Aquarium Hoods, lids, and tops
What Are Your Options?
Aquarium lids and hoods serve several purposes. Hoods prevent anything from outside the tank contaminating the water and they lower the amount of evaporation of tank water. Lighting is also a big part of aquarium equipment and hoods offer great accommodations for adding light.
Hoods are most often made out of plastic or wood. Plastic hoods are very light, easy to adapt to new equipment, and easy to move. Wooden hoods more aptly match a rooms decor and give a more classic look.
Do not choose a hood strictly on price or looks. Many of the more expensive hoods are priced that way due to their aesthetic appeal whereas a less expensive aquarium hood may fit better or be better equipped to house the lighting and equipment you may want.
You can usually ad most back hanging equipment with a hood but it can be particular to your exact hood. Many hoods are built with almost the entire back end hollowed out to aid in adding equipment to the tank.
If you aren't fortunate enough to have room built into the back of the hood for your equipment you can simply cut away a portion of the hood to give it room this can be much easier with a plastic hood than a wooden one but isn't a greatly difficult task either way.
Aquarium hoods best of all give an enclosed hidden area to add your aquarium lighting equipment. Hoods often even have cabinet doors for easy access similar to the stands most aquariums use but on the top instead of under the tank.
