Glass top or Not?

[SMinNC]

I've seen a few people say they have an Open top aquarium.

I'm needing to get around to my DIY lighting.

And wondering...
If you have an Open Top. Do you still have something between the Lights and the Water?

I've heard stuff about a Drop of water, causing bulbs to break?

Thanks.

 

[DrNo]

Not necessarily. What is your stock and what kind of lights are you considering?

 

[krytan]

I like to cover the tops of my tanks to control evaporation.

 

[McLendon]

Glass top all the way
No fish jumping out No hot 110 falling in. Keeps the temp in the tank more stable also cuts down on power used by the tank.and I have not tried to prove it for sure but I think it has helped lower my heat bill in the winter Ihave a 120gl tank set at 82

 

[gogol]

major evaporation on an open top on my tank, enough to be a nuisance. but i like the way it looks. much cleaner looking. looking into auto top off for my tank.

 

[snoopy65]

I have tops on my tanks. Not so much worrying about the light issue, but I have a corn stove and without a top I lose 1" of water a day. For a 30 gal that isn't so much, but for the 110 and 125, it is alot of water.

 

[rich311k]

I run mine topless. The lights all have a lens over them. i do lose a bit of water, I top off a couple of times a week.

 

[bazil323]

I prefer tops. Both to control evaporation and temp but also to prevent fish jumping out. Oh, and to keep any chemicals, dust, and whatever from getting into the tank. We have an older house and sometimes have a wood stove running to supplement the gas heat, and it gets super dusty. I had one tank without a top for about 4 months. I couldn't believe how much gunk was floating in there all the time!

 

[madfox]

Glass tops here! Not only to keep the fish in, but also to keep the cats out!! :lol2:

 

[msouth468]

I run an open top on my 55gal and my lights don't have any cover on them to stop water from hitting it. The only problem I have is that the light fixture gets mineral build up on it that has to be cleaned every few months. The water loss that I usually get is 2 inches or about 5 gallons a week. No biggy really, I prefer and open top to a covered one simply because it looks better IMO. IF you suspend the light above the tank about 5 or 6 inches the problem is really solved.

The only time you really want to protect your bulbs from water is when they are incandescent. They get hot enough to break the glass when a water drop hits them. Most fluorescent bulbs get hot, but not enough where a drop of water will break them.

As for fish jumping out, you just have to research the fish you want to see if they are jumpers or not. But, in my experience, if a fish wants out of the tank it finds a way. No matter how hard you try to cover the whole tank.