# Pros and cons of lids, solid vs mesh



## Crayon (Apr 13, 2014)

We all agree lids are mandatory. In the last week alone, I have had 3 separate lid incidents.
My blue spot jaw fish found the only 3/4" diameter finger hole in my new system and jumped.
My 4 year old yellow clown goby jumped through the crack between the lid and the tank and turned into a crispy critter.
Yesterday, we packed down the 30 gallon nano tank, took all the rock and livestock out and moved it to the new place. Left 2" of unheated water in the bottom of the tank with the mucky sand bed and were gone for the day setting up stuff in the new place.
I came home to find my 5 year old cleaner wrasse had jumped from the big system and was sitting in the 2" of cold water in the 30 gallon. I had forgotten to close the lid on the big tank. After an hour acclimation float, he was back swimming around like nothing happened. Thank fully.
I hear fish hit my lids almost every day.
So are lids optional? Not at all.

However there is a discussion of solid vs mesh lids. I think both have benefits.
I use mesh lids in the summer to let the heat out. Evaporation goes way up, and I have to top off about 10 gallons a week on a 250 system. Water splashes through and I spend more time cleaning the glass from water marks.
Mesh lids allow me to use an auto feeder with pellets right through the mesh.
The frames are the brown aluminum stuff from Home Depot, the kits to make screens for windows. They get coroded but they work. They are nice and light. I made the lids using the 1/4" clear mesh from BRS which is the only mesh I would use.

In the winter, I use solid lids. It keeps the heat in. I get less evaporation. I actually prefer the solid lids as it means my house is more stable for humidity and our shop tools don't rust.

I don't worry about the condensation, but I do give them a clean every now and then to get rid of salt marks. Having solid lids is sort of like having a centre brace on a tank, it does cut down a small amount of light, which is easily accommodated in the light settings.

The other comment about solid lids which gets referenced is the idea that they prevent gas exchange or don't provide oxygen. If a system was an all in one, completely closed system, I can see this being an issue. However, I have a kick ass skimmer which brings air into the water column and there is enough 'leakiness' in the lids because of finger holes, or corner cuts for feeding tubes, or cuts for drain pipes that I don't worry about it.

I have used solid lids on my tanks for 4 years with no issue that I can see for eithe fish or corals.

We made our new solid lids from 3/8" polycarbonate, which is way overkill, but they stay flat. I have to make an autofeeder 3" diameter hole, which will get mesh glued into the hole so no one jumps.

I am going to try and use the solid lids as much as possible, as I prefer not increasing the humidity in the house. This may require adding a chiller to the system for the summer, which I sort of expected, as the tank temperature keeps rising too high. I prefer to keep the tanks at 76, but in the summer they always seem to be up around 80 even with mesh lids.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

What works for other systems is up to you, as long as a lid is part of the plan. It's like a fence for a dog. Keeps our fish safe.


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## aaron86 (Jan 1, 2012)

Clear mesh top doesn't restrict the light and stops jumpers 


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

John has some sweeeet tools. Slotting a section/sections of the polyC lids will help with heat escape so it can be used year round. 

Where the autofeeder dispenses, use a counter sink bit to help funnel/channel the pellets down a series of holes. Counter sink deep enough so that the perimeters join so that there are isn't enough of a flat surface so the pellets tumble down. A retaining wall around the holes will help contain the falling pellets.

Just a few ideas that fizzled between the ears.


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## Crayon (Apr 13, 2014)

wtac said:


> John has some sweeeet tools. Slotting a section/sections of the polyC lids will help with heat escape so it can be used year round.
> 
> Where the autofeeder dispenses, use a counter sink bit to help funnel/channel the pellets down a series of holes. Counter sink deep enough so that the perimeters join so that there are isn't enough of a flat surface so the pellets tumble down. A retaining wall around the holes will help contain the falling pellets.
> 
> Just a few ideas that fizzled between the ears.


Nice! I was thinking to rout a shoulder into the polycarbonate on a 3" hole so when I glue the mesh in, it would be flush. Since the lids are 3/8" thick, they are also a little heavy, but slide over each other nicely. With that size hole, the Eheim autofeeder can just sit on the PolyC and goes straight into the tank, where I keep a feeding ring. I like the countersink idea, though, too and might us it for the smaller tanks especially where I have to get frozen food into the tanks without removing the lid.

I'm debating on solid lids vs dehumidifier vs chiller. In our future fish room set up I am pretty sure we are going to need a dehumidifier, regardless of how many lids we keep on things.


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## guelphjay (Mar 10, 2014)

Hi Cheryl, 

I've never put lids on my tank. Mostly by luck, I've only had 2 jumpers in 4 years. One I saved, the other wasn't so lucky. 

I've been toying with the idea to reduce evaporation. I'm losing about 5 gallons a day on a 100 gallon system right now.

Where did you buy your polycarbonate lids? Right now I just don't have the drive to make mesh ones lol.


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## Crayon (Apr 13, 2014)

Johnson Plastics. Bought a sheet, cut it ourselves. We made lids for 5 tanks and have some left over for future projects.


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## janos1 (Apr 3, 2017)

*lids*

Hi to all,just like to know i bought a tank and i got glass lid for that,could i use on reef tank,or egg create from Home Depo? Thank you


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## Crayon (Apr 13, 2014)

janos1 said:


> Hi to all,just like to know i bought a tank and i got glass lid for that,could i use on reef tank,or egg create from Home Depo? Thank you


If you're running a sump, You could use the glass lid. Egg crate is ok, don't buy the silver one, it flakes off and gets in the system. Mesh is better and not hard to make, just takes some patience.
Start with the glass and see if it works for you. Some people like them, some people don't, so it's a learning curve about how your system operates.


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## janos1 (Apr 3, 2017)

*lid vs mash*

Unfortunately no sump,scare to drill the tank,put the glass lid on yesterday today morning i don't like what i see.Under the glass lot of evaporation water can not see the rock from the top.Need to try the egg create,but what size it should be?Regular what we can buy in HD?Thank you. Mash is the one what we use for screen-door?


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## aaron86 (Jan 1, 2012)

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/diy-aquarium-screen-top-kits-1-4-netting.html

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## janos1 (Apr 3, 2017)

Thank you aaron that is the right solution,i think.


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## guelphjay (Mar 10, 2014)

janos1 said:


> Unfortunately no sump,scare to drill the tank,put the glass lid on yesterday today morning i don't like what i see.Under the glass lot of evaporation water can not see the rock from the top.Need to try the egg create,but what size it should be?Regular what we can buy in HD?Thank you. Mash is the one what we use for screen-door?


Egg Create is the stuff from Home Depot or Lowe's. Some of the staff call it lighting diffuser.

Use the white stuff. Some aquarium or plastic places have black, but I can never be bothered to track it down.


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## janos1 (Apr 3, 2017)

Just one more Q,hole are small enough for the fish not to jump true?


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## Letigrama (Jul 6, 2008)

Cheryl,
What do you use to cut the poly?. Do you have any thoughts on easy removal of the lids? I am asking because i had 2 poly lids on the old tank and was a pain.
. did you.put some handles to take them out easy? Lastly, i have a 5 feet with eurobrace. I have no jumpers but the evaporation is incredible i need to do something about it. I am thinking getting the poly or acrylic and cut 3 sections that way i dont have to remove big sections everytimes i need to do something in the tank. Thoughts? Thanks!

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## Crayon (Apr 13, 2014)

My tanks are traditional framed tanks with the black plastic trim. 3/8" polycarbonate fits perfectly. We cut it on a table saw, and used a hole saw to make 3/4" finger holes in each lid for easy removal. We have 45 degree cuts in the back corners for power cords and dosing lines. Today I figure out a frag plug makes an excellent cover for the finger hole, which I wish I had done two weeks ago and I wouldn't have lost the jaw fish.

For a euro brace, for sure either two or three sections would be good. If you had access to power tools, you could rout a lip in the poly c and it would fit nicely on the eurobrace and only sit up a little bit.

If you don't have access to tools, I am sure some of the acrylic guys would do this for you. Or get in touch with a glass and mirror company. Last week we had an emergency job to do on a handrail and had 6 sheets of 1/4" acrylic cut by a glass company. They weren't expensive.


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## Letigrama (Jul 6, 2008)

Crayon said:


> My tanks are traditional framed tanks with the black plastic trim. 3/8" polycarbonate fits perfectly. We cut it on a table saw, and used a hole saw to make 3/4" finger holes in each lid for easy removal. We have 45 degree cuts in the back corners for power cords and dosing lines. Today I figure out a frag plug makes an excellent cover for the finger hole, which I wish I had done two weeks ago and I wouldn't have lost the jaw fish.
> 
> For a euro brace, for sure either two or three sections would be good. If you had access to power tools, you could rout a lip in the poly c and it would fit nicely on the eurobrace and only sit up a little bit.
> 
> If you don't have access to tools, I am sure some of the acrylic guys would do this for you. Or get in touch with a glass and mirror company. Last week we had an emergency job to do on a handrail and had 6 sheets of 1/4" acrylic cut by a glass company. They weren't expensive.


Thank you so.much. great info. I have all those power tools 
Finger holes. Got it!

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