car tint to reduce sunlight/algae?

[terror]

will having a side of my tank being hit my morning sunlight tinted reduce the chance of algae bloom?
i'm deciding whether to move 1 of my tanks outside...
it only houses some anubias

 

[Seaman]

If you cant control the light cycle (when it turns on and off) then yess your chances for algae are much higher. And no, I doubt tint would work....unless its 0% tint.

 

[terror]

i mean 3m car tints... i think they filter out as much as 98% uv rays?

 

[happychem]

It's not so much the UV that's your problem. Is this the side/back or is it your the front that you would view through? A solid background would probably be your best bet.

On the other hand, I'm still not convinced that light through the window is a significant cause of algae. If everything else is balanced, it shouldn't matter (with the exception of Seaman's comment about the light cycle). How well do the timing of the morining light and your light's on time coincide? If they were about the same, you shouldn't have any problem. In fact, I'd be tempted to set my timer to turn lights on just after the full sun was coming through the window, give the tank a real sunrise effect!

 

[Signus]

I've noticed though that the amount of solar input raises the tank's temp at least 2 degrees F when hit strait on. If my tank wasn't already set to 80 degrees F, then I'd be fine with that, but I don't think the SAE really cares for 2 degree changes in temp.

Btw, I often get my corries to spawn by opening up the window curtains and letting the morning sun strike the tank, but as soon as 10 am rolls around, everything seems to really heat up.