What are your experiences with ClearView Lids?

[Zionas]

I heard they’re a very reputable company so I’d love to hear about experiences with their lids. I’m personally investing for the long term so going to go with their polycarbonate one (Pisces EXO). They ship to Asia so I’m pretty keen on them. If you own or have owned a ClearView lid, what do you like and dislike about them? Would you recommend it?

When you took measurements on the length and width (depth) of your tank, how accurate did they have to be?

 

[reptireef]

Got mine a couple weeks ago, amazing quality. Took a little over two months which I wasn't stoked about but it was a custom dimension. Fits perfect, very sturdy, and no sag or gaps. I sent them the exact measurements to a tee and they allow just enough room for it to sit in the rim.

 

[Zionas]

That’s great. Did you ask them to include a little feeding ring on the lid? How do you take off the lid during bigger feedings and water changes?

 

[reptireef]

I just have the one slot in the front for feeding that has a removable cover, I grab it in the middle on the front and back when I feed corals. Just have to pull it up and out as it sits pretty flush in the tank

 

[Zionas]

That’s good to know. Sounds like yours is great.

 

[Smprc]

I got one also, I second what reptireef says. It is a great lid, albeit a pricey one, but I have no regrets. The one thing that sucked was the lead time. I understand last year was rough but, I placed my order in May and when I finally followed up in September it still had not been produced. So make sure you have a clear understanding what the lead time is so that you are not disappointed and can plan accordingly. here is mine. Don't forget to add cord slots.

 

[Zionas]

Can you elaborate a bit on the cord slots? DIY isn’t my strength at all.

I’d love to get a lid from them it’s just that the wait time does make me a bit concerned, maybe I have to forego wrasses, Hawkfish etc. until it arrives.

 

[Trx#250r1]

I ordered one in June. I think it should be done in September. I find the wait times excessive but good things come to those that wait I guess...

 

[Smprc]

When you start to design your lid, they guide you through all the possible options, cord slots are slots cut into the edge so that the pump cord can get through the lid. however if you have those fancy pumps that have the cords on the outside then it doesn't matter. I was just throwing that out there so you don't forget.

And as far as waiting...well thats exaclty what I did. I waited over 6 months before any new additions due to this wait time. However, the reason I got the lid in the first place was because I was done losing fish that jumped out.

 

[Zionas]

Which fish did you lose before getting the lid and which fish have you lost afterwards?

I’m very new to all of this design stuff, so I’ll be taking photos of my setup and drawing simply diagrams (to the best of my ability). Not sure if that’ll be enough for them to figure some stuff out.

 

[Smprc]

Honestly I can't remember all the fish I lost, the latest was a female blue throat trigger.

You will be fine. Don't worry. They will make sure its all good. I trust them. They go over everything and double check, they are very good at that. Did I mention the lead time sucks . ok just kidding we have established that. Just take the best measure meants you can. Take into account anything that is mounted on the tank sides such as lights, over hang filters etc.

 

[dwair]

Quality lids but the wait times are unreal. If you haven't checked out Kraken reefs, I would check them out. Same quality but lot less lead times!

 

[rockinzebra457]

I ordered one of the ez builds for the Red Sea reefers. I picked the Pisces exo and waited about 2 months for it. This was actually a little quicker then the estimated lead time plus shipping so I was happy.
The quality is awesome with no sag and I love the front feeding area. The only thing I wish it had was some type of handle to grab the door cover off from the opening.
Disclaimer I would only order cord slots that you need or plan on having a cord go through them. The other night I spooked my eightline flasher wrasse and he was able to somehow get through that tiny slot. I’m glad I was their to hurry and scoop him back into the tank.

 

[Zionas]

Thank you!

 

[Zionas]

I’ll give them a look.

 

[japgapkidd]

Process was great during production. Great communication, only 5 week lead time BUT…. I had issues with length being 1/8th inch too long so it was resting on rim of tank and they went MIA. Ignored multiple emails. Once they got the money - transaction was done for them the minute it shipped. Zero acknowledgment of my issues/concerns. I just took it to a local plastic shop to have it sanded down to fit. Extra $125 down the drain….

 

[Waters]

I have just ordered my second lid from them.....very high quality. The first one lasted through 4 or 5 rescreens (couple of years). The ordering process does take a while but that is the case with most of the higher quality lid manufacturers.

 

[mfinn]

Process was great during production. Great communication, only 5 week lead time BUT…. I had issues with length being 1/8th inch too long so it was resting on rim of tank and they went MIA. Ignored multiple emails. Once they got the money - transaction was done for them the minute it shipped. Zero acknowledgment of my issues/concerns. I just took it to a local plastic shop to have it sanded down to fit. Extra $125 down the drain….

I ordered a lid from them several years ago. There were issues with it and I contacted them and while it did take a couple months to resolve the issues, they did step up and fix the problem.
During the entire process there were a few times that they weren't able to get back to me right away.
It was explained to me that they didn't have a phone/email answering person.
It was a 1 man operation and he was busy making tops, filling orders.
Sometimes these companies operate on their schedule, not ours.