About a year ago I read somewhere that if you use glass tops on your tanks it will change the spectrum and intensity of the light because the greenish tint in the glass. This tint is caused by the iron in the glass. I have thought of using glass that has low iron content such as Starphire glass since it is so much clearer. You can see a comparison between low iron glass and regular glass here. Do you think that the greenish tint in regular glass changes the spectrum enough to make it worth buying low iron glass? Thanks.
Do glass tops change the light spectrum?
- Thread starter Jeremy S
- Start date
A couple of years back, when I was switching from an open top tank to a covered one I asked a bunch of experienced aquarists a similar question regarding how much light I'd lose by covering the tank. Almost invariably, the response was 'not much', or 'not enough to worry about', provided the glass was kept clean.
Dust and mineral deposits on the glass where more of an issue in their minds, than the glass itself.
Len
Dust and mineral deposits on the glass where more of an issue in their minds, than the glass itself.
Len
Not as much as a plastic or acrylic top would. But either way not that much. Depth of tank is more important as water will absord quite a bit of light.
I wouldn't worry about it either. In the link you posted, that is a very thick piece of glass, so of course the green tint will appear dark. Not so much on a thin piece of cover glass.