glass, egg crate?

[bkvreef]

I am building a canopy but I had planned on leaving my glass hood on.
I thought this would cut down on evaporation. However, would it better on water quality to just put the egg crates.
I don't have covering on my lights this I would be concerned about water on the bulbs, any suggestions

 

[chipmaker]

Egg crate is best if you just have to have a excape proof cover. Are y sure your even going to need it with a full hood? Nothing is bettter if you can especially if you have a full hood. Glass does nothing but add to salt creep problems.

 

[bkvreef]

Originally Posted by chipmaker
Egg crate is best if you just have to have a excape proof cover. Are y sure your even going to need it with a full hood? Nothing is bettter if you can especially if you have a full hood. Glass does nothing but add to salt creep problems.
Makes sense!
The back of my hood will be open.
I was more worried about the lights getting splashed. Any suggestions.

 

[azfishgal]

Originally Posted by bkvreef
Makes sense!
The back of my hood will be open.
I was more worried about the lights getting splashed. Any suggestions.
I have the same question, so very interested to see what others say. ***)

 

[extremepcs]

Originally Posted by bkvreef
Makes sense!
The back of my hood will be open.
I was more worried about the lights getting splashed. Any suggestions.
My lights have an acrylic cover to help keep water out. I'm in the process of building a canopy for my 125 and I'm going to have cleats/legs to keep the light 6-8" above the tank top. I think it'll be fine... as long as I don't drop in 20lb live rock from 5 feet up

My canopy will be open in the back (except for a brace) and have vents on the top, over the light fans. I'm not sure if I'm going to use eggcrate or not. I was going to use glass tops under the canopy, but after reading it sounds like a bad idea.

 

[cveverly]

I don't use any type of a cover and my lights stay dry and clean. My lights are about 7" over the water. I do all my water changing and top off in my sump so I don't have any splashing in my display.
I have used a strip of glass that was just wide enough to protect the bulbs but I ended up removing because it would condensate and cloud up.

 

[thegrog]

Eggcrate works great for keeping jumpers in.
The glass or plexiglass will only get salt creep on it and furthur cut down on the light that gets to your tank.
If you have a hood, then keep it open (or with eggcrate if worried about jumpers). Wiping down the lights should be a part of your weekly routine. One wipe with a soft cloth (when they are cool) should do the trick. You may want to try a very damp cloth (fresh water) if salt is stubborn.

 

[garnet13aj]

This sounds like an incredibly stupid question but is egg crate the carboard like container that eggs come in? I feel like I'm missing something when people say egg crate and don't understand how I'm supposed to use it to escape-proof my tank.

 

[slugg3r]

nope, egg crate is a lighting cover/diffuser. Basically a white plastic grid. You can find it in the lighting section of Home Depot or Loews. Comes in about a 4 foot by 2 foot panel and is easy to cut to any size using some wire cutters or something.

 

[watson3]

Originally Posted by SLUGG3R
nope, egg crate is a lighting cover/diffuser.
Essentially limiting the light to the inhabitants..How come noone is raising this point?

 

[f14peter]

Originally Posted by watson3
Essentially limiting the light to the inhabitants..How come noone is raising this point?
I would suspect because the egg-crate style isn't a full coverage diffuser . . . it's merely a grid with square holes (What, about 1/2 to 3/4 inches?).
It may limit some light, but only light hitting it at an angle . . . light hitting it from directly above has absolutely no obstruction, and because the egg-crate is only about 1/2 inch thick (If that, seems thinner), there's not much limiting even angled light. And, presuming a light set-up has multiple bulbs that span a fair amount front-to-back, there's essentially no blocking of the light.

 

[watson3]

An experiment waiting to happen

 

[slugg3r]

I've used a PAR meter on my tank and the egg crate does cut down on the light somewhat. I can't remember the amount but it was decently significant. It cuts down more so with MH lights as you get to the edge of their coverage area since the light is a point source. The light angle is much greater at the edges and therefore more of it is blocked.
However I still use it because it is important for me to keep my fish from jumping. I hate the feeling of coming home and finding a fish out of the tank. I would much rather have to oversize my lights or keep my high light corals more directly under the lights. But to me that is personal preference.