Red Sea 350

[Phixman]

I have been thinking for a while if there is a way to slow down evaporation in a way in which it wouldn't affect the tank. Red Sea 350 typically evaporates 1 gallon a day. I was thinking of ordering an acrylic top that covers the whole tank to try to slow down evaporation, I'm not sure if this will shock the tank due to the ph swings, no heat release, no gas exchange, and possibly affecting light par levels.

1. Do you guys think that covering the whole tank top with acrylic will have such negative affects even if I leave the sump as is?

2. Or do you guys think it would be a lot better to just put the acrylic top at night, I heard some LFS do this to prevent evaporation overnight.

[Phixman]

How do these tanks get away with such negative affects?

[Phixman]

bump

[zooman72]

You would probably be better off with a glass top (custom cut at a glass shop to your specs, with clips available at several vendors for placement within top edges of the aquarium), and most of the negative effects so commonly bandied about (i.e. pH and O2 levels) are typically overblown, especially for sumped tanks with constantly running protein skimmers. Temp will be an issue during warmer periods potentially however, so unless your aquarium is located where central air conditioning is employed, you may have to remove the glass tops to encourage evaporation in the summer months.

I have glass tops on all my tanks, which greatly cuts down on evaporation in the winter (and keeps the fish in), and have central air on in the summer, so they never come off. I have never had any problems over many years, and just dust them once a week, removing them for a good cleaning once a month or so.

[Phixman]

Thank you for your reply I was thinking of getting a costume made one by artfullyacrylic and apparently they use some other material more resistant than acrylic and doesn't bend. They have some really nice options like feeding windows. Also, nice husky, I got one in summer!

[zooman72]

No problem - you are welcome. Artfully Acrylic may only provide perimeter-framed mesh lids, but I am not sure if they provide an option to go solid acrylic instead.

Thanks for the kind words on Lana - we lost her a couple of months ago after 16+ years (that pic is 9 years old), and the kids miss her constantly. Other than the hair everywhere in the house, she was a fantastic dog (awesome with the kids), and the boys really want to get another...

[jjencek]

I have the opposite problem. I have the Red Sea Max 250 with the build in hood. I have the older version with six T5s as part of the hood. When I keep it closed, I have issues with the Ph and my Cooling system comes on all the time.

So I opened the 1st part of the hood and my Cooling never comes on saving me money and the Ph is back to happy ranges.

[zooman72]

Originally Posted by jjencek

I have the opposite problem. I have the Red Sea Max 250 with the build in hood. I have the older version with six T5s as part of the hood. When I keep it closed, I have issues with the Ph and my Cooling system comes on all the time.

So I opened the 1st part of the hood and my Cooling never comes on saving me money and the Ph is back to happy ranges.

Maybe I should have been clearer when I referred to "sumped systems" - naming them remote sumps possibly?

Your tank I could foresee having a drop in pH and an increase in temp (dependent on ambient room temp) due to the all-encompassing hood that also covers the rear sump compartment. That model aquarium does have cooling fans - is that what you are referring to as the "cooling system"? If so, than running them while the lights are on would be necessary and beneficial, and would also help with air exchange under the hood. You might also see a pH difference (i.e. less fluctuation) if you had a remote air draw for the protein skimmer (instead of it drawing from under the hood), or even a CO2 scrubber for the air inlet of it.

Chasing an "optimum" pH is rarely necessary in a soft coral/ mixed reef - stability is more important. I could see issues in certain situations, especially with an SPS-heavy reef, but dosers and calcium reactors may mitigate that as well.

[jjencek]

Originally Posted by zooman72

Your tank I could foresee having a drop in pH and an increase in temp (dependent on ambient room temp) due to the all-encompassing hood that also covers the rear sump compartment. That model aquarium does have cooling fans - is that what you are referring to as the "cooling system"? If so, than running them while the lights are on would be necessary and beneficial, and would also help with air exchange under the hood. You might also see a pH difference (i.e. less fluctuation) if you had a remote air draw for the protein skimmer (instead of it drawing from under the hood), or even a CO2 scrubber for the air inlet of it.

I meant chiller by the "cooling system". And yes when the lights are on, the hood fans are on and helping. At night the lights/fans are off and that is when opening the hood made the most difference. And yes, when I draw the air outside of the hood, it also improves the Ph. And last, but not the least, opening the windows and getting a fresh air also helps.

[Phixman]

Originally Posted by zooman72

No problem - you are welcome. Artfully Acrylic may only provide perimeter-framed mesh lids, but I am not sure if they provide an option to go solid acrylic instead.

Thanks for the kind words on Lana - we lost her a couple of months ago after 16+ years (that pic is 9 years old), and the kids miss her constantly. Other than the hair everywhere in the house, she was a fantastic dog (awesome with the kids), and the boys really want to get another...

I spoke with Artfully Acrylic and they said they could make the lid of all Lexar, for an additional $30, or they could do an add on to the Classic lid they sell which would be a top that goes on top of the mesh giving me the option of choosing when to have evaporation for $50 more. I wouldn't mind the evaporation but the sewer costs are crazy where I live, I'm going to give it a try and see how it goes, I'll probably be ordering the 350 in the next month or so. Should I keep my skimmer on at all times during the time where the the top of the tank is enclosed then?

Sorry to hear about Lana, I know the feeling, I had a dalmatian before, but got put down at 18 years because of health problems. Yeah, it's a lot of hair, but I don't notice it until the weekend when I vacuum the house and it's full after I'm done.

[zooman72]

Originally Posted by Phixman

I spoke with Artfully Acrylic and they said they could make the lid of all Lexar, for an additional $30, or they could do an add on to the Classic lid they sell which would be a top that goes on top of the mesh giving me the option of choosing when to have evaporation for $50 more. I wouldn't mind the evaporation but the sewer costs are crazy where I live, I'm going to give it a try and see how it goes, I'll probably be ordering the 350 in the next month or so. Should I keep my skimmer on at all times during the time where the the top of the tank is enclosed then?

Sorry to hear about Lana, I know the feeling, I had a dalmatian before, but got put down at 18 years because of health problems. Yeah, it's a lot of hair, but I don't notice it until the weekend when I vacuum the house and it's full after I'm done.

Just a thought - have you looked into making your own hood, especially if you are going the solid route? Check out estreetplastics - a 48" x 24" 0.25" thick piece of cast acrylic is $85 shipped, and if you have a circular saw (and a Dremel tool maybe), you could have an acrylic top without much issue. It won't be as fancy, but grab some 12mm clips from Innovative Marine, take off the overflow cover (maybe, unless you cut around it?), drill a small 1" hole dead center in the front for feeding, cut it precisely to fit within the opening, and it would look pretty good IMO. Again, just thought...

Also, yes, you should run the skimmer constantly, regardless of whether the top is enclosed or not. Draw air into the skimmer from outside the aquarium stand if pH presents an issue (just run airline connection where needed) - not sure how open the back of the stand will be.

And thanks about the kind words of our late husky - she was a handful when it came to hair - I bet we went through 3-4 vacuums in her lifetime, often running them daily...

[Phixman]

I actually made one with my brother in law over Christmas for my Nuvo 20, we bought some acrylic from Home Depot, and we had a powered saw, everything went well, until the end when we had to cut the clip space for each side, we tried to do it with a chisel and it cracked one side of the acrylic. Anyways once we finished it was nice, prevented my fish from jumping which was the plan as well as slowed down evaporation, in the end, I took it off. It was bending and it was slowing down evaporation too much.

I really appreciate your suggestion, I think I'm just going to spend the extra money for the nice lid, I want the best equipment possible, just ordered my sand today, still need a backup battery just in case power goes out and the lid before I can finally order the tank!

[zooman72]

Yeah, Home Depot acrylic is hit or miss around here - best bet is to use the Lexan brand, but it is thin, or luck out and find the 0.22 thick stuff that shouldn't warp.

Good luck moving forward with everything, and show off the lid when you get it...

[Phixman]

Still waiting on a reply from artfully acrylic so they can begin to make my cover, it's been about a week now since I sent them an email, lol.

[zooman72]

Originally Posted by Phixman

Still waiting on a reply from artfully acrylic so they can begin to make my cover, it's been about a week now since I sent them an email, lol.