cover glass

[ClownieandBilly]

i am using sliding glass covers on my tank but i feel salt residue on the underside is cutting down on lighting.i am concerned about fish jumping out if i remove the covers.i am also wondering if the removal of the glass covers will help or worsen the problem of excess heat from halides affecting the temp of water.
Should i remove the covers or not

THANKS FOR ANY OPINIONS

[Guy W]

removing the covers will allow heat to escape and reduce help lower the temp., a little. I would guess a couple degrees at best. But the water will evaporate at a much higher rate. expect to have to top off as much as 2 times what you are doing now.

Also salt creat on the lip of the tank will probably get worse.

As for jumping fish, not much you can do about that. Maybe run the water level in the tank a little bit lower so they have to jump higher. But if they want out they will get out if the Lid is not on.

Guy

[a_free_bird73]

I would suggest using acrylic or polycarbonate covers instead of Glass. They are cheap, no risk of breakage and much easier to clean than glass because they don't bind salts and have lower tendancy to craze. I wash mine in fresh water once a week and that is all.

If you are running metal halides, They will also insulate from the heat but make sure they are not close enough to get too hot and allow plenty of room on the sides for them to expand (i.e. should not be a tight fit on the top).

[BrianH]

You can use eggcrate on top of your tank to stop most jumpers.

Brian