lysaer
Active Member
Hey guys, I did a search and didn't find anything really specific to this question, so... here goes.
Currently, in my 55g tank, I'm seeing a 3-5g evaporation rate daily...which will only increase as the summer comes on because my house gets really warm during the day so I know that's going to increase. Right now, my tank has no cover. I have LED lights hanging over it.
In the next couple of weeks, I'm going to be setting up a 40g Breeder w/ sump in a nearby location, and moving all my rocks/sand to it and starting things over. I'm really concerned about the evaporation from both the tank and sump-to-be over the next few months, and am considering putting a glass top on the tank. I don't know how this will affect the PAR for the LED lights hanging over it, though. I have Wellpar (chinese black box, more commonly) LED lights that will be mounted 12" above the tank. My concern is if I add a glass top to the tank, how much of that light will be reflected and how much *actual* par can I count on at 6"/12"/sand level of the tank?
I've seen diagrams that relate basic LED PAR levels at various depths, but those seem to be based on a no-top tank. I'm working on including an ATO setup for everything but it will be <5g, at least for the first few months based on my expected setup, so my worry is that it will get emptied on a daily basis and add a step to my morning routine. That is to say, add the expected amount of salt to the ATO resevoir and leave my RODI filter running all day every day (40g/d estimated) which might overflow something somewhere while I'm at work unless I also incorporate a float switch for the RODI system which I don't have in my current plans.
So the root question is, does anyone have experience with LED lights over a glass-topped tank and can you give me examples of both the effective PAR you have experienced as well as your evaporation rate with the top?
I hope this makes sense.
Currently, in my 55g tank, I'm seeing a 3-5g evaporation rate daily...which will only increase as the summer comes on because my house gets really warm during the day so I know that's going to increase. Right now, my tank has no cover. I have LED lights hanging over it.
In the next couple of weeks, I'm going to be setting up a 40g Breeder w/ sump in a nearby location, and moving all my rocks/sand to it and starting things over. I'm really concerned about the evaporation from both the tank and sump-to-be over the next few months, and am considering putting a glass top on the tank. I don't know how this will affect the PAR for the LED lights hanging over it, though. I have Wellpar (chinese black box, more commonly) LED lights that will be mounted 12" above the tank. My concern is if I add a glass top to the tank, how much of that light will be reflected and how much *actual* par can I count on at 6"/12"/sand level of the tank?
I've seen diagrams that relate basic LED PAR levels at various depths, but those seem to be based on a no-top tank. I'm working on including an ATO setup for everything but it will be <5g, at least for the first few months based on my expected setup, so my worry is that it will get emptied on a daily basis and add a step to my morning routine. That is to say, add the expected amount of salt to the ATO resevoir and leave my RODI filter running all day every day (40g/d estimated) which might overflow something somewhere while I'm at work unless I also incorporate a float switch for the RODI system which I don't have in my current plans.
So the root question is, does anyone have experience with LED lights over a glass-topped tank and can you give me examples of both the effective PAR you have experienced as well as your evaporation rate with the top?
I hope this makes sense.
