# Pros and Cons on a lid less aquarium



## Elliot

What are the Pros and Cons of a lid less aquarium? Rimmed just without a lid... I'll ask more questions according to the replies.


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## Moody636

The main pro for me is that I can hang my light higher to decrease intensity. Also, I do not feel like buying a glass top and having to constantly clean it.

One drawback is that fish can jump out. Also, debris, cats, dust, etc. can wind up in the tank.


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## TeamTeal

fishes jumping out? 
evaporation?


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## jreich

cons:
evap
dust
kamakazi fish

pro:
nothing but water to decrease ligh intensity
looks nicer
dont have to clean the stinkin lid constantly
better air exchange at the surface


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## sink

jreich said:


> cons:
> evap
> dust
> kamakazi fish
> 
> pro:
> nothing but water to decrease ligh intensity
> looks nicer
> dont have to clean the stinkin lid constantly
> better air exchange at the surface


+pro:
plants can grow/flower out of tank


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## jreich

sink said:


> +pro:
> plants can grow/flower out of tank


cons:
i never had that happen (yet) :icon_frow


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## wkndracer

main draw back for me is the evaporation
here in fla we run the AC most of the time
40B tank drops about an inch every couple days


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## duff

Cons: nerites and amanos strike out into the world on their own and the risk of jumping fish

Pros: clean look, air circulation, no cleaning the top

Somewhere in the middle: Acrylic tank with a 2in rim. I have that now and love that it keeps my nerites and amanos in their proper place but I don't have much of a lid to worry about and no fish loss to date from jumping.


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## Heartnet

Adding to the list of escapees: snails.

Dried up snail shells littered around the tank is not a pleasant thing to look at. Except if you're into collecting them. 

My trumpet snails are notorious for climbing over the rim of the tank and falling, where they will eventuallu dry up.

Sent from my X10a using Tapatalk


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## TactusMortus

wkndracer said:


> main draw back for me is the evaporation
> here in fla we run the AC most of the time
> 40B tank drops about an inch every couple days


Cons:
+1 for evaporation being a con in Florida. I hate it to because I already have liquid rock. Then I have to constantly top off so the hardness only goes up.

Jumping fish although i have been lucky and the only fish I ever had jump was upon introducing him into the tank. He was not liking the water parameters apparently. I made a makeshift lid for the tank for a few days and haven't had an issue since.

Pros:
Feeding fish is easier
Looks
Air Exchange
For some the cooling factor if your room runs a bit hot


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## jreich

pro: keeps humidity up in winter especially with forced hot air 



i have had amanos, and ACF escape with a lid on


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## DogFish

Pros: Just looks more real
Easier maint., & feeding
Fish Suicide Jumpers, eliminates the stupid fish from the gene pool

Cons: Heating, we keep the house pretty cool in winter 60 days if were aren't home.
Up to 68 at night. So the heater works overtime. This year I'm going to cut 
a sheet of Lexan to use as lids.


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## bsmith

Every tank I have is lidless. I think they just look much better. If you are keeping your tank water temp in the mid to lower 70's then evaporation shouldn't be too bad but just remember that if you just keep topping it off with tap water you will be slowly raising the hardness and also in most cases, the pH of the water too. To be safe when topping off it is best to use RO or some sort of purified water as this will keep the water chemistry pretty much the same. 

Fish can and will jump out some are just more suicidal than others. Since your not injecting co2 you won't have to worry about a mass jump off due to having the co2 concentration too high which does happen from time to time. 

Having to constantly clean the glass would be a major turn off to me. If you don't clean it you will end up cutting your light intensity by 50% or more due to all of the build up and deposits left behind. 

I say, say no to lids!


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## Guyver

Cons:
Splash screen of the light needs to be cleaned more often unless you're the master of reducing surface agitation.

Injected CO2 gasses out of the tank more easily.


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## Realistik84

Since so many claim that one of the cons is fish jumping out - wouldnt it be easy enough to put a screen on the top? 

Would be easy to pull off a section for feeding...?


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## TactusMortus

Screens are known to reduce lighting. Also thought I should mention this thread has cursed me I never had a jumper until I posted on here and all of a sudden i have had three jumpers in three days. I have checked all my water parameters and nothing has changed.


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## speedie408

Realistik84 said:


> Since so many claim that one of the cons is fish jumping out - wouldnt it be easy enough to put a screen on the top?
> 
> Would be easy to pull off a section for feeding...?


After installing my screen mesh, I've lost zero fish. Plus with a screen mesh you don't have to worry about nasty condensation that turns into calcium build up that's a pain to remove. I feed my fish straight through the screen as well as dose my dry ferts. It's a win win IMO.


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## Realistik84

speedie408 said:


> After installing my screen mesh, I've lost zero fish. Plus with a screen mesh you don't have to worry about nasty condensation that turns into calcium build up that's a pain to remove. I feed my fish straight through the screen as well as dose my dry ferts. It's a win win IMO.


In response to TactusMortus post above, did you notice any light drop-off?

(Although I suppose that may be difficult to measure....)


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## speedie408

TactusMortus said:


> Screens are known to reduce lighting. Also thought I should mention this thread has cursed me I never had a jumper until I posted on here and all of a sudden i have had three jumpers in three days. I have checked all my water parameters and nothing has changed.


Don't mean to LOL but I think it's time to invest in a mesh top bro. :icon_lol: sorry. 



Realistik84 said:


> In response to TactusMortus post above, did you notice any light drop-off?
> 
> (Although I suppose that may be difficult to measure....)


Not significant at all. I have a TEK 4x54W fixture which I'm only running 2 bulbs, currently suspended about 11" from the top. I use 1/4" mesh which is perfect to keep in anything from a rummynose tetra up. Anything smaller is fair game with Mr Carpet.


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## wetworks

Pros: wider variety of ways to install lights, not limited to equipment that will fit into the tiny space allotted by hoods and covers, air circulation, ease of access to tank, plants can grow out of water, better light distribution

Cons: shrimps can jump out, snails will sometimes climb out, some fish I like to keep are jumpers, my cats like to get into my aquariums, it is far easier for airborne contaminants (such as cat hair, cleaners, etc) to get into tank, water loss through evaporation (I also live in Florida)


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## DogFish

Well if only the fish that are "smart" enough to stay in the water breed, you should have no more suicide attempts after say F2 or F3.
roud:


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## Patriot

I lost a shrimp because he decided to climb out.


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## CaliEAB

I like the look of no lid with a Rimless tank otherwise a glass canopy is nice. Our water is hard as nails so evaporation leaves alot of minerals. Can reduce that lovely lake smell for sensitive wives/husbands that tanks can get as they settle out.


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## Mr_Bubbles

I would think one pro would be the ability to have equipment hooked up on the sides of the tank rather then the back.

I have giant danios and without a lid, they will jump out, lost 1 this way before i had tops, had another jump out but was able to save it


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## tlq123

Thanks for the information,just found this post my technorati news feed section! I was searching for this since past 3 months and i am glad to see it here. Thanking you much


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## firefiend

I'll just kinda repeat what others have said. 

I prefer topless because I like my plants to grow out of the tank, the tank looks more aesthetically pleasing to me and I have better control of my lighting; my HoB filter can sit on the side of the tank instead of the back.

The cons: Fish can possible jump out (though I've actually never had this happen to me since my goldfish 20+ years ago. Apple snails occasionally like to stroll around my living room (this happened just the other day; found him 5ft from the tank, haha.) Debris and dust is more likely to get into the tank (though this doesn't tend to be a big problem for me).


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## m4s4mur4

once in awhile i see one of my dog's hairs floating in my tank and i just let it go. but when i woke up yesterday morning i noticed a spider floating in the tank.... i quickly pulled him out with a fish net and noticed he was still alive. quickly fed him to the cichlid. anyways, i have a heavily planted tank and i'm concerned if a spider or other insect dies. i mean i'm pretty sure one of my neons died in that jungle and the ghost shrimp and plant roots took care of it. should i be worried?


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## Zefrik

I have to put an old piece of glass from a desk to keep my danios in. I left it off one night and found three danios dried up on the floor. The glass is getting harder and harder to clean though so I am going to have to figure something else out. I don't have any inverts so no problem there. We need a list of fish that are safe for open top tanks!


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## AirstoND

DogFish said:


> Pros: Just looks more real
> Easier maint., & feeding
> Fish Suicide Jumpers, eliminates the stupid fish from the gene pool
> 
> Cons: Heating, we keep the house pretty cool in winter 60 days if were aren't home.
> Up to 68 at night. So the heater works overtime. This year I'm going to cut
> a sheet of Lexan to use as lids.


 
I think Lexan or acrylic will warp depending on thickness. I am considering using strips of glass.


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