Alternative Tank Cover

raptor72

raptor72

Member
So, coming from the FW side of the house for the past 25 years, I'm used to having the top of my tank covered with glass. My SW tank was at 84 degrees and after talking to several people and reading forums, I removed the cover and brought it down to 80.
The thing is I'm leary of leaving the top just open. It's in the cycle mode right now (barely 1 week). I feel like it's better to have something there to keep things OUT and other things IN (fish, splashing water, etc...). What I was considering was getting one of those DIY window screen kits and replicating the dimensions of the glass and having a screen cover with a section like the glass that swings up. Any thoughts on this? I do have a canopy over the tank by the way.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member

All that is going to do is collect salt and creep. You have to take a deep breath and say to yourself…this is a saltwater tank and it needs to be open. The top needs to move and “boil” to add the needed oxygen in the tank, gone are the bubble wands, glass tops and just tossing in any fish because it looks pretty and costing $1.29 each..
Also gone are the days of removing all the fish to buckets and washing the tank out of algae, and vacuuming the substraight, now you have a cleaning crew to do the tank work for you.
A freshwater tank is not a saltwater tank, they are not kept the same way.
 
raptor72

raptor72

Member
Not the same indeed. I'm going to have to get used to a whole new way of doing things I see. I was never really meticulous about water quality and testing frequently, but I see that if I want to succeed in this, I'd better learn.
As long as I have your attention, I just brought home about 5 pounds of live sand from a friend's tank to help seed mine. Should I scatter this into the new gravel, put it into some nylons to contain the sand, place it into the Refug.?
Thanks again.
 
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