Thinking Of Going Open Top

[eschaton]

I'm soon upgrading my 40-gallon to a 55 gallon, and shifting from DIY CO2 to using a tank. I'm also strongly considering not buying a glass lid to allow better light penetration.

My stock is a bit attenuated now for various reasons, but I'm almost certainly going to have the following in the tank when I restock

6 Pseudomugl Gertrudae
6 Glowlight Danios
6 Ember Tetras
1 Siamese Algae Eater
3 Otocinclus
6 Corydoras Habrosus
2 Peacock Gudgeons
Cherry Shrimp
Amano Shrimp

I'm worried that something or another will jump ship, even if I keep water parameters perfect. Anyone have any experiences to share?

 

[DevUK]

No real experience I'm afraid, but danios have been known to jump ship. Also, I believe shrimp are quite good escape artists when they want to be.

That being said, people do successfully keep very nice open top aquariums.

 

[Davo86]

Yep spot on DevUK, the shrimp could simply end up anywhere, and yes the danios could well end up jumping out due to their skitish nature

 

[Meds081603]

Yep spot on DevUK, the shrimp could simply end up anywhere, and yes the danios could well end up jumping out due to their skitish nature

I'm with these guys. I have giant danios and zebra danios that I get worried about when I open the lid for feeding time. I've found ghost shrimp laying on the floor next to tanks too many times to count.

 

[CFC]

The other problem is condenation, youd be amazed at just how much water is lost through an open top tank and all that lost water ends up soaking into the walls and furniture in your house.

 

[stef_uk]

Both my tanks are open topped and the only casualty i've had so far was 1 cory that jumped and hit itself on the lighting unit injuring itself and later dying.
I do get a lot more evaporation with the open tops but a daily top up as well as weekly water changes solves that,and not to forget that dust and any airborne sprays will get to the water more easily.

That said,i'd never go back to having lids on.

 

[australia]

i dont reccomend it, as i have had tanks with no lids on them and i have lost alot of water from evaporation

 

[Inchworm]

The other problem is condenation, youd be amazed at just how much water is lost through an open top tank and all that lost water ends up soaking into the walls and furniture in your house.

CFC is absolutely right and beat me to answering this one. If you have a number of tanks, even well covered ones, you can actually feel the difference in the humidity when you enter your home. This is not good and can cause mold to form and metal to corrode. It's best to reduce it in any way you can.

I once had to send a camera into the shop for expensive repairs, because the insides corroded. Needless to say, I no longer leave it on my desk or in the fish room, but store it away in its case, inside a closet.

 

[Mikaila31]

I have one open top tank and so far I really like it. It is only a 2.5 gal tank, it was originally stocked with a betta, 2 adf, and some cherry shrimp. Ironically the betta is the only one left.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Amanos can crawl a surprisingly long way across the carpet after they've made their escape. Get back in the tank they can not!

 

[Dave Spencer]

I won`t have anything other than open topped tanks now, for aesthetic reasons.

You do need to consider the use of aerosols around the tank though, as in no aerosols are to be sprayed in the room at any time.

I keep Amanos and find that they do not jump out of my tanks as a rule. The only time I had one jump was when I had my CO2 too high.

I need to top off the water on my little 26l fairly often, but I have very soft tap water and this tank has 50% water changes every three days.

A fish room would most likely experience condensation and mould problems, but I have a 60l and 26l in my living room and don`t notice any kind of rise in the humidity of the room.

It`s down to personal taste, and researching to find fish that are prone to jumping. I have Rasbora dorsiocellata, Otocinclus sp, Hyphessobrycon amandae and Caridina multidentata in my two open topped tanks and they never jump provided the water parameters are fine.

Dave.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

I have a 60l and 26l in my living room

A 55g is a 200 liter tank. That's really not a good comparison when it comes to water vapor issues.

If your primary concern is light penetration, then you might want to consider getting a mesh wire top for a reptile tank and using that. To reduce evaporation, you can get some glass sheeting to lay over the wires on either side of your light fixture or you could simply apply a very thin layer of silicone over all the areas exposed by your light fixture. You might also want to consider getting a dehumidifier for the room, although that might just aggravate the rate of evaporation. (Evaporation is a function of the vapor pressure and the temperature; materials always want to maintain a certain vapor pressure at a given temperature. I've never really sat down and done the math on how a dehumidifier would affect the rate. It would, however, help concentrate condensation away from your walls and furnishings, thereby alleviating the effects of evaporation if not the issue itself.)

That being said, the nice 3' compact fluorescent fixture that I got for my 50g is a fully enclosed unit anyways; I have a suspicion that I'm not losing much additional light by sitting it flush against a glass surface. And the solid glass top (my first) looks really nice and "clean" with my aluminum fixture.

 

[Dave Spencer]

A 55g is a 200 liter tank. That's really not a good comparison when it comes to water vapor issues.

You are right, but it wasn`t really intended as a direct comparison.

I know of many open topped planted tanks around 200l mark where humidity isn`t an issue for the owners. Everybody has different experiences, but I intend setting up a 240l open topped tank in the not too distant future, and the humidity of the room has never been a real consideration to be honest.

None of the owners of the open topped tanks I am familiar with have ever mentioned the humidity or any appearance of mould. Some of them make a living out of setting up tanks for clients in restaurants, offices etc.

Dave.

 

[arvlyn]

I've always kept my tanks completely covered. Mainly the the evaporation and escapee issue...I've had fish get out of just the small open spaces in the hood where the filter tubes and cords go. I also see the amount of dust, cat and dog hair and who knows what else that collects on the hoods, I don't want that in my tanks.

 

[cuticom]

I have 2 open topped 55's, an open topped 30 and an open topped 20, all in the same room. I prefer open tops as I can grow emergent plants out of them, which looks great and also helps with nitrates. I don't have any humidity problems inside the room, theres no mold etc, and you certainly can't feel any humidity.

You still need to be careful about jumping fish, but I spread Elodea, duckweed or other floating plants across the top, and haven't had a problem with any fish jumping. Though if a fish is well know for jumping (Paradise fish, Bettas) I won't put them in an open topped tank.

There is some evaporation, but an extra half bucket of water once a week is all thats required.