Tank Top Question

I'm putting together a 75 gallon freshwater planted tank setup with an
Oceanic tank. I bought the tank and custom cabinet at an auction, but
there is no cover glass on the tank itself. I put in my own lighting
setup in the tank cabinet, and was wondering what was the best thing to
cover the water with. I have access to acrylic, or I can go buy
standard hinged glass tops. Are there any concerns with light filtering
if I use something besides glass? Also, how much space should I leave
for air exchange from the water? I was thinking of leaving the back 1
inch uncovered, at least on one side, because I need to get my filter
and heater lines in somewhere...

Also, here is my setup so far...please let me know if you see any huge
issues:

75 Gallon show tank
40 pounds of Schultz Aquatic Plant Soil (about 2.5 inches deep)
60 pounds of inert gravel on top (1/2 to 1 inch deep)
Some sort of nutrient balls to be installed with plants
Fluval 404 filter
300W titanium heater
240W of lighting in 4 foot tubes (2 grow-lites, 2 daylights, 2 full
spectrum lights)
CO2 compressed setup coming soon with home-built in-line reactor

Thanks!

Tim - Planted Tank Newbie
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