Who goes topless here? Any issues?

[DaveG99]

I plan on getting a 24 gallon aquapod with the 150 watt MH sunpod when I get to Dallas in a couple weeks. Anyone here go topless with there nanos? I am worried about the evaporation. Will there be more vaporation with the topless tank? I know my 125 gallon used to evaporate atleast a gallon a day.

 

[sophia101]

Hey Dave,
Many people here go topless. I have a 12g NC but i have the hood on it. The only things i would take into consideration is if you want to keep a fish such a firefish-A.K.A-Carpet Surfer or really any jumpy fish. As far as evaporation, i'm really not 100% sure. I mean it would kind of make sense for it tooo maybe evaporate a tiny bit more, but not to much i dont think. I think thats about all the things to tak into consideration when going topless. Sounds like you are looking at a great set up and light fixture! Good luck...

 

[Mina_40]

I have a 12 gallon JBJ nanocube. No top...two clownfish and they have been fine.

 

[dystopian]

Open top here as well, I love being able to see the surface of the water with lots of flow. Evaporation is definitely an issue when going topless, but it's not that big a deal, since it's not a large amount. I actually see it as a benefit, since it's a cheap way of cooling down the tank. Replacing the water is just an additional part of my daily feeding routine.

 

[Jocko]

What exactly is the point of paying all the money for the NC if you're not going to use the hood? Modding the hood is one thing, but not using it at all? Why not just get a regular tank for way way way less money?

 

[DaveG99]

Jocko, You can buy the aquapod with the 150 watt sunpod fixture. It doesnt come with a top.

I have had a 55 gallon and a 125 gallon tank. I went topless on both of them. I never had a fish jump out and I never had an issue with evaporation. I have read that some people do with the nanos though and that is why I though I would ask. I am going ot be leaving the tank for a few days at a time probably once every two months. I am going to build some sort of auto top of system for when I am gone. I just think that the aquapod with the sunpod 150 MH fixture is so much better than buying it with the hood and PC's. I want to be able to keep what ever coral I want and the MH shimmer is just awesome looking!

 

[chrisstie]

Okay, as I was just clicking out of this forum I saw this thread name and nearly shot root beer out of my nose. Obligatory "i went topless and got arrested comment goes here"

My 55g will be topless though so Im wondering how different it will be from my 12g aquapod with the lid..

 

[sjm1978]

i had my 24g aquapod topless for a few months and i loved it topless. but the light i had was a odyssea 130w pc fixture it really sucked. the stock hood lighting was better so i put the stock hood back on for now im gonna be getting the sunpod 150w HQI for my birthday on christmas and gonna go topless again. the topless tank was so much better it had better gas exchange and no heat issuse i put about 3 cups of water everyday or so evap wasent that bad. here is a pic when it was topless and i cant wait to have it topless again. ive had the top back on it for a month now and i hate it i had to put 2 fans on the feeding lid because the temp was going up.

heres a current pic

 

[everl0ng]

open top with clown, clown goby, firefish, scooter blenny. no issues so far, but def helps keep my heat down.

 

[Jordan55]

You could go with an egg crate top if you plan on adding fish. Any fish is capable of jumping out, so I usually atleast have egg crate.

Or you go half glass top, half open.

Open tops are good for air exchange but bad on evaporation.

I usually go halfway and either do half glass top, half open OR all egg crate.

Think about it.

 

[jewtball]

i have a topless 22g T5HO tank from Cadlights. the evaporation isnt too big of an issue for me, i lose about 1 gallon every 3-5 days. my tank stays pretty cool in temperature because of the open top. i love the way the water surface looks when i look at the corals from the top.

check them out, they make real good quality tanks.

 

[cyenna]

I have a topless 20L with a 175W metal halide in a generally toasty room. I lose about 1/2 gallon a day. but it really shouldn't be a big issue. Plus, being able to look down into your tank is awesome.

 

[ncf3]

I've had my topless 24g AP 150w for over 8 months with no incident of fish jumping out. I have 2 Clarkiis and 1 bicolor pseudochromis.
Heat issues during the warm summer days could be remedied by a fan.

 

[chocolateblnt]

I have no issue going topless ... it's usually others that object :lol2:

 

[b_mattias]

my clowns are hosting my powerhead, moved it up to the surface without thinking. One of them jumped but I heard him and threw him back in. I also have alot of evaporation, around a gallon a day.

 

[DarkXerox]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8515499#post8515499 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jordan55
You could go with an egg crate top if you plan on adding fish. Any fish is capable of jumping out, so I usually atleast have egg crate.

Or you go half glass top, half open.

Open tops are good for air exchange but bad on evaporation.

I usually go halfway and either do half glass top, half open OR all egg crate.

Think about it.

Yeah this is true. I switched to white eggcrate when everything got hot this summer. Pretty much any fish can jump and I figured spending 5 bucks on eggcrate was worth it in problems later. Plus it makes for a handy frag holder when I'm glueing stuff out of the water.