Is your aquarium open-top?

Otty · Aug 11, 2009

Open top for me.

Matt Rogers · Aug 11, 2009

Crimson Ghost said: ↑

Wonderful thread for my morning coffee…tnx!

Tank covers are valuable fish savers and miserable death traps at the same time. With that said, I have covers on my 180 for several of the reason posted on this thread.

Hold your breath for a minute, the driving force to breath again is because your lungs are filling with Carbon dioxide, the term is “Gas exchange”. Your body replaced the carbon dioxide for oxygen – with each breath oxygen enters your blood stream and you feel great for it.

Guess what, it’s the same with your aquarium – your water being the lungs, blood and heart. As fresh oxygen races across the surface of the water the more harmful gases (ie, carbon dioxide) are permitted to be exchanged and your water become oxygen enriched and your fish are healthy. Hmmm….we should mention this to OttsD in the thread “why won’t my fish live” it’s a possibility anyway. Covering a tank prohibits the gas exchange and permits dangerous levels of toxic gas to rise to the point where your fish can….well, honestly – drown. Absent of oxygen in our systems a fish can’t survive.

So if I believe this why do I have covers ? jumping fish mostly and a huge “curious” eel. But I use a 55 gallon sump in the basement that is open with fans blowing across it and a separate 50 or so gallon refugium (fuge is only 20 gallons, other sections are used for media, skimmers etc.) the point is that I exchange gas elsewhere.

Of course another topic effected from poor gas exchange is our PH. As our tank metabolizes (converting oxygen into carbon dioxide) absent of decent exchange the PH will drop. You know this from the recent conversation regarding fuge lighting – photosynthesis in the fuge and the production and absorption of carbon dioxide (see Mr. Steve Wrights post). When the lights are on in the fuge the macro algae is taking up carbon dioxide – this will raise your PH. With the lights out everything is metabolizing including the macro’s in the fuge so the carbon dioxide rises, lowering your PH. This is why a fuge should always be opposite the DT photo period – the tank is producing carbon dioxide at night but the fuge is on and consuming it. The result is more stable PH – and PH swings suck. <-- hey look, a new bumper sticker "PH swings suck"...nah, I didn't steal that from "mean people suck" really, I didn't ! I need more coffee -- enjoy the day friends.
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Great post Ghost!

Triggerfish · Aug 14, 2009

I got a canopy on mine, but my next is definitely going to be open top.

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