glass cover needed if I buy a canopy?

I don't use covers on my tanks. I haven't had anything crawl out, but it might be more likely to happen on a rimless tank. If you have hard water, you'll have to clean deposits off of the bulbs occasionally.

If the canopy was pretty well enclosed then the humidity would build up, perhaps ruin the lighting fixture, even it if was designed for use in a damp location. Also, the heat from the fixtures would warm the water. This might be a benefit in the winter, but is probably not a good idea in the summer.

I would cover the tank (Glass lid), and ventilate the canopy.

In Denver I wouldnt worry about the heat from the canopy if it has a fan in it. My lights are 8" off the water and no glass lid. 8 years and no problems. Your bulbs will need cleaned occasionaly.

i would say make a canopy and remove the glass unless you have fish that like to jump/splash. as for heat if your lights get hot ive seen canopys with vented tops and or sides with those lil computer fans to help. its really your choice as to glass or no glass there are +/- to everything waterloss/lightrestriction blablabla if your handy make the canopy then you can taylor it to your liking/needs

I think the biggest plus for a glass top is the reduced evaporation of the water. That evaporation helps cool the tank in the summer, but it does cause you to have to top off the tank much more often than if there is a cover. None of my 4 tanks has a lid, and I haven't had any light problems, but 3 of the lights are at least 8 inches above the open top of the tank.

Hmm.. Here in Denver it's incredibly low humidity so I wonder if evaporation would be a problem. I run an airstone at night just to keep things moving around and evaporation doesn't seem to be a problem.

The only thing that I'm worried would jump or get out would be snails, maybe the african dwarf frog. Other than that I only have chili rasboras and neons.

It sound nice to mount the lights underneath the canopy, actually. Since the tank is a corner tank, it might actually help me to distribute the light to the corners since I could use a brighter light but higher from the water.

With more room in the canopy to set up a really well designed reflector you probably could get much better distribution of the light.

Yea, that's for sure. I just started another thread on that topic

i would definately suggest one if you have hard water.. I live in East Brunswick NJ and we use groundwater that is flooded with minerals.. i just set up my 75g 2-3 weeks ago and my brand new emperor 400 already has mineral buildup on it.. its crazy lol. Btw if anyone knows a good way to take off the buildup message me.. rinsing & scrubbing it with hot water doesnt work..

Stiff bristle brush with warm vinegar will do it.