Looking for info and opinions on lids

[ADMWNDSR83]

I recently re-entered the hobby with a 37 gallon topfin combo.  Good tank, but the lid leaves much to be desired!  The light in it seems acceptable, but the only opening in the lid is a tiny fliptop door that is good ONLY for feeding.  Even putting test strips in requires removing the entire lid, when I undoubtedly drop a corner into the tank.  I used a hot knife to remove a portion of the back so my autofeeder would be able to fit.  As I look at ways to ungrade the tank in the near future, I'm looking at the Finnex lights.  I'm hoping to hear everyone's opinion on if I truly need a lid on my aquarium, or if I could get away with an open top.  My stocking at this point includes Koi angelfish, Swordtails, Lyretail Mollies, Cories, and a clown pleco.  I don't think I remember reading that any of them were jumpers.  

[ChefConfit]

I'd still get a lid. Other than keeping jumpers in the tank lids also help hold in heat so you save some energy from your heater being on less, and reduces water loss from evaporation.

Aqueon Versa tops are nice and pretty affordable. 

[Ben Ellison]

I use a all glass folding lid. They come with the trimable back plate and they are cheap like 25 bucks.  It makes a huge difference in evap like I can't even state the difference.

[Mr. Ed's Aquatics]

There's a ton of DIY options for lids that I'm sure work great, but I have an almost OCD problem with matching everything. So all mine have Aqueon versa tops. Kinda spendy, I think they end up being more than some of the tanks if you get them during the dollar per gallon sale.  But I really like them and they look very nice so I got them for all of them.

[Streetwise]

I had some glass cut at a local hardware store, but they didn't chamfer the edges. I tried again with an actual commercial glass store, and they got me something nice in about 15 minutes. If you have an LFS that sells used gear, they might have a bin of spare parts, including those clip-on plastic hinges.

[ForestJenn]

3 hours ago, ChefConfit said:

Aqueon Versa tops are nice and pretty affordable. 

I use one these and like it, but they aren't always easy to find.  Our 10-gallon shrimp tank is also a Topfin and it's sounds like the lids are similarly awful.  I'm thinking of going with the suggestion made by  @Streetwise. 

 

[jerseychef]

My 75g didn't have any lids when I got it.  I looked at my LFS and they did not have any in stock.  I went to lowes and they sold and cut the glass for me.  I followed the directions in this video.  For a handle to open the lid I cut a small piece of the track and super glued it on the front of each piece of glass.  Video in link below

DIY Glass Lids

[Carolina Guy]

In the past couple of years, I lost 2 male swordtails. One jumped out through a one-inch open slot at the back of my aquarium cover (which I corrected after this unfortunate event). The other one jumped out when I had the lid up doing a water change and my back was turned. I didn't notice until after I found him dried up and dead on the floor. It was probably from some unreliable source online, but I once read that swordtails aren't jumpers. Because of experience, though, I know better. They certainly can be.

And way back when I was a young teen, I happened to witness a male marble molly jump out of a tank. I remember it vividly. He soared about two feet into the air. That time, fortunately, I was able to save him and get him back into the tank. I don't know if the lyretail mollies would be jumpers or not, but I don't think I would take the chance.

Edited September 13, 2020 by Carolina Guy

[Eclipse]

I am for lids unless you don't have potential jumpers or escape artists, but you can never guarantee you won't have a startled fish jump. Even shrimp only tanks may have a few escapees.

Not only does it prevent fish suicide, you can reduce evaporation as well as retain heat. You can also prevent water deposits from fogging up your lights.

I got all my aqueon glass lids from Amazon.

[Ben_RF]

In the long run, lids help out in so many different ways, besides potential jumpers.  

* They help to keep the water in your tank, whether through evaporation or splash off through the filter or air stones.
* If you have critters that go to the top to breathe, like bettas or african dwarf frogs, this helps to keep the air more humid for them. Which I don't know if its an old wives tale or not, but I always heard that was better for them
* Things will get dropped at some point, whether lights or other things,  The lid will help to prevent this to happen.  A good example, recently I knocked over my bug bites I had sat for the moment on top of the light.  Had the lid not been there, all of the fish food would have gone into the tank and made a disaster.  
* Sometimes fish become aggressive with each other out of the blue.  An example, neon tetras are not typically jumpers. However, my panda cories began surfing the glass one day and spooked two of my neon tetras.  They in turn rocketed themselves out of the aquarium.  Luckily, I was sitting in my computer chair watching them and was able to quickly put them back into the tank.  A lid will help to prevent accidents like this from happening. 
* They help to keep heat in your tanks, which can help your electric bill by not running that heater as much.  

Edited September 13, 2020 by Ben_RF

[Ben_RF]

So looking up your aquarium, the dimensions they claim are: 30 in L x 12 in W x 22 in H

There are a number of premade glass lids that may come out cheaper than having a local glass shop make it for you.  I did find one off of Amazon that might work.  It can be found here ( https://www.amazon.com/H2Pro-Canopy-Gallon-Aquarium-0-16in/dp/B07GC9BM8L/ref=psdc_2975457011_t1_B0002AS802 ).  Before buying this or others that are like it, do measure the inside part of your tank where it will sit to make sure the dimensions work for your tank.  The one that I linked is 29.21 L x 11.69 W, so you might have a gap in the back you may need to take something to fill like mesh or something other, but maybe not.  I hope this helps!

[ADMWNDSR83]

Thank you so much to all of you!  For some reason, the forum is saying I'm not allowed to react to anyone anymore, but I wanted you all to know you are appreciated.

[Daniel]

1 hour ago, ADMWNDSR83 said:

Thank you so much to all of you!  For some reason, the forum is saying I'm not allowed to react to anyone anymore, but I wanted you all to know you are appreciated.

There is a daily limit (or at least a 24 hour limit). The reaction quota seems to be in the 6 - 10 range. I never have enough because there's always 1 more I would like to do, but our generous host knows what he doing because so far this forum has been wonderful!

Edited September 13, 2020 by Daniel

[ADMWNDSR83]

Agreed all around!!!  The good part is it will also stop people who intend to derail the joy by being asinine with their responses. 

[Daniel]

@ADMWNDSR83 and the cool thing is all we can do is pat each other on the back and agree with each other because both of us are totally out of reactions for the day 😇

Edited September 13, 2020 by Daniel
*It is always worth trying later. I have had delayed reactions pop up later in the day. That is part of the reason I think it might run on a 24 hour clock.

[Aquatic Journal]

23 hours ago, ADMWNDSR83 said:

Agreed all around!!!  The good part is it will also stop people who intend to derail the joy by being asinine with their responses. 

I wanted to add this video to the mix as I think these lids are cool and they are much easier to cut yourself later if you need to. 

 

 

[johnnyxxl]

I am glad that this thread was here, I have to make my own cover for my tank as I can't find any premade ones close to the right size, was going to see what people recommend for making them.