Greater gas exchange, evaporative cooling, and if you are like me and use kalk it means you can dose more kalk.
Its a matter of tank design and preference. Other than a dropoff tank I had and a 93g cube- Every tank ive had had a canopy including current one. Ive Never had problems with access or maintenance or adding and removing coral. Maintenance will be how hard You make it with a canopy.
That is a beautiful set up!!!Its a matter of tank design and preference. Other than a dropoff tank I had and a 93g cube- Every tank ive had had a canopy including current one. Ive Never had problems with access or maintenance or adding and removing coral. Maintenance will be how hard You make it with a canopy.
Ten years ago there is no way I would have a canopy. MH, t-5’s or PC put out way too much heat, so unless you ran a chiller, evaporation was the main cooling method.It's due to the modern LED lighting that has taken hold in the hobby over the last 10 years. Before LED lights were a thing most Reef systems did indeed have a canopy or lid. The hobby follows trends and the manufacturers have pushed led lights relentlessly even though older forms of lighting were generally better for your corals.
I too would much rather have a tank with a sealed lid but getting enough light for SPS corals was preventing me from going that route. But if your only want to grow soft corals and lps a freshwater tank with T5 fluorescents under the hood, converted to have a sump would work just fine. My next tank will likely be a converted Juwel rio 450, not sure if you can get those in the USA though.
Custom made or purchased somewhere? I have had too many losses to the magic carpet ride and have decided I need to add something. My issue is, my setup and what is hanging on the back is different than the next person's. That is why I am asking if you made it or bought it somewhere? Any info is appreciated
Curious, is that because it's a faster way to regulate the conditions in the water tank? If the home has low humidity (typical of northern locations during winter) the evaporative loss to the ambient has minimal effect on tank conditions, no?
Yeah, especially now with high efficiency DC pumps and LED lighting heat input may primarily come from the ambient. I can do some calcs but a typical DC pumps barely raises the heat input (0.5F per hour of operation) which would be balanced out by the ambient room temperature.
Unless there's some kind of screen I can't see it seem like light diffuser wouldn't work for small fish. Also being a "light diffuser it will block any light coming in at an angle.Purchased from Lowe’s, easy to cut with a fine blade jigsaw around any opening.
