Hiya, I've been playing around with the idea of removing my glass lid off my 46 bowfront and replacing it with eggcrate. Will I be able to put my current nova t5-s on the eggcrate or should I get legs for it so it sits off the eggcrate? What will removing the lid do to the balance of my tank besides more evaporation? Kim
I wouldn't sit the light directly on the eggcrate. Removing the glass tops will allow better air flow and your tank will run cooler
Removing the glass lid well also greatly help in the water surface gas exchange. Yes remove them and be ready for your evaporation to increase quite a bit, on a 46 I would guess about 1 to1 1/2 gals. a day, so be ready to add water daily so the salinity doesn't change greatly as that well be very stressful to the corals and well most likely kill some fish as they can take salinity changes down fairly easy but not up. That could be one of your issues on you open brain thread, the tank needs to breath as it well make alot of gases in a salt water tank with corals. Don't set you light on the eggcrate. I would read the thread started by Bigben7 in the DIY forum titled "All in one screen top", he has a very good idea to keep fish from jumping out. I didn't think it was at first but didn't realize he wasn't using eggcrate over the whole top as that would block out to much light, but the way he used it as a frame is a pretty good idea. If I was going to build a top cover that is the way I would do it, eggcrate well cut to much light out, only I would use just one layer of the mesh.
another point here is that if you are running glass tops and your ph is that high it is very likely to increase even higher once all the carbon dioxide leaves the water and is replaced with fresh o2. your actual ph could end up being closer to or over 9 once its all said and done.
I doubt that it well happen that fast Jason, but do a couple water changes and keep an eye on it, good point though.
Well, I've talked to my hubby and he's going to help me cut some eggcrate for the front of the tank. My lid is split and doesn't work correctly so we'll be exposing the curved section of the bowfront to help improve gas exchange. Unless you feel this won't be good enough. Kim
You can eggcrate the whole top if you want to, the gas well escape with no problem through the eggcrate fine. It is the effect it well have in restricting the lighting from getting through to the corals. Eggcrates purpose is to diffuse light in overhead lighting, it is sold in the hardware stores in the lighting section as a diffuser. That is why Ben used the eggcrate for a frame and the mesh wire tied to it so as not to cut down on the light. Look at the pics in the thread.
Hiya, I read Ben's thread and have asked a few questions. That's certainly something I think we can do. The tank came with an eggcrate cover cut out for it when I won it. I just haven't utilized it. Kim
