Battling Water Loss and High Humidity at Home

[Kyle May]

[Lisachromis]

Great info! Want to come and put lids on all my tanks?? I'm still looking for a rich fishroom slave.

[Kyle May]

I'd be a good fishboy...lol

[Pam Chin]

Kyle,

Very nice!

It is amazing how much humidity you can cut down with a good lid on your tank.

I had egg crate on all of my tanks, while it was great for keeping the fish in the tank, it doesn't keep the water in the tank. I am really cheap, and I have a lot of tanks and the thought of buying glass for lids was overwhelming. Not to mention raw edges on the glass, etc. I was beside myself to figure out how to use the existing egg crate, I knew that I just needed some type of barrier. I use acetate a lot at work to put over plans, it is a thin plastic like you see on the front of report covers, it is available in 48" wide rolls. We cut a piece the size of the egg crate and used shipping tape to hold it on. This has worked for me,I have also used shrink wrap and a shrink wrap that has an adhesive on it.



Cichlid Power!
Pam

[Lisachromis]

I'd be a good fishboy...lol

But are you rich?

[Lisachromis]

Kyle,

Very nice!

It is amazing how much humidity you can cut down with a good lid on your tank.

I had egg crate on all of my tanks, while it was great for keeping the fish in the tank, it doesn't keep the water in the tank. I am really cheap, and I have a lot of tanks and the thought of buying glass for lids was overwhelming. Not to mention raw edges on the glass, etc. I was beside myself to figure out how to use the existing egg crate, I knew that I just needed some type of barrier. I use acetate a lot at work to put over plans, it is a thin plastic like you see on the front of report covers, it is available in 48" wide rolls. We cut a piece the size of the egg crate and used shipping tape to hold it on. This has worked for me,I have also used shrink wrap and a shrink wrap that has an adhesive on it.

Cichlid Power!
Pam

Pam,

Does that method affect plant growth at all?

[Pam Chin]

Lisa,

I didn't grow any "plants" but I do have a good algae growth on pots and castles. The acetate is clear, so the light goes right through it, the shrink wrap is clear too, the sticky back shrink wrap is more opaque.

Cichlid Power!
Pam

[Lisachromis]

Which do you prefer?

[Pam Chin]

Lisa,

Personally I think the Acetate works best. If you are nimble with shrink wrap then it should be okay, but I tend to fight with it! Basically you are wrapping the egg crate in the shrink wrap.

Cichlid Power!
Pam