Problems with Glass Lids

 

 

Glass lids close up your aquarium, making the air inside stale and depleted of oxygen.

Canopies allow fresh air to circulate freely over your aquarium, the way air does over natural bodies of water.

Glass lids block out a high percentage of your expensive aquarium lighting, causing your aquarium to look dim and lifeless (no shimmering water ripples).

With canopies nothing is between your light and your water (all the light goes into the water and you get the beautiful light ripples that make it look alive).

Glass lids cause condensation to collect on them which can run into the gutters around the sides of your aquarium, and then drip out the mitered corners of the aquarium molding causing leaks and doing water damage to your aquarium stand and floor. With canopies you get no condensation of any kind.

The condensation on glass lids also causes green / black algae to grow on the lid further blocking light, and requiring cleaning. Again, with canopies you get no condensation of any kind so no algae, and no cleaning.

Glass lids trap heat in the aquarium which can cause an inconsistent temperature which can cause problems with your fishes health.

With canopies the heat and moisture from your lights rises up and out the back of the canopy, which causes a convection current of air, so as hot moist air goes out, fresh cool dry air is drawn in. This is very healthy for your aquarium and fish.

Setting a light on a glass lid places your light source too close to the water surface thus reducing the coverage of light in your aquarium, causing you to purchase even more lighting to completely light your aquarium.

With canopies your light is mounted 6” to 8” above the water surface, giving you a wider coverage of light, with a smaller light fixture.

Glass lids leave all of your lighting, filters, pumps, air hoses, and cords exposed which can be quite ugly and detract from your aquariums beauty.

With canopies all of these eye sores are concealed under the canopy, out of sight. You are left with an aquarium that looks like a fine piece of furniture instead of a tangled mess of equipment.

Glass lids prevent evaporation, which is actually a bad thing. When water evaporates water is exchanged for oxygen; water goes into the air - air goes into the water (oxygen in the water does not come from bubbles, as the wives tale goes). Under the glass lid the humidity can reach 100%. It is very difficult for water to evaporate into such high moisture, making it very difficult to get oxygen into your water, making your aquarium run very inefficiently and dangerously for your fish.

With canopies the heat and moisture from your lights rises up and out the back of the canopy, which causes a convection current of air, so as hot moist air goes out, fresh cool dry air is drawn in. This increases the oxygen absorbed into your water up to 10 times. To prevent excessive water loss, you should set your heater no more than two degrees warmer than your house will get. Glass lids keep your fish from jumping out, that’s a good thing.

Canopies will also completely keep your fish from jumping out when you add some fiberglass screen to the back.

Glass lids are well, GLASS. They are very easily and often broken, (pets jumping on them, dropping, sitting on, stepping on, while cleaning etc.....) and over the life of your aquarium you may need to be replace the glass lids many times.

Canopies are made of solid wood and are almost impossible to break. And so only needing purchase once. A canopy also makes a great shelf for displaying collectables and pictures.

Glass lids on a maintenance free aquarium can cause the P.H. of the water drop to very acidic levels, which can chemically burn your fish to death. The bacteria and microbes that so magically keep your aquarium clean, put out acidic by products which can lower the ph in your aquarium to dangerous levels.

A canopy allows pure water to escape through evaporation, and by replacing it with hard alkaline water from your faucet your ph will remain stable, usually around 7.0 ph.

Glass lids actually deprive YOU of some benefits: they keep the moist air under the lid.

Canopies allow moisture to escape into the air, moist air helps keep your nasal passages clear so it is easier to breath, especially at night when you are trying to sleep. Some doctors recommend using aquariums as beautiful air humidifiers.

We at Tanks Alot hope this has aided you, in making an educated decision when making the choice between lids or canopy tops.