Who all uses lids on their Reef?

[LadyMac]

I’ve always wondered; do the fish realize there’s a cover? Or do they jump anyway, and just smack into the lid, keepers nonethewiser?

I keep Wild betta fish so glass is necessary for those. Yes they still jump. You can hear them in another room and depending on the glass lid used sometimes you’ll hear the lid pop up some. I’ve not lost anyone from the initial bumping but I have learned to cut that plastic strip to almost exact size and shape to accommodate the filter tubing of the canister filters. They can squeeze through some extremely tiny gaps and some of these fish are quite expensive.

As of right now I don’t have a lid on the sw tank. Luckily the clowns are staying put though I do worry. I want a glass canopy but finding one for a 40 breeder is difficult. It doesn’t have the center brace which makes it that much harder.

 

[Reefer Deez]

I dint want to say it but so far I've been really lucky and only have had my Diamond goby jump out wile I was feeding. A shrimp came by the goby and he went straight out of the top he hit the tile hard and didn't move I figured for sure he was dead. I picked him up and put him in the water and he kind of floated towards his cave very slowly. Once inside the cave he hid for around 4 or 5 days. On the last day I went to the store to find another one but they were sold out. I came home to do a water change and by my surprise he was out swimming and sifting sand. Now I have a few wrasses that are known jumpers so I just purchased a Clearview lid from artfully acrylic.

 

[divewsharks]

You're keeping a 24x24" cube, right?

The price for my 60" x 30" system is a bit higher

I have a mesh lid from Octo on my 60 x 24, with feed door; it was about ~$200 shipped.

 

[divewsharks]

I use egg-crate from home depot. Sold in the lighting department. Stops jumpers i clean it of salt whenever i notice a build up with a hose. Cut outs made with snips.

I had a 4" laboutei wrasse go through 1/2" mesh top. got excited and went right through. I happened to see it as I was sitting in the room at the time. I immediately built a new top using 1/4" mesh.

 

[divewsharks]

I’ve always wondered; do the fish realize there’s a cover? Or do they jump anyway, and just smack into the lid, keepers nonethewiser?

My wrasses frequently smack the lid (luckily soft 1/4' mesh), at feeding time they get quite excited.

 

[mta_morrow]

I just installed a Red Sea DIY screen top on my reefer 525. About 5 minutes after a friend of mine and I screened the kid and put it on, my 4” long orange spot goby darted to the opposite side of the tank where the cutout is for the auto feeder and shot straight up through the feeder cup, about 12” above the tank, and onto the floor.

We just looked at each other like, “did that just really happen”?

My friend grabbed the goby and put him back in the tank.

Haven’t seen Obi Wan the Goby near the feeder since.

 

[Gareth elliott]

I had a 4" laboutei wrasse go through 1/2" mesh top. got excited and went right through. I happened to see it as I was sitting in the room at the time. I immediately built a new top using 1/4" mesh.

About 2 years ago i had a clown do the same thing, except it happened while i was sleeping . Not sure if went through the spaces or entered the weir and jumped from there.
The irony is i put the eggcrate for a fire fish which ive never seen get any where near the top of the tank. Finally repaired the female a few months ago. I did add a few lines of fishing line around the edges. Drilled holes on each end wrapped around a third square and tied taught.

 

[reefwiser]

Used egg crate before some one thought up the screen top. Great idea works great would not have a tank with out one.

 

[Gladmaker]

I seem to be the only one that does not use a top. I have a glass top that I used several months last year until the summer. My tank got too hot so I pulled it off and never put it back on. I don't have a sump so my filter and skimmer are hob so that leaves an opening in the back. I have 2 lights that sit on the tank so if I used the top, I would have to remove at least one light to feed, etc. So far, I haven't had any jumpers. I make sure I don't buy known jumpers knowing that any fish can jump but some are more prone to do so. One of the previous posts said I was irresponsible, but I disagree. If I had an expensive fish that was a known jumper, then I would put a cover on it. If what I have should start jumping, I would attempt to figure what has changed to cause it and try to correct that or just cover them. It's now been about 10 months with no cover and no jumping out. My evaporation went way up, so I added an ATO. I use about 5 gallons a week on a 75 gallon tank so that's fresh water that's being added every day. Overall my tank is healthier then it was before. A side benefit is that I no longer have to use a humidifier in the house.

 

[Javier Leon]

I just got the RedSea lid and it looks amazing in my RedSea Max S-650 LED and I have another one made from BRS that’s is actually doing the job right

 

[Bob Escher]

I use a BRS. I left mine off one day after feeding and not paying attending and a firefish jumped out never noticed it

 

[dsh92056]

I use brs mesh lid. Looking at getting a custom made lid with cutouts.

 

[Ironwill723]

Clear mesh lids on my 220g.

 

[Marc88]

I use egg-crate from home depot. Sold in the lighting department. Stops jumpers i clean it of salt whenever i notice a build up with a hose. Cut outs made with snips.

Do you have a picture. I'm curious how it looks.

 

[Ironwill723]

Egg-crate's holes are too big for some smaller fish. I've lost firefish and diamond gobies through egg-crate.

 

[Shad Quill]

I had my cube built with lids in it. ... dang cats... this style makes scaping tricky but I'm happy with it over all.

 

[DeniseAndy]

In 30+ years I've never even thought of a fish fracturing its spine when running into a glass top , they do also run into the sides of the tank and never seen them break a spine. Has anyone actually ever had a fish that slammed into the top or side of there tank and actually broke there spine? Not stirring things up just wondering if it's really ever happened and is it physically possible in a tank and how you would know aside from an X-ray machine?;Nurse

Answer: yes. My yellow coris wrasse jumped so far and hard that he actually damaged his spine. I think this was before I had true lids and only mess around so they could not jump out, still up. Hit my light. It lived and eventually recovered. It swam with only pectorals and just dragged the back for many many months.

I have used the clear mesh and liked it a lot. I used just regular framing from home depot for it and made my own. After replacing it a few times (salt creep will eat away at the mesh), I have been lazy and just threw up some egg crate currently. I have all large fish (smallest a lawmower blenny) in my 210g, so it works fine. If I were to get smaller fish again, I would remake my mesh one.

I have just a piece of acrylic over the 40g and my 5 has a little cover. The 6g does not require one as the opening is small and luckily no fish in there that jump. Otherwise I throw a mesh over the 6x6" top.

 

[mckinney0171]

BRS mesh. lost too many fish when it wasn't on. wouldn't do without it.

 

[Branespikin]

Artfully Acrylic on my reefer 250. I do perfer without lid but when you got expensive fish you gotta do what ya gotta do to keep them in the tank.
Nice lids

 

[CindyKz]

DIY mesh. I won't keep fish without it.