Tank hoods and covers; are they crucial or not ?

[sammie68]

Hi again everyone,

I've just found out through another thread that it may not be completely necessary to have a cover or hood for the top of your tank. I thought I would delve further into here to avoid straying to far off the topic in the other thread.

One thing I always thought was that it was necessary to have a cover or hood to prevent any nasty household chemicals getting into the tank. Doe's mostly everyone here use a cover or hood on their tanks or do most of you go topless ?

I was thinking I would like to ditch the glass covers I have and grow some plants over the top of the tank as I saw in the other thread by Totally Rad (about a great way to purify water)...would love to hear your thoughts or opinions :happy:

Regards Sammie

 

[swimupstream]

You're right - the lid discussion is probably better separate.

I compromise - lid AND plants

I have those two-part glass lids, one wide, one skinny, and I just put the wide one on, with the plants growing up out of the remaining space where the skinny lid would normally be. My plants are sitting in little plastic pots hanging over the edge of the tank on bits of wire that i bent around the pots. Their roots are in the water and they seem really happy - when they get leafy enough they'll block whatever gap is there anyway.

Plus, I keep my water level at around 2/3, although I can vouch for the fact that a freaked out axie can jump a LONG way...

I never use aerosols - that stuff dissolves straight into water and would be nasty for an amphibian. I find the partial lid keeps the dust and pet hair pretty much out (specially once the plants have thickened up).

 

[pent565]

I was in the other thread, but I'll put my .02 in here too.

Pros- lidless tanks aid in evaporation to cool water, plants can be grown above the water line, easier access for cleaning and water changes, aided gas exchange, can be more aesthetically pleasing in some situations

cons- If the water level is too high, an axolotl may leap out, if your room tends to be damp, no lid will increase humidity and encourage mold, foreign substances may enter the tank, so care must be taken, a bird might take a bath in your tank, and splash water all over the floor (sounds silly, but my lovebird takes any opportunity!)

A good compromise that I use a lot is the partial cover, such as a slate tile over 3/4 of my 5.5 gallon, and a pair of translucent glass cutting boards on top of my 75.

 

[sammie68]

Thanks for clearing that up for me guys, much appreciated.

Like swimupstream, I have the two part glass covers so I may able to do the same thing as suggested.

I wonder if I could use fly screen cover over the length of the tank, with holes cut out for the plants to grow out ? Making sure that it is secured in such a way that allows for easy cleaning and water changes...(Then again maybe not, that might look just plain ugly lol) .The more I think on this the more options there seem to be !

 

[Kaysie]

I'll just give you my $0.02 as well: I don't use a lid on my axolotl tank, but I don't fill it up the entire way either to prevent them from jumping out. There's at least a 10-15cm gap between the top of the water and the top of the tank. All of my other tanks have screen lids, mainly to keep out cats.

I don't use any chemicals in my house. House cleaning is just hot water most of the time, occasionally bleach or thyme oil, just to make sure nothing goes into the critter tanks.

 

[sammie68]

I like the sound of your cleaning Kaysie, with hot water, thyme oil. I have a steam mop which is just hot water also....As for the question of covers or lids, I was running a hang over the top filter (tank has since sprung a leak since I started this thread, so have created another thread to whinge and whine about the leak lol) so that meant that I had to have the water level fairly high. Maybe with the next tank I may be able to arrange something so the water level doesn't have to be so high....

 

[mamatoulouse]

I dont use a lid with my trio of axies i also keep my tanks 2/3 full and i also have a tiny fan blowing on the surface to help keep things cool

 

[ZombieAxolotl]

I don't use lids. I don't like to upkeep them, and I don't like having to constantly open a lid or remove it to do water changes. I also am setting up a rack system now because shelving is getting full. but i'm going to make a filtration system that will basically hang into the tanks, so lids would be cumbersom.

I keep at least 1-1/2" to 2" gap from top of water to top of tank.
I once had an overzealous sub-adult decide to catch a guppy and catch some air. Luckily I heard it and deposited her right back into her tank.... minus a gallon or two of water lol.

Since I do regular water changes I don't really notice any film on my tanks with them being open. I no longer have anything with fur, only scales and skin so no dander to sift into the tanks.
Like Kaysie I don't use chemicals or aersol cleaners in my house, only all natural biodegrable ones.

I like the idea of a cover that allows for plants, would be interesting to see what you come up with. I have some kind of plant in all my tanks and things like mangroves are always a pain if you have a conventional lid on top.