Aquarium tops???

[ninjamunky]

It seems like a lot of the aquariums I see here and other places on the interwebs are running with no tops. Doesn't that give a chance for a fish to jump out at anytime, or is it only certain types of fish that this is a concern with?

I plan on making a mesh top for my aquarium in the near future, but being that it is a bow front it will require some creative thinking. I'm looking at adding some clownfish soon. I have a glass top for the aquarium. Should I use the glass top until I get the mesh figured out, or should I just not worry about it?

[AlSimmons]

What kind of fish do you have now? Some fish are more prone to jump than others. If you don't have anything in the tank then don't even bother with the top.

[ninjamunky]

Originally Posted by AlSimmons

What kind of fish do you have now? Some fish are more prone to jump than others. If you don't have anything in the tank then don't even bother with the top.

Currently nothing in the tank but I'm thinking of adding a couple of clownfish. Ammonia is at zero, Nitrite is at zero, and Nitrate is around 5 ppm. I'm about to do a water change and then head to the LFS.

[cprdnick]

I'm wondering if you could get some sort of plastic bar stock, heat it enough to bend it to match the curve of the front tank frame, then glue that piece to additional straight pieces. If you get thin enough stock, you could sandwich the mesh between two pieces of frame.

[jessipoof]

From what I've seen, it's only certain types of fish. It also depends on tank size, and the behavior of the fish as an individual. For instance, anthias are known to jump, however in my 220 gal tank without a top, my two bartlett's anthias never tried to make a break for it.
However, a topless aquarium should have an auto top off of some sort.

[nereefpat]

They say any fish is a potential jumper, but I haven't heard of clownfish jumping.

Famous jumpers are wrasses, watchman gobies, firefish...

[Joe0813]

i never had a cover over my tank....... I bought a powder brown tang which was a pretty good size.... well two weeks of him being in my DT he decided his life in a glass box was not what he was hoping for and committed suicide.... Tangs NEVER jump but after that I bought the BRS diy screen top kit. no more suicides

[davocean]

All fish can potentially jump, even clowns, though I agree less likely(But I was just telling the story yesterday of a maroon that actually jumped out of tank trying to bite me just having hands above water adjusting lights!)

The safest thing is keep the top you have on until you do the screen net, which would be my choice.

[ninjamunky]

Originally Posted by jessipoof

From what I've seen, it's only certain types of fish. It also depends on tank size, and the behavior of the fish as an individual. For instance, anthias are known to jump, however in my 220 gal tank without a top, my two bartlett's anthias never tried to make a break for it.
However, a topless aquarium should have an auto top off of some sort.

Good point, I'll put the glass tops back on for now just to help minimize evaporation since I don't have an ATO yet. I don't have any yet corals so loss of light penetration won't be a problem.

[billdogg]

Although a little pricey, take a look at www.artfullyacrylic.com They might be just what you need for that bow front. If it were a standard shape tank then DIY mesh FTW. I'for one, will never have glass tops again, and that is with having kept a 60g cube with a glass top for almost 20 years. It was always a nice tank. When the glass broke and I replaced it with screen is when it really became the tank I always thought it could be.

[Ab129]

What was the difference (s) you noticed with screen as opposed to glass!

[Sk8r]

I have a glass top that is glued to the tank, but has feeding ports and the back (overflow) uncovered. And above that is a canopy. When I used metal halide lights (hot) I kept a fan up there to keep it cool. I can say safely---I have no carpet-surfing fishes.

[Pet Detective]

Originally Posted by Sk8r

I have a glass top that is glued to the tank, but has feeding ports and the back (overflow) uncovered. And above that is a canopy. When I used metal halide lights (hot) I kept a fan up there to keep it cool. I can say safely---I have no carpet-surfing fishes.

How on earth do you access the tank, rearrange, add new things, clean power heads etc. etc. etc.???

[AlSimmons]

IMO, in the big scheme of things, I would go without a top. (better gas exchange?) You might have some jumpers, but OVERALL the money you spend on these jumpers is probably minute to the amount of money you've spent for EVERYTHING... Things die, break or even jump... Collateral damage? GL.

[billdogg]

Originally Posted by Ab129

What was the difference (s) you noticed with screen as opposed to glass!

When the tank had glass tops, things always looked good and I didn't give it a thought otherwise. I was able to keep soft corals, anemones, and a couple of easy LPS. Everything did will long term, but the tank just never looked as good as I though it should. Never could put my finger on it.

When the tops broke and I replaced them with DIY screen tops, within a couple weeks there was an obvious difference in how things looked and how they responded. The fish were out and about more, and the colors of everything just seemed to be more vibrant. I was also able to start my journey into SPS keeping.

I attribute that to the increase in oxygenation that having an open top provides. There really weren't any other changes.

6 months later, when I changed from T12VHO to LED (AI Sol Blue) it took it that final step and it became the tank I always thought it should be, except now it was too small! That spurred the upgrade to the 120DT I now have.

[davocean]

Lower temps and better gas exchange w/out top for sure, and I agree artfully acrylic makes some really nice tops and would probably be my choice, especially on a bowfront which is tougher to make DIY, nicely anyway.