Acrylic vs screen lid

Tony888 · Jul 1, 2018

Hi All,

What are the pros and cons of having a acrylic vs a screen lid?

Billldg · Jul 1, 2018

Acrylic top will hold heat in and also won't allow water to evaporate, I need the evaporation so my ATO will top off with kalk saturated water, not to mention acrylic will stain over time. Acrylic tops are none forgiving and if I decide to get a Wrasse I want it to be forgiving as they jump and I have heard them breaking their backs against the tops.

chum · Jul 1, 2018

i use a screen lid on the tank at night and leave it off during the day.

lapin · Jul 1, 2018

Both tops will get dirty and need to be cleaned. As stated above evaporation, heat and gas exchange are the main differences. Both will suffer if the heat from the lights is too close. As far as a back breaker that I dont know about . I only buy smart fish with good eye sight.

mfinn · Jul 1, 2018

Tony888 said:
Hi All,

What are the pros and cons of having a acrylic vs a screen lid?

Do you mean the polycarbonate lids like the ones from Artfully Acrylic, and Oco Aquatics?

Tony888 · Jul 2, 2018

mfinn said:
Do you mean the polycarbonate lids like the ones from Artfully Acrylic, and

Yes, those kids are nice.

Tony888 · Jul 2, 2018

lapin said:
Both tops will get dirty and need to be cleaned. As stated above evaporation, heat and gas exchange are the main differences. Both will suffer if the heat from the lights is too close. As far as a back breaker that I dont know about . I only buy smart fish with good eye sight.

Thanks for the info Lapin.

Tony888 · Jul 2, 2018

chum said:
i use a screen lid on the tank at night and leave it off during the day.

Thanks Chum.

mfinn · Jul 2, 2018

Tony888 said:
Hi All,

What are the pros and cons of having a acrylic vs a screen lid?

The polycarbonate ones have plenty of ventilation for heat and O2 exchange and block about as much light as the diy screen tops.
I have a Artfully Acrylic top and love it. It's very nice looking and does the job very well. It's just more expensive. I have no idea how much the Octo Lids go for, but I imagine they are not cheap either.
I also have a diy screen top.
It all depends on what you want and can afford.