Egg Crate Top?

[namwodahs]

I've been putting off having a top on my tank and needless to say it bit me in the butt. My lawnmower blenny jumped out today, somehow managing to make it right into my top off bucket. I found it when I got home from work dead :-\ I've read on here before about using egg crate to make a cover for the tank so I cut up a piece and it's now my top.

It's white egg crate and it seems to reflect a lot of light back up, particularly the fluorescent actinics. Has anyone tested how much light gets lost from using an egg crate cover and is it a significant amount? It does look visibly dimmer in the tank. My tank is a 55 and I've got one 250MH and two 54w T-5 actinics.

What are some other suggestions for cover material?

Thanks!

 

[ludnix]

You could try and make an acrylic grid in place of the egg crate. Perhaps there is transparent egg crate available?

 

[areze]

I have eggcrate on my 75. no problems with light loss, then again, I have 500watts of MH on it... so some might say a little light loss is beneficial.

but yeah, sucks when the fish jump. I had the bigger problem of them jumping into my overflow and getting a bit friendly with the pumps down below.

only thing worse then losing a fish is having half of him blended into your tank and the other half left to be fished out of the intake...

 

[namwodahs]

Ouch yeah the last thing i need is sushi in my tank :-\ I thought about the crate shielding the tank from the direct lighting a bit. My garden outside seems to do a bit better when it doesn't have full direct sunlight all day so the same may go for the reef.

 

[paran]

I switched from glass-top to egg crate about 4 months ago.. though there is a lot more evap going on (of course), I actually noticed a significant light increase in my tank.

My local source also only uses egg crate for any tanks he has fish in.

 

[namwodahs]

Are you using the white egg crate? For that matter, do they even make transparent egg crate? (I didn't look too closely at Home Depot)

 

[Whisperer]

I saw a metallic eggcrate at HD. I wonder if this would be a better choice since the polished metallic coat will reflect light better that a white crate. Hmmm

 

[paran]

Would the metal coat not possibly rust over saltwater?

 

[namwodahs]

I think i saw the crate that Whisperer was talking about and I think it's just a shiny reflective plastic, not actual metal, but I could be wrong.

 

[thatguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9942943#post9942943 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Whisperer
I saw a metallic eggcrate at HD. I wonder if this would be a better choice since the polished metallic coat will reflect light better that a white crate. Hmmm

Stay away from this stuff. It does do a great job of reflecting light but the coating will start to peel away and flake off into the tank.

I had some on my tank for a month or so and half of the coating came off into the water. I can't say that it harmed anything but better safe than sorry.

 

[namwodahs]

Are you guys saying its better to have the more reflective crating (except for the issue thatguy brought up)? It seems like you wouldn't want it to reflect too much light and let most of it get to the water. Or am I missing something?

 

[Whisperer]

you cannot exceed/reflect more light than your bulbs are actually producing. What you are aiming is to minimize the amount/intensity of light lost from objects such as egg crate. That "guy" is whisperer.

 

[thatguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9947439#post9947439 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Whisperer
That "guy" is whisperer.

No I'm not. Except for that one point he is correct.

 

[navipro1]

You can go with a canopy with high side walls and empty top so fish won't jump out and your light will not be limited.

 

[tedmc2]

My light fixture sits directly on top of the tank. I have cut my egg crate to cover only the section not covered by the light fixture.

I also cut it in two pieces so that it fits in the top resting on the lip that runs around the top of the tank. That way, I can slide my light fixture to feed, ect, without having to move the egg crate.

 

[reverendmaynard]

On this tank I have gutter guard attached to the light fixture hanging down and curved out to the front and back of the tank. I used velcro to attach it, so it's a breeze to pull it off for feeding/maintenance. It's kinda hard to see in the photo, so if you need more clarification, let me know. I can take a pic specifically of that when I get home.