Show me your tank tops!!!!

Not THOSE tank tops - the tops that go on your fish tank.....;D

After the demise of my coral beauty yesterday to vaulting out of the tank, and seeing the threads of others who have had recent vaulters, I'd like to see (pics please) what you've done for "jump prevention."

I'm trying to decide on egg crate versus screen, and also whether to just make a cover for nighttime use (which is when both my jumping losses happened). Of course, Jwin is off senior tripping in Orlando 8) while all of this is going on, so no help from my future engineer son!

I appreciate you all very much!

 

my nano has a acrylic over the top to prevent jumpers and lighting mishaps, about a 1/5 of the tank is uncovered for gas exchange. i covered the main fish area

a better looking alternative to eggcrate is probably acrylic with wholes drilled in it.

i should probably drill mine too when i get the time to improve gas exchange more.

be warned drilling a bunch of small wholes is extremely time consuming so give yourself atleast a hour

 

Here's ours Triplemom.
http://www.3reef.com/forums/general-reef-topics/building-canopy-64718.html
There's still a 2" gap in the back that a fish could slip through. Maybe next time it's off I'll put in a strip of eggcrate there. They'd have to jump a good 7-8 inches to clear the front or sides of the canopy though. Does anyone know just how high a fish would normally jump?

 

I use egg crate wrapped in tule fabric.

 

i just finished cutting my eggcrate screens a couple hours ago. they cover the 22" x 7" access openings and almost all of the overflow gaps. the pic is horrid, but you should get the idea. total cost was around $10 for both sides. i still haven't figured out what i'll use to weigh them down with . . . maybe some 2.5lb or 5lb weight plates from walmart. cant wait to get my canopy home to cover up these eye sores.



~Will.

 

Don,t think thay can jump the wall!!!!!

 

Thanks for all the suggestions and pictures! I came up with a "makeshift" cover until Jwin gets home. I think I'd like to build - I mean him to build - a canopy of some sort. He's made some really nice shop projects and just did a makeover on our FW tank stand - surely he could come up with a canopy!

I looked at the egg crate. By the way, don't assume that Home Depot employees know what the heck egg crate is. I described it to two different people and got the duh look. I finally found it in the ceiling tile section labeled "egg crate," of all things. I am concerned about the holes being too big and felt the goby and blenny could jump through them if they hit it just right - with my luck, they would time the jump perfectly and go right through the holes....

So, I bought a cheap nylon laundry bag at Target and cut it up, ran elastic through it, and will use it as a night cover for now. I also velcroed it to the back of the tank so I can just flip it up in the morning and it stays attached to the back and just hangs there. The only escape route now is a little space around the overflow box (which is probably the exact route my next jumper will take).

 

I like the net triplemom,doesn't interfere with the lights at all. I thought about egg crate on my 55 but am currently using pc's on it and the egg crate is also known as light diffuser and didn't want to restict the lights in any way. So far no jumpers but I know the possibility exists.
Wonder what kind of posts i'd get if I started a thread called "show me your bare tops"? ;D

 

I think that the egg-crate(EC) is the easiest way to go. I dont beleive that a fish can get through those holes. Look around in different home improvement store as the size of the holes will differ from store to store. I have seen some EC with smaller holes. I dont recommend covering the tops of tanks b/c of the gas exchange needed. I've only had two fishes jump out in the past 23 yrs of "reefing". Sorry about the jumpers.



Luna