Hoodless Tank

[Daveo]

Well I am currently setting up an old tank that I had to tare down a while back. I'm really looking forward to getting back into the life style and now that I'm a few years older and actually have a JOB I will be going all out so that I can have live plants.

Hopefully I can get some pictures to journal the tanks progress, so far its just a stand and tank (all the parts are on the way YAY!)

Anyways I plan to hold a shoal of cardinal tetras and maybe some glass catfish. I would like to not have a hood on the tank because I just don't want to so I wanted to know how many of you out there don't use hoods for the tank and have had success with that?


~Daveo

 

[jonnyf84]

do you mean your going to have a luminaire or no light/hood what so ever?

 

[xxBarneyxx]

I had a planted tank with tetras and a few other fish that was open topped and didnt have any problems. You will notice a big difference in how much water evaporates though and if you have any fish that are likely to jump (danios for example) then I would recommend covering it (maybe with a glass or acrylic cover).

 

[jonny_dw]

You should be fine with cardinals, as far as I know they dont jump. But as said, you'll get alot more evapouration with no hood.

 

[fish.com1]

I find with my partially covered tank (lid didn't fit properly) that there is always lots of dust on the surface of the water and it also gets caught in fine leaved plants. I cut some perspex though to fit the tank properly and it is fine now. Oh and by the way the water evaporate fast in open topped tanks.

 

[Daveo]

do you mean your going to have a luminaire or no light/hood what so ever?

I will definitely have lights. It will be just slightly over 3wpg

 

[jonnyf84]

then as above, you'll get some dust, the odd fly or spider (which the fish will eat), evaporation will happen but not enough to be a problem, depending on temp a small top up every 5 days of so will be fine. 3wpg is quite high - i take it you will be providing co2?

 

[MermaidMel]

Personally, I find open top tanks a pain. The water evaporates quicker and a whole lot of dirt gets in and invariably some fish will may escape.

 

[Daveo]

then as above, you'll get some dust, the odd fly or spider (which the fish will eat), evaporation will happen but not enough to be a problem, depending on temp a small top up every 5 days of so will be fine. 3wpg is quite high - i take it you will be providing co2?

Yes I will be providing CO2 I'll be running the Nutrafin CO2 system with the DIY mix laid out by George Farmer.

After hearing all of your thoughts I think I will get a glass canopy for the top to avoid dust and the adventurous fish jumping out.

 

[Nick16]

i think everyone is over exagerating the dust thing tbh. i run open top tanks and its not a problem and my room (being a 16 yr old) is soo dusty. as long as you dont blunder about near the tank and kick up tonnes of dust or fluff you will be fine. i dont mind adding some new water every 3-4 days as i know it provides some airation and some nice clean water in between W/C

 

[MermaidMel]

i think everyone is over exagerating the dust thing tbh. i run open top tanks and its not a problem and my room (being a 16 yr old) is soo dusty. as long as you dont blunder about near the tank and kick up tonnes of dust or fluff you will be fine. i dont mind adding some new water every 3-4 days as i know it provides some airation and some nice clean water in between W/C

Haha I like this comment. Because I am a mum, running a house, I have enough to do without faffing about doing extra work on tanks that, if they were covered, wouldn't cause me that work. Typical 16 year old!! You would sooo change your mind if you were a mum lol

 

[Syphoniera]

Actually, a fair number of people do seem to have open-topped tanks without problems, and I recall coming across a DIY 'fish fence' design, although I don't remember where.
If you have a plastered/stuccoed ceiling shedding on everything beneath, this wouldn't be advisable, I suppose...

 

[MermaidMel]

Actually, a fair number of people do seem to have open-topped tanks without problems, and I recall coming across a DIY 'fish fence' design, although I don't remember where.
If you have a plastered/stuccoed ceiling shedding on everything beneath, this wouldn't be advisable, I suppose...

I think depends a lot on the general activity around the tank. I have 2 wild kids under 5, so dust is stirred a lot in my house, I sometimes have to hoover in certain places twice a day... you can only imagine. I guess if nobody moves much around the tank or the room its in, other than veg and watch t.v. or surf the net, then the dust literally settles and stays settled.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

hmm must admit I have never had problems with dust on either my planted tank or my marine tank (both open topped). My marine tank is in the entrance to my living room as well so fair amount of foot traffic past it (though I dont have kids and I'm only here in the evenings which might explain it ) . You do have to be careful if you are spraying anything in the wrong (such as air fresheners).

 

[Daveo]

Thanks for the insight guys!

I think considering I have a curious Kitten that will feel the need to explore the aquarium once its up again I will keep a glass canopy on it. My main concern was it blocking light from getting to the tank but if that isn't a problem then I am set.