[83mulligan]

Could someone explain what advantages come from having an open top aquarium. I noticed in the tank of the month section for January that the winner prefers open tops. In in the process of designing my hood and wonder what advantage there would be to this in a planted tank.

Thanks,

Steve

 

[pineapple]

Open topped aquaria:

Easy access
Elegant simplicity
Potential for emersed driftwood designs and emersed plant growth
Does not trap heat in the system in the summer therefore is cooler

Not suitable for flying fish ;-)
Not suitable with young unruly children about ;-)
Allows for increased evaporation and requires frequent top ups
Best with suspended light source

The classic American style of "built-in" aquarium with wood canopies and stands does not appeal to me. I prefer the simple approach of a "glass garden" in which the water and plants are the sole focus.

Andrew Cribb

 

[trenac]

I have 3 of my tanks as open top tanks, I perfer these over the closed top tanks. The biggest disadvantages I see are evaporation and fish suicide. I top off the water once a week, this is not that big of deal if you run canister filters. If you run HOB filters then you really need to keep on top of topping off the water due to surface aggitation. I think in a year and a half of keeping open top tanks I've had 3 fish suicides & 1 shrimp suicide. This was most likely from the fish getting chased by another fish or bad judgement by the fish (LOL). The advantages is ease of maintaining the tank, ease of feeding the fish, watching the plants grow beyond the surface of the water and being able to see floating plants from above.

 

[Raul-7]

Open topped aquaria:

Easy access
Elegant simplicity
Potential for emersed driftwood designs and emersed plant growth
Does not trap heat in the system in the summer therefore is cooler

Not suitable for flying fish ;-)
Not suitable with young unruly children about ;-)
Allows for increased evaporation and requires frequent top ups
Best with suspended light source

Andrew Cribb

Don't forget..Not suitable with unruly pets about

 

[wantplantsnotwork]

The cats sure love sleeping on top of the canopy though!

 

[Raul-7]

The cats sure love sleeping on top of the canopy though!

Cats crave warmth. If you're annoyed by the fact that they are sleeping ontop of it, try getting them a bed-warmer. It's a good thing yours don't drink from your tank, too... :|

 

[83mulligan]

thanks for the inputs

Since I have a curiuous cat and a two year old, I'll be going with a closed top style.

Thanks,

Steve

 

[plantdude]

i got 2 open top tanks and 1 closed top tank. if i had to do it all over again, all of my tanks would be open top style. the only reason is because its so much easier to maintain. however in the closed top design, it does have a nice look at night to turn off all the other lights in the house except in the tank. the tank looks unreal... sooo beautiful. it just stands out more. you dont get the other light shineing in from the top.

 

[Sir_BlackhOle]

I love the open top tanks, but I hate losing fish to jumping!

 

[Gomer]

I love the looks of open tops...but a normal tank with trim and all and no glass top just doesn't cut it. Unfortunately, getting a trimless opentop isn't that easy

 

[chubasco]

I love the looks of open tops...

Yeah, me too, looks more natural: Tom Barr posted a set of pics on APD where he removed the standard black plastic trim on a tank. Not easy, but not all that difficult, either. Looked pretty cool when he got done: had a chrome light cover (cf's) that was on stilts made of glass that gave it
a hi-tech floating look. To keep from losing fish requires a 3" lip that goes around the top of the tank made of plexiglass, or perhaps glass. I keep killies and use eggcrate fluorescent diffuser panels cut to size for my smaller tanks. I like to be able to look down in the tank, and glass clouds up with mineral deposits obscures the view all too quickly.

Bill Ruyle

 

[jcolletteiii]

I think the open top style looks great, especially when combined with the highly stylized hanging type fixtures and modern steel-grey cabinets. However, my tank is in my living room, and not too far from the tele - so I could not see using such a set-up in this situation due to glare while watching tv. Plus I build furniture, so I cant see myself buying someone else's. Furniture is pretty easy to replicate in any case. Love the look, though.