Staying away from windows?

[dvs]

I swear I read somewhere that placing your tank near windows is bad because the light can make algae grow. Is there any other reasons?
Reason why Im asking is because Ive decided to go back to school so Im not moving to Florida as planned and that just gives me a good excuse to set up my tank, lol.
Anyways, the only place that has enough room for my tank is the kitchen. Its away from the stove, sink etc. so Im not worried about it being close to heat. The problem is, Ive got a sliding glass door that goes out the porch. I do have blinds that i can shut. Its just me and my mom so Im not worried about a lot of traffic.
What do you guys think?
Thanks in advance

Jen

 

[buzz]

I think the algae is the main reason, but perhaps the heat from the direct sun is another. I would just keep an eye on that for a while.

 

[dvs]

The sun doesnt actually come into that window until late afternoons and evenings.
The guys at my LFS told me that direct sunlight would bleach my fish too. If that was the case, wouldnt all the fish in the tropics get bleached as well?
Jen

 

[buzz]

I would expect so...hahaha...I am sure the fish can hide behind some rock if the light were too intense.

 

[dvs]

Or I could always close the blinds...

 

[bwmichael21]

Well i believe considering that the oceans are a much bigggger place than a salt water tank that the effects of the sun would be alot more intense, its much largers with natural controls not a closed system, also to place a tank in the sun i would except the heat would vary day to day, try placing a small tank with nothing in it in the sun and test the temperature everyday

 

[dvs]

Thats a good idea too. Like I said before the sun only comes in directly when it sets. I think I will try the empty tank though, just to give me an idea.

 

[slick]

Maybe it has to do with more than just heat. I mean depending where you live in the winter you might get cold air drafts that could affect your tank.

 

[dvs]

I live in Kentucky. It gets cold but we dont open the sliding door. Plus, its stays pretty warm in the kitchen in the winter. No drastic temp changes.

 

[simm]

I had a problem with alga and water temp rising.

 

[slick]

Sounds like you already have your mind made up on doing it. So get out of here and start setting it up. (jk)

 

[bwmichael21]

Well when the sun is setting, its intensity isn't direct at all, don't see why it should be a problem then

 

[dvs]

Yes, Im a persistant little brat, lol. I will try it out first cause Id rather find out if theres gonna be water temp changes. Would want anything to hurt my babies, lol
Thanks guys
Jen

 

[fulcrum]

I have tanks near windows, that during a small part of the day cast direct sunlight on the tank. I use a sheet of opaque plastic to block the sun from the tank. Its not very attractive, and i hide it when company comes over, but it solves the problem pretty handily.
My tanks are pretty large, so temp fluctuations are not very easy to acheive.
I promise you, even indirect sunlight causes an algae problem. My problem is that there is no room in my house that isn't flooded with windows. Makes tank placement very tough.
Good luck.

 

[dvs]

Thanks

My problem is that we have an old farm house and the foundation isnt the greatest. Wouldnt wanna wake up one day to find my tank has gone through the floor!
Jen

 

[elan]

sunlight is a very very strong heat source... in a tank any size, this will play a major roll... if we had tanks that were thousands of gallons, then maybe the temp change would be minimal... but then again, metal halides are a very strong source of heat as well.....
Is there any reason why sunlight would bloom algae?

 

[fulcrum]

I meant when i use the plastic sunshield I dont get temp variations. Sorry if that wasn't clear.
I have always wondered why sunlight causes the algae problem, since sunlight hits the ocean everyday. I can only assume that since tanks are much smaller than the ocean that it has something to do with the circulation and vast amount of water.
Who knows why? I just know its a huge pain. Before I came up with the sunshield I had some serious algae issues.

 

[broomer5]

Relative to the sea - our tanks are packed with nutrients.
That plus the sunlight ( which contains all visible spectrums including those that algae just love ) will most likely lead to some nuisance algae over time.
"some" being the biggest unknown at this time.
Blocking the sunlight and keeping your nitrates/phosphates/dissolved organics low, may be you best shot for algae control - in my opinion.
Both of my tanks that face the sliding back door - even though they are 20 feet from it and receive no direct sunlight - have more algae growth on those sides, than they do the non-facing sides.

 

[dvs]

Well, with that being said, I might either wait (which I dont want to do) or find another place in the house.

Jen

 

[tkblazer]

i actually have my 75 gal right next to a window and i've never had any temp problems. the windows themselves have blinds that i keep half open to let let in during the morning hours when the sun rises. no algae problems and my corals seem to like the natural sunlight.
there is a guy on -- that uses solar tubes which is composed of a skylight type of tubing which is normally used to light up rooms but is set over his tank. in general i don't think natural sunlight is a negative thing since so many reefers use MH lights to simulate it, but possible temp fluctuations would be the only key. i live in a fairly new house with double paned glass and good insulation, so temps are not an issue with me.