about a glass top not a canopy, my MHs are enclosed in a fixture already.

[ezcompany]

expect your water to reach mid 80s with the halides.
mine reaches 84 and its topless already.

[whiteshark]

My tank has no top. There is no way I would be able to keep it cool enough with the top on. Plus, no matter how clean the glass is, it still seems to reduce the intensity of the light slightly. I lose about 1 gal of water per day to evaporation.

Be warned... If you have any "jumpy" fish like firefish, they will end up on the floor if you remove the glass top.

[RobNJ]

i have no fish

[delor]

Am I the only one that thought something else when they read the this topic title?...

[2fishy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7435954#post7435954 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TacoKing
RobNJ, are you talking about the glass top that's over your tank or a canopy enclosing your lights?


If you're talking about a glass top, remove it. You'll get better evaporation and gas exchange.

Canopys, now that's a preference opinion. I'm currently running open top, with only pendents hanging from the ceiling. That's soon going to change though. I'm going to switch from 4x250w HQI bulbs to a T5 setup.

-Rob

This makes sense to me, but how do you keep the saltwater from being sucked into the light fixture? I mean on my light fixture that I got second hand, there was salt creep up around the bulbs that were protected by a plastic covering (t-5 fixture), which sits above the aquarium about 3 inches. My assumption was that this was because of it being over open water, so I put a glass top on it. But this also protects it from anything falling in or being thrown in. But I do see that it has increased the temperature.

[2fishy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7436207#post7436207 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by spe934
Am I the only one that thought something else when they read the this topic title?...

You are absolutely not the only one that thought something else when you read that!:D

But what a great way to bring attention to your thread!:lol:

[bcwalz]

I had read that eggcrate works very well for a tank top as well. Seems to make sense to me. Leaves the tank open for heat to escape but prevent the little fishies from committing suicide. I'm using glass tops at the moment but am thinking of switching. I'm a little concerned with salt creep problems if I do.

[tedmc2]

I use eggcrate as a cover. My light fixture sits right on the tank and the eggcrate covers the open space behind the light. With my lights, the tank stays between 79 and 82.

I would recommend some cover and not topless. I've lost a couple not-known-for-jumping fish without the eggcrate.

[Sk8r]

I not only removed the aquarium top top, I took off the prebuilt sump tops. I do have a 9 inch tank-surrounding facing board on a frame that lifts the lights 9 inches above the water, protects our eyes, and prevents jumpers if any from escape.

[Dennis1438]

I just built a closed top canopy, only the back is open and I installed two fans, one on each side. My water temp has not gone up at all, I live in Florida so my AC is usually set at 74-75 and my tank water is 77-78 with the MH lights. As long as you have something covering the MH (if its incased) you will be fine without the glass.

[RobNJ]

I think topless just looks cooler ;)

[Lpabsolute]

topelss is the way to go.........

[roader247]

I like Topless

[hanas]

My tank also is topless, I have my Tek T5 fixture hanging about 5 inches from the water.

[RobNJ]

just installed my new 2X150 MHs/lunar combo, tank is topless under moonlights looking great

[Marinemom]

Only part of mine(the back part) is topless. Seems to work for now.

Marinemom

[yeame]

my cat just knocked the lights into my 20 long didnt kill anything but the bulbs broke

[GreenBabe5]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7440689#post7440689 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by yeame
my cat just knocked the lights into my 20 long didnt kill anything but the bulbs broke

I just orderd my MH and that is exactly what i'm worried about, I have three cats and not only do they like to go "fishing" but one of my cats is a bengal and they are wild water cats, she may want to swim or try and stand on top of the light because she has a natural tendency to be as high up as possible (she climbs my ladders all around my house) Any other cat owners have issues with open tank tops?

[bcwalz]

I've got two cats but currently have glass tops so they can fish too well. Only look and drool.

[Kaiser Tang]

Wow, my mind was in the gutter when I read this thread title.:)

[compulou]

Topless.....My tank info is below.

[paveni]

I have a 90 gal wave with a corallife pro light on legs. I removed my glass and put egg crate. I also put a 7" fan on one end on a trimer. it goes on 1 hr before the Halides which stay on for 4 hours. It goes off 2 hrs after the halides shut. M y tank was at 81 degrees with the glass and now is between 77 and 79 degrees.
Pat A.

[Marinemom]

I have a cat that will be a year old tommorrow. She is very curious when it comes to water. in fact she likes the water. After everyone showers in the morning she just can't resist getting in the shower to get her paws wet. Strange. I thought cats were not supposed to like water. I have found her sitting on top of my 125 cichlid tank and on top of my 46 gallon discus tank. I have part of the back open to the water because the skimmer and the powerhead as well as the bubble diffusion box take up too much room in my 60 gallon reef tank. I think she is afraid of the skimmer so thus far she has resisted getting on top of my reef tank. I think I might have to cover the open parts with something like eggcrate. I do not want to find my kitty inside my tank.

Marinemom