To Cover or Not to Cover... That is Today's Question...

I know I've been promising pics, but I recently ordered a new camera, and sold the old one. So for the next few days, I am camera-less. Once I get the new camera, I'll start to take pictures again. Then, you'll get to see all the progress. :)

Until then, the topic is covering the tank...

Well, I've been debating this topic in my head a lot, lately. Right now, I have the tank mostly covered. By that, I mean the covers don't go all the way to the back to allow for the various tubes, etc. to enter/exit the tank. To be honest, even with the tiniest space open in the back, I did already have one fish jump out (Pinnochio, the Longnose Hawkfish).

When I spoke to my trusted advisor at the LFS, he said that he could point out which fish are likely jumpers and which aren't (although it's never fool-proof). If I were to remove the cover, I would be limiting myself to fish that aren't jumpers (from an already limited list based on other tank parameters). I'm not 100% sure that I'm entirely OK with that.

By removing the covers, I can use the clips provided with the lights to elevate the lights up off the tank. This will help with protecting the lights from splashing, keeping heat from the lights out of the tank, and ease of access for my hands to do work in the tank. The heat loss is one of the big points here, because the summer is coming up and I'm not entirely sure how the tank is going to handle the heat that my house seems to generate in the summertime. Besides the lights being higher off the tank, the surface will be exposed. Considering the mixing that my powerheads provide, the water surface is rather turbulent. This will provide for rapid evaporation, and should keep the water temperature rather constant. It also means more refilling of my top-off reservoir, but I'm OK with that. :)

So, what do the rest of you think? Post comments here or on Facebook.