After losing several fish to jumping escapes, I was glad to see this product become available. It's a little expensive for a notched piece of plastic that, in my opinion, should've been included with the original tank. That said, it works perfectly and has the added bonus of minimizing splash marks around the outside of the tank and on the desk where I've placed my tank. The cover has pegs in the lower side to keep it in place and the top surface is beveled to encourage splashes from the bubbler to flow back into the tank. It seems to cut down on evaporation as well. I'm happy with my purchase.
I love my Fluval Chi but as with other Chi owners, my biggest problem with the design is the large amount of water evaporation and of course, suicidal fish jumpers. The cover does help with the fish issue, and since I've installed the cover, I haven't found a fish or ghost shrimp outside the tank. Unfortunately the evaporation is just as rampant as before the cover. I'm sure the cover does help a bit, but it's not really noticeable. What I do notice however, is the fact that these covers get "gunky" really quickly. Water drops will dry on the top, hanging droplets will leave marks on the underside, etc. While the covers are really easy to clean with just a little water and elbow grease, it is a weekly chore if you want to keep them looking nice.
That being said, while I've seen the Chi drop in price as low as the five to six dollar mark (but as high as sixteen!), it still seems pretty overpriced for what it is. If you can get your hands on some cheap polycarbonate or acrylic, it should work just as well if you don't mind a little DIY.
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I never had a problem with having a fish that attempted to jump out of the tank... but decided to purchase this lid just as a precautionary measure. For $10, I think the price is kind of on the steep side... but it fits on top of the tank perfectly. I wonder why fluval wont include this lid as part of the package? :/
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I had some fish that *loved* jumping out of the tank and dying (loaches). That, plus the crabs and snail adventures, prompted me to get this cover. It's really nice, but the only drawback it had no spot for the heater I had installed. That was easily fixed by cutting a small opening with my dremel, though ;)
Bonus: No more roommates shouting, "DAVE THERE IS A CRAB IN THE HALLWAY" at 7 am.
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First off, the lid itself is cheap and flimsy. one of the pegs to hold the lid in place broke off rather easily.
And lastly this lid has not prevented 2 Betta fish from jumping to their deaths. It leaves large gaps and does not work.
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The goldfish in our pond like this food, although in comparison they go CRAZY for the summer version -PondCare 181B Summer Staple Koi Fish Food Premium Pellet, 41-Ounce -which I give them when the water's warmer. Read tje instructions on the bag to see when to feed each pellet type. Previous years we used a regular goldfish flake food, and always had algae problems (it never occurred to me there might be a different food for pond fish versus aquarium fish). I'm not sure if this food is what's helped so much this year, but we now have a crystal clear pond and apparently super happy fish. I know they're happy, because this year I could actually see them swimming!
