I read in some random article on the internet that an open top tank would be better for a planted tank. Is there any truth to this or is this non-sense. I can't seem to figure out a logic to it... I currently have a glass top on my planted tank and the plants seem to be doing good, but would they be better off if I removed it.
This is another area of some disagreement, let me open one side of this can of worms by saying that they would probably be alluding to the fact that with plants, one of the things that is important, is the gas exchange at the surface. Most especially CO2, CO2 exists all around us in some level all of the time, and with plants using what is in the water column throughout the day, the obvious replacement zone to keep up would be the CO2 equalization at the surface of the water from the room air. Having a glass top would slow this equalization possibly quite a bit. Moreover, there is some benefit to allowing the plants to grow emergent, this helps the condition of the water health as well as removal of nitrites from the water.
The one drawback is more a situation of comfort, having the top off can create a situation where the humidity in the room is also trying to equalize with the water, and it can get pretty high, much higher than is safe for air quality if something is not done about the impending moulds that are created. Evaporation then really rears its ugly head as you then require top ups frequently, so much so that without frequent water changes, the build up of hardness can get too high.
I do both currently, depending on what I am trying to grow, largely as I stopped using pressurized CO2 several years ago in favour of lower maintenance and fewer risks.
But most particularly to allow certain plants to flower and seed in an emergent state, something that never happens with glass tops.
I'm sure someone will chime in about how you must have tops and they never had any problem growing plants, though this may be true for whomever the dissenter may be, having done countless experiments with side by side comparators, I have to say that for specific tasks you may wish to perform with specific plants, topless is the way to go.
it all comes down to what type of plants you want...I HAVE to have tops on mine because of the stupid cats lol but before I had cats...I only would have half of a glass panel on and had large flowering plants out of the tank...
now I have silly little plants ;)
good luck in whatever path you choose...and take pics and show us!
I wanted to leave my planted 55 open but several fish leaped to their death, including my albino rainbow shark :(
The reasons I wanted an open top planted tank were to get more viewing pleasure from the flowers of lotus and any other plants, as they "hopefully" develop. And to allow any emergent plants the opportunity to gain access to co2 from exposed leaves. I have read that any plant which lays on the surface or extends above the surface will use this to their advantage by capturing more co2 than is available in the water column.
I had set my tank up with the light suspended from the ceiling so that I could adjust it to suit plant growth, but now it is tightly covered to keep the fish in the tank :-\
yes there's always that danger...
get a tank bigger than you need and keep the water level lower...and LOTs of plants help reduce jumpers. my zamoras are jumpers and haven't lately (unless startled) due to a lot of plants, both on the surface of the water and in the substrate.
It's a load of hookey.
An open top tank receives a minimal percentage more light than the same tank with even a DIRTY glass top.
Be safe, use a glass top. Live electricity over an open body of water is a huge fire risk.
I have 3 open tanks and 2 with glass top. Thay all doing great with the open tanks doing slightly better in term on how fast I have to trim the plants.
One must also consider the fish you want to keep as some will jump on their own and others if scared might jump out if being chased to much.
You can prevent it by building a canopy so you have an additional 10" or so wall that fish has to jump over ;)
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Thank you all for your help, with all that newly acquired info I've decided to go with a half top! I already had a glass lid on the tank so I just removed two of the windows (see pics it'll be easier to understand). This way no water can splash up onto the light fixture and I get the benefits of an open top tank. I've also included a pic of the tank right now...I'll update later to show you guys the plant growth.
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agreed! :)
can't wait to see plant growth!
Quote from: matt on June 09, 2007, 10:36:15 PM
I read in some random article on the internet that an open top tank would be better for a planted tank. Is there any truth to this or is this non-sense. I can't seem to figure out a logic to it... I currently have a glass top on my planted tank and the plants seem to be doing good, but would they be better off if I removed it.
The only thing I can think of is that UVA (or is it UVB?) rays don't penetrate glass very well. This is why you won't sunburn behind glass but you can in a greenhouse covered in plastic. Maybe the UV rays have an effect on the plants we don't understand.