Cover or no?

dave01282000 · Apr 17, 2023

I hadn't previously considered covering my 20G nano because of gas exchange, but I thought of the possibility of a fish jumping out. I'm sure it depends on the individual fish, but is this something that happens often enough to put some kind of barrier on the top?

If so, is it the easiest to maybe make a cover using screen or maybe egg crate so the air still interacts with the surface?

Thanks!

nothing_fancy · Apr 17, 2023

With decent surface agitation having a mesh or screen cover is totally fine for gas exchange. IMO if you aren't actively keeping an eye on the tank I would cover it, especially at night when lights are out. I used to leave mine uncovered and it was no issue until randomly a wrasse I had jumped out, I had that fish for a couple years so I figured I was fine to leave the cover off. KrakenReef makes some great covers that are super low profile, blends in to the tank really nicely

Buckster · Apr 17, 2023

I prefer a cover for two reasons. First of all it will keep in the fish that may want to jump and secondly I found out that with a (solid) cover I had less evaporation.

dave01282000 · Apr 17, 2023

Who knew there would be a place dedicated to nano lids? Thanks!

dave01282000 · May 6, 2023

Just a follow up to this...when you get a fitted tank cover, how do you deal with accommodating the HOB filter, heater, bracket for the light, etc? Is it easy enough to make cutouts around these things?

I looked closer at Kraken and they list a lot of brands for custom lids but unfortunately no Aqueon...wondering if I should just make one and build it to accommodate the HOB stuff.

I'm about to start a fishless cycle so I've got a few weeks to figure this out.

Thanks!

Rocktron1 · May 6, 2023

I bought the red sea mesh cover. You can cut it to any size and make cutouts etc for things

I cut mine just short of AIO filter section so all the lights, skimmer etc can fit, but it still covers the display tank

Mjl714 · May 6, 2023

I would go with a screen top.

AKL1950 · May 6, 2023

It’s not a matter of which fish might just. Just a matter of when they all will, and all fish will jump. When I feed and everyone is going after the food, I’ve seen just about all of them hit the netting over the tank at one time or another. It’s very easy to make your own cover. Window screen siding and clear nylon mesh. It’s really lite weight and easy to remove to clean the tank. Trick is getting the tension right in the netting so it’s tight but doesn't try to buckle.

Took me just a few hours to build this one with cut outs for the light stands and a flip lid in the front to allow most things I need to do in there day to day. They are plastic hinges.

ScottJ · May 6, 2023

AKL1950 said:
It’s not a matter of which fish might just. Just a matter of when they all will, and all fish will jump. When I feed and everyone is going after the food, I’ve seen just about all of them hit the netting over the tank at one time or another. It’s very easy to make your own cover. Window screen siding and clear nylon mesh. It’s really lite weight and easy to remove to clean the tank. Trick is getting the tension right in the netting so it’s tight but doesn't try to buckle.

Took me just a few hours to build this one with cut outs for the light stands and a flip lid in the front to allow most things I need to do in there day to day. They are plastic hinges.

If you don't mind me asking, where did you get the parts for this? Looks great, btw.

ErikVR · May 6, 2023

Don't worry about gas exchange. Almost all fresh water aquariums have hard covers. Not even mesh but completely closed off except for a few holes for filtration hoses.

rhitee93 · May 6, 2023

ScottJ said:
If you don't mind me asking, where did you get the parts for this? Looks great, btw.

+1
A build like this is in my future.

AKL1950 · May 6, 2023

ScottJ said:
If you don't mind me asking, where did you get the parts for this? Looks great, btw.

Got everything at Lowe’s And the netting/hinges on Amazon. You need the aluminum framing, framing corners, the little rubber tubing to attach the netting to the frame, a good roller tool to push the rubber and netting in the frame tracks and a hack saw. The netting and hinges get on Amazon. Netting comes in a large sheet you cut to size. Make sure you cut it larger than your frame to allow for the extra you need when it’s rolled into the frame. Then you can trim off the excess with a razor knife. Mine is really big, so I built a simple jig frame to set it in while I stretched the netting so everything stayed square. Tricky part was doing the cutouts. Once it’s settled for a while in the jig, it stays square.

once it’s on the tank, I just use clear packing tape to secure it to the sides and back of the tank. The tape also keeps the back stretched out where all the cutouts are.

just took it off to do my weekly deep cleaning. When it come off, Fish seem to know to go hide in the rocks because I’m going to be cleaning.

peterhos · May 6, 2023

FWIW I agree with those above who have a mesh cover, whether DIY or shop bought. I started a new Red Sea reefer recently and lost a fish to jumping after only 2 days. Maybe buy the Red Sea cover that is the size above your tank and spend a couple of hours adapting that. If you have a lot of cut outs they sell extra corner angle pieces.

doubleshot00 · May 6, 2023

dave01282000 said:
Just a follow up to this...when you get a fitted tank cover, how do you deal with accommodating the HOB filter, heater, bracket for the light, etc? Is it easy enough to make cutouts around these things?

I looked closer at Kraken and they list a lot of brands for custom lids but unfortunately no Aqueon...wondering if I should just make one and build it to accommodate the HOB stuff.

I'm about to start a fishless cycle so I've got a few weeks to figure this out.

Thanks!

D&D Jumpguard has everything you need to make a custom screen top. What i have for my im15 but just bought the waterbox 20 screen top and about to put it together this morning.

I like screen tops on my smaller tanks for two reasons. One is obvious keep fish in but two to keep things out like nerf bullets and kids little fingers.

EricR · May 6, 2023

dave01282000 said:
Just a follow up to this...when you get a fitted tank cover, how do you deal with accommodating the HOB filter, heater, bracket for the light, etc? Is it easy enough to make cutouts around these things?

I looked closer at Kraken and they list a lot of brands for custom lids but unfortunately no Aqueon...wondering if I should just make one and build it to accommodate the HOB stuff.

I'm about to start a fishless cycle so I've got a few weeks to figure this out.

Thanks!

What I did for DIY around HOB equipment was:
-- Scrap acrylic plexiglass (already had a bunch) plank with cutouts around HOB stuff
-- Cheapie screen frame kit from Lowe's
-- Cheapie clear mesh from Amazon
***depending on how complex your HOB cutouts need to be, you could buy extra screen frame plastic angles from Amazon and make a single mesh frame to handle everything (probably)

Old/bad picture but just to give an idea: