All-In-One Screen Top

Ok, so I will start off by saying that I am NOT a big DIY person at all. However, necessity is the mother of invention....

I have a BC 29 all in one tank which I run open top. I have a 20" Sunpod 150W metal halide fixture on top. This is a very popular combination in the world of nano reefs. This makes for a really cool look, and I have enjoyed it for the past 3 months, as I have been letting my reef mature, working on getting my chemistry and maintenance routines in order, and trying my hand at growing a handful of frags. Up to this point, there has been no reason to worry about the open top because I haven't added any fish yet.



Many of the popular and common types of fish are known jumpers including: wrasses, gobies, even clownfish have been known to take the plunge. Well, I knew that I wanted to protect my investment, so I started investigating possibilities. I scoured nano-reef and RC trying to find some solutions, but couldn't find any. So, I decided to make one myself.

The following were used (all available from Home Depot):

1 sheet of egg crate (could make 2 from one sheet)
1 Easy gardener bird block net (enough to make 10+)
1 pack of small zip ties




First, I cut an egg crate frame out using side cutters to fit the top of the tank:




Next I cut out the middle section of the egg crate frame:




Then, I took three layers of the netting laid on top of each other, cut slightly larger than the egg crate frame. I attached these to the frame using zip ties:




Finally, I clipped off the zip ties, and cut off the excess netting:




Here is a picture of the finished product with the light fixture on the tank:




And finally, one with the fixture removed:




I don't believe that I will have any jumpers with this setup, though it could be slightly more attractive. It is not distracting or unattractive, but it is white egg crate on top of a black tank with black light fixture. The egg crate could certainly be painted black, and I may do so down the road. I hope this helps, and if anyone has any suggestions for improvements, please feel free to add them.

 

Your idea looks okay, except I would only use one layer ot the bird netting if any, as it is you are really cutting down on the amount of lighting over the reef. Even just plain eggcrate well diminish the lighting some and having that birdnetting and layered is really not a good idea. The setup you have is often used to acclimate the reef and corals when switching to MH lighting from floresonce. I would not be so worried about the fish jumping unless you have some small children that might be prone to startling them, even so the eggcrate alone well do the job, and you can buy black eggcrate, do a search on line, I bought some once years back to build supports for LR in a BB setup, I think I paid $16 a 4x2 sheet. I would highly advise against painting it. cheers

 

looks good ben. i think one layer would probably do the trick as well. if you do decide to paint it make sure its something safe like krylon fusion.

 

Im going to have to disagree on this one. First of all, I have a Stonobiops yasha, or yasha goby, that you could easily fit two at a time through an eggcrate opening. I'm also going to have a McCosker's or similar wrasse, which can easily go through egg crate (check out nano-reef.com there are countless examples of both of these fish carpet surfing).

As far as light goes, I have seen light acclimation setups using common screen door material, starting with several layers and removing some each week to get the tank inhabitants acclimated to MH lighting. However, this material is much closer to monofilament fishing line, and I would say that the light blocking coverage is equal to less than 1/2 the blockage that would be caused by using one layer of screen door netting. I'm not worried about the small amount of light loss, as the light has thus far been more than adequate for this small of a setup (We're talking about an 18" X 18" X18" cube with 1-2" of sand on the bottom).

 

Get the club's PAR meter and measure before and after. Would answer any light questions.

 

Good work Ben & Jay that's a great suggestion!

 

It well depend on what corals you want to keep. I would not reccomend keeping acros. You may have to give something up to do the other. Good Luck.

 

Does anyone have tabs on the PAR meter? Can I get it next Saturday at Reef Fest?

I already have several acros in there that have been growing, so it will be very easy to tell how much impact the netting is having.

 

last i heard joe was asking for it. but i would like to be in line for it as well. i need to test my new setup

 

I believe Chris has the par meter.

 

I did not get it at the last meeting.

 

I have never had a fish jump out of my 24 gallon Aqua-pod. They have gotten into my overflow area when I put too much water into the tank though. I have since put a strip of egg crate along the top of the overflow area similar to what you did. The only difference is my cover is about 4", and no mesh. This allows light down into the tank still. I will post pics tomorrow.

 

I had one canary wrasse jump out 20 yrs ago and didn't catch it at the time. My brother and his family had stopped in and his little daughter was spooking the fish and it had to have happened then, haven't had an issue since, but I watch closely anytime there are kids around that that doesn't go on again. Even though you can fit 2 or 3 of these through the opening in the egg crate the odds of them jumping straight up vertically through one of the holes is not very high. Maybe the people on the web have kids or something around. I agree with Ralph that unless you have an agressive fish or spook the tank, you shouildn't have an issue. Also you do realize that eggcrate is used in floresences lighting to diffuse and soften it, that is its purpose, much less putting netting on top of it too.

 

Have you looked at the pictures in the thread? There is no eggcrate over the portion of the tank that the light is going into. Secondly, I have about 6 watts per gallon (I know this is not necessarily the best measure, but it has certainly been used in the past) of metal halide positioned roughly 4-6 inches above the waters surface. The only thing impeding the light from getting into the tank is a few panels of what is equivalent to about 2 pound test monofilament fishing line.

Look at the last picture of the sequence with the tank sans light. The egg crate would definitely impede quite a bit of light (see how much of the tank is not viewable below the egg crate) which would be a problem if this was in the "line of fire" of the halide, however it is not. Now, for comparison, look at the center portion, where the light reaches the tank. You can clearly see the rock work through this material. There is very little blockage, yet there is effective cover to keep any would be jumpers at bay.

Go to RC and check out the "shallow reef club" and the "rimless tank thread", and read spurs off of there. Escapage is in fact an issue in these types of setups. I have two very active dogs, and regularly have visitors in my house, any of which could spook a fish. I consider the top a piece of insurance on fish that are valuable.

If you don't like my design, please feel free not to make one of these tops.

 

Yes you're right didn't notice that before, it looks fine, hope it lets enough lite through. As you said with the dogs and other things you may need one. Good luck and keep us posted down the road as to how the acros are doing. It well be interesting to see how it works.

 

I would guess the lid just lays inside the rim of the tank and you have to lift it to feed or just remove it to do maintance.

 

Fishermann hit it. I take the top on and off to feed and dose, generally, once per night.

 

I think the cover was a great idea, surely the mono filament wont block to much light. My self If I could I would check it with the meter just to be on the safe side. Great DIY.