Aquarium Hood

[LoveFish]

I new at fish keeping but have read a lot and have a nice 55 gallon tank. I
just recently put a piece of acrylic Plexiglas over the top of my tank. Is
this bad for the fish? Does the tank need to vent? I also have a canister
type filter and a powerhead. The powerhead is submersed to low to add air
to the water.

[PurityFailed]

>I
>just recently put a piece of acrylic Plexiglas over the top of my tank. Is
>this bad for the fish? Does the tank need to vent?

I'm sure the big guys will tell you that having a cover on your tank is a purty
good idea. Keeps your fish from jumping out, kitties (or kiddies) from jumping
in, and helps to keep house fuzz and such out of your tank. As far as a need
to 'vent', I'm not sure what you mean here but I'll assume it has something to
do with wanting air to get to the tank.

>The powerhead is submersed to low to add air
>to the water.

The powerhead you mentioned should help provide aeration, if that's what you're
asking about. I can't really see a good side to not having a cover unless
you're working with suspended metal halide (sp?) lighting. Even then...
*shrug*

Hope I understood what you were asking :)

Jessica

(Oh please let the tank cycle...)

[NetMax]

"LoveFish" > wrote in message
. net...
> I new at fish keeping but have read a lot and have a nice 55 gallon
tank. I
> just recently put a piece of acrylic Plexiglas over the top of my tank.
Is
> this bad for the fish? Does the tank need to vent? I also have a
canister
> type filter and a powerhead. The powerhead is submersed to low to add
air
> to the water.

The cover should not be too tight a fit, as fish consume the oxygen which
is dissolved in the water. The water contacting the surface air gets
re-oxygenated for the fish to continue breathing effortlessly. If you
have an external canister, then the gap between the hoses and the cover
would normally be enough. It does not take much of a gap for the O2 to
balance with the outside of the tank.

If you are using an internal canister, and have a single acrylic sheet
sitting directly on the aquarium (with just a tiny hole for the canister
power wire), then this could be a problem. If the fish migrate towards
the top of the tank and appear to be breathing quickly, then give them
some air. An airstone would work as well, keeping the area above the
water under positive pressure and always being replenished. You could
also add an airline to the powerhead (on most models) which could suck in
outside air (position the end of the airline hose outside the aquarium
cover). hth

NetMax

[LoveFish]

Right now it's a tight fit. Would an airstone help? I tried drilling holes
but it cracked the Plexiglas.

[NetMax]

"LoveFish" > wrote in message
. net...
> Right now it's a tight fit. Would an airstone help? I tried drilling
holes
> but it cracked the Plexiglas.

You have to drill plastic slowly with a lubricant or the thermal
expansion will cause cracks. An airstone was discussed in my last post.
As long as the source of air was outside the cover (ie: airpump), it
would push fresh air in, solving your concern.

NetMax

[Moderately Confused]

"NetMax" > wrote in message
...
>
> "LoveFish" > wrote in message
> . net...
> > Right now it's a tight fit. Would an airstone help? I tried drilling
> holes
> > but it cracked the Plexiglas.
>
> You have to drill plastic slowly with a lubricant or the thermal
> expansion will cause cracks. An airstone was discussed in my last post.
> As long as the source of air was outside the cover (ie: airpump), it
> would push fresh air in, solving your concern.
>
> NetMax
>
Slow is the key for drilling plexiglass. I needed to drill some holes
in a sheet for my computer recently(don't ask). Make sure you have some
kind of air escape hole or you're going to have a "burping" effect as the
excess air escapes the tank.

MC

[Vicki]

"Moderately Confused" > wrote in message >...
> "NetMax" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > "LoveFish" > wrote in message
> > . net...
> > > Right now it's a tight fit. Would an airstone help? I tried drilling
> holes
> > > but it cracked the Plexiglas.
> >
> > You have to drill plastic slowly with a lubricant or the thermal
> > expansion will cause cracks. An airstone was discussed in my last post.
> > As long as the source of air was outside the cover (ie: airpump), it
> > would push fresh air in, solving your concern.
> >
> > NetMax
> >
> Slow is the key for drilling plexiglass. I needed to drill some holes
> in a sheet for my computer recently(don't ask). Make sure you have some
> kind of air escape hole or you're going to have a "burping" effect as the
> excess air escapes the tank.
>
> MC

I have never drilled plexiglass but I have drilled ceramics and know
that you have to do it very slowly to keep it from breaking.