[KathyC]

Quote: Originally Posted by xoomercom I can agree on the bigger holes but not so sure about the other point. I have my T5s sitting right on on top of it and the light does enter the tank just fine. Eggcrate doesn't waken you light, it diffuses it.

Xoom...some degree of light that would have gone into your tank at an angle is being lost due to the eggcrate. Even the small 1/4 inch height of the eggcrate us cutting out a portion of your lighting.
Hold a pencil in front of a light bulb and see how much of a shadow it casts at a distance that equals the depth of your tank and multiply that times the number of eggcrate spines that are under your light..in both directions.... IMO you are losing a fair amount of light.

[xoomercom]

Quote: Originally Posted by KathyC Xoom...some degree of light that would have gone into your tank at an angle is being lost due to the eggcrate. Even the small 1/4 inch height of the eggcrate us cutting out a portion of your lighting. Hold a pencil in front of a light bulb and see how much of a shadow it casts at a distance that equals the depth of your tank and multiply that times the number of eggcrate spines that are under your light..in both directions.... IMO you are losing a fair amount of light.

I actually looked at the tank the day I posted and realized that indeed an eggcrate is capable of blocking some light. The plastic pieces are quite thick blocking probably good 15-20 % of the light. Add that to the efficacy of the light fixture (low by design) and light loss is even greater. I will look into the mesh alternative, I just hate things that are flimsy. Thanks Kathy.

[KathyC]

You'd be surprised at how strong the mesh is. I'm forever putting things on top of it when I'm working on the other side of the tank.
I'll send you a pic over the weekend of an idea I have for you that you can do with your current eggcrate top that might help you out some