Preventing Jumpers

[addictedreefer]

About 2 weeks ago I switched to an open top on my aquapod. However I have become increasingly concerned about jumping fish. A couple days ago I found that one of my clowns had jumped (thankfully just into the rear chambers and was still alive). Also, I just added a yellow watchman and have heard that these fish have a tendancy to jump.
What can I use as a cover on my tank that a) wont make the tank temp skyrocket (I have a 150w MH only 4 inches above the water) and b) is not an eye sore?

 

[Miller]

Egg crate, buy a panel of it at Home Depot for about 10 bucks and cut it to fit the top of your tank. That is what we are doing to prevent jumpers, I made the top in two pieces, 1/3 of the top in the front of the tank is separate from the back 2/3s, so that when feeding I can just pick the little front up and set it on the back.

 

[addictedreefer]

I have three problems with egg crate. First, it is quite unsightly sitting on top of a tank IMO. Second, I used eggcrate when acclimating my corals to my new MH...doesn't that suggest that it reduces the ammount of light reaching the tank? Third, my watchman goby is pretty small and I'm sure that with some luck (or bad luck), he could jump right through one of the squares.

 

[Dave McReeferson]

I have personally had luck with using eggcrate oriented vertically around the perimeter of the tank, in addition to not blocking any light, it also is a little better at stopping would be escapees as they tend to hit the crate at an angle and therefore bounce off rather than pass though. This is not foolproof however it should be noted. It is also not the best looking solution, as you mentioned. You're going to have to get creative...

 

[kotu100]

window screen? really anything you put between the light and water will reduce output, just gotta find what reduces it the least.

 

[addictedreefer]

Dave, I really like that suggestion of a little "fence" rather than a top. I should be able to reduce the risk just by increasing the height. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Amazon]

We used a plastic mesh and the DIY screen frames (Home Depot). They sit nicely in the top edge/channel of the tank (don't know if an aquapod has a plastic rim?). You can even paint the frame black so it's not so obvious. And the mesh does not reduce the light.

 

[Greg Hiller]

Another option is to build a skirt all the way around your tank. This photo shows the top of my 400 G system (from the TOTM article, I did not take the photo). The one thing that is left out of the photo is panels of wood that slot in in the front. You can see the identical panels in the rear of the tank. This barrier is really high, I've never had a fish successfully jump, and I have some good jumpers (jawfish, wrasses, a filefish). Also with this type of set up, all the heat from your lights goes right out the top. I actually don't even have any fans directly over my tank because I wanted the display to be nearly silent.