Interesting... I think that's a very important point. Having a sump for gas exchange. I don't run a sump (at least not yet). Mine is a 5g so that might determine the route I go. My tank is upstairs so heat can become an issue. I'm glad I asked you about this. Thanks!! This might help the OP as well.
No comparison. net top
I know, it's weird how it's literally a polar opposite experience with people, even people with the same setups/conditions just like you mentioned. I started my tank four months ago and I'm no closer to making a decision in glass/acrylic or mesh. Haha. Hopefully it's easier for the OP.
Wow that would certainly cause issues!
I have two tanks running right now. The one with the glass lid is a 8 gallon pico. The tank is rimless and the glass lid sits on plastic clips and there is about a half of a centimeter gap around all edges of the lid (in the areas where there are no clips). The lid also has a hole in the center that's about 2 cm in diameter. The back of the aio tank is open and gas exchange happens there without issues. The tank is low tech-- there is a heater and a return pump (a Sicce 1.0). The return is on a spinning mechanism and provides all the flow for the tank. I have no issues with overheating, but I do run ac in the summer.
I'm in the process of putting up a WB 15 as well. I will use a mesh top but will have a glass panel that I can insert.
Is that the 15 or the 32 Flex? I currently have a 32 that I'm modifying the top for 2x AI Prime HD's. Going to cut out the top leaving just a frame and then glue in mesh. I'd love it if I could fabricate an acrylic insert instead of mesh, but I think that's a dream for another day, lol.
It's the 15. I cut a circle out of the top and cobbled together a housing that fits into the hole. The kessil sits directly in the housing and therefore no light spills out. I don't want to open the same old can of worms, but I personally don't want my toddler looking up into my kessil directly, so I set it up this way to make it impossible.
Thanks for this! I'm glad I asked. It's always good to have context regarding the different setups members have to better understand why something works for one person but not another. My tank is a 5g pico. It's an AIO by Top Fin. If I had to do it over I probably wouldn't do this tank for saltwater but admittedly it was built for freshwater. The stock lid is plastic and covers the entire tank. The lights are mounted underneath. Even though I keep my house on the cooler side if I don't keep the lid cracked the temperature spikes and I can only assume gases build up as well. I can't imagine it's a good setup for freshwater either. It also has a feeding port in the lid so I have periodically cracked this open during the rare times I fit the lid properly (usually after I add a new fish and I want to prevent jumping out). After reading the comments on here I think my options would be to do glass/acrylic but leave part of the AIO sump area open for gas exchange/heat dissipation or do a mesh lid that covers the entire tank. I want to get rid of the stock lid so I can setup the new lights I bought. I hope the OP gets some good insights as well. In some cases it might be trial and error. Try one and if it doesn't work then try the other.
Yeah, my flex is in my 2-year-old daughters room, it's her nightlight pretty much, so I bought the 3DReefing Shades and diffusers for the same reason. The tank is high enough up that she could never get her hands in the top of it, so not really worried about the netting aspect, but the lights in her eyes were definitely a concern.
Net is better IMO. Better light, better gas exchange, better heat exchange and dose not need as much cleaning. Net will probably have more evaporation but easily corrected with ATO or adding top off water manually.
I will get some photos of the set up I put together tonight and send them in case they are of interest.
i had a glass top and i wasn’t very happy with it at all - i switched to mesh which has worked well for my 150
I'm toying with the idea of fashioning a reflector to put inside of the shade so that all of the light exits the bottom without absorbing into the black shade... Could be as simple as cutting 4 trapezoid pieces of mirror and gluing them together, or as complicated as coating an acrylic bowl with mirror coating... do you think it would make much difference? The lights and Shades arrive on Friday so I haven't had a chance to look at them just yet
I have 2 tanks, both have lids,
Wow, that's amazing that your hob tank made it through one of your summers!! Now I'm back to undecided. I thought I had mailed it down to a mesh lid but now I'm not so sure. Haha. Ironically I already ordered the clips to hold a glass/acrylic lid awhile ago. Then I wavered and was leaning toward mesh. Now I'm back to possibly glass or acrylic. I like the idea that was mentioned of cutting an opening for lights in a glass or acrylic top so they fit right in. I'm assuming they're water resistant and you wouldn't lose any PAR.
Don't let me influence you, just giving my experiences.Wow, that's amazing that your hob tank made it through one of your summers!! Now I'm back to undecided. I thought I had mailed it down to a mesh lid but now I'm not so sure. Haha. Ironically I already ordered the clips to hold a glass/acrylic lid awhile ago. Then I wavered and was leaning toward mesh. Now I'm back to possibly glass or acrylic. I like the idea that was mentioned of cutting an opening for lights in a glass or acrylic top so they fit right in. I'm assuming they're water resistant and you wouldn't lose any PAR.
