Wondering if there’s any type of a UV protection film that I can stick to my fish tanks to help reduce algae growing on the glass, also how would this effect plant growth and the fishes view of their surroundings?
UV PROTECTIVE FILM?
- Thread starter Rtc/tsn
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I have often wondered....because in nature tropical fish get some heavy doses of UV between 10 AM and 2 PM, if our fish are getting UV "short changed", and may be a factor in some of the chronic diseases they get in our tanks(much in the same manner reptiles get sickly if their enclosures) if they are not provided with UBV bulbs.
I'm generally on Duane's side of the logic. Imo having some passive-natural UV reach your tanks is beneficial to whatever extent it sterilizes viruses, bacteria, fungi, something I've done some research on in the past. On the other hand, it's known that fish can be sunburned by overexposure to direct sunlight in clear water, a reason why a source of shade is often recommended for fish ponds. A lot of aquarium lights, especially full spectrum, provide some UV. I'm not so sure about altering the light spectrum reaching your tank, limiting direct sunlight makes more sense to me, but that's just an opinion.
I think it's one of those things where there's multiple considerations rather than a simple, one way answer...
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0044848699000745
https://gardentabs.com/do-plants-need-uv-light/
I had an experiment planned back in around 2014, where I was going to hang 40 watt UV bulbs over a tank, on a timer, on about 4 hours per day, but
I moved to Panama before its inception.
The experiment was to see if the UV had and effect on fish known to be prone to bacterial issues.
Nandopsis haitiensus was to be one of its subjects, because of the intense sun during midday in their island habitat, and its susceptibility to bloat reported in many aquarists tanks.
I now have a tank (refugium) that sits in full sun about 3 hours per day (give or take cloud cover)
I purposely grow lotus pads to provide shade for its inhabitants, and to mitigate heat.
I am amazed at the lack of algae in it, compared to a tank next to it, even though its located in the shade under a patio roof.
The refugium does contain a Panamanian pleco, and a number of local shrimp.
Below is the shaded rank, note the algae smudge in its lower left, just below where my arm is not long enough to scrape efficiently with a razor blade.
now a side view of the refugium, not totally algae free, but quite clear, for getting lots of full sun.
I do give it a quick scrape with a razor blade, maybe once a week.
I moved to Panama before its inception.
The experiment was to see if the UV had and effect on fish known to be prone to bacterial issues.
Nandopsis haitiensus was to be one of its subjects, because of the intense sun during midday in their island habitat, and its susceptibility to bloat reported in many aquarists tanks.
I now have a tank (refugium) that sits in full sun about 3 hours per day (give or take cloud cover)
I purposely grow lotus pads to provide shade for its inhabitants, and to mitigate heat.
I am amazed at the lack of algae in it, compared to a tank next to it, even though its located in the shade under a patio roof.
The refugium does contain a Panamanian pleco, and a number of local shrimp.
Below is the shaded rank, note the algae smudge in its lower left, just below where my arm is not long enough to scrape efficiently with a razor blade.
now a side view of the refugium, not totally algae free, but quite clear, for getting lots of full sun.
I do give it a quick scrape with a razor blade, maybe once a week.
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