Tank Placement

[Cich Mind]

I've never been a big fan of placing my tanks directly in front of a window. That being said, with the tank I am planning, I will have no choice. I have blackout blinds on the windows and there is very slight light penetration when they are closed. I think I may add a couple of plecos for algae abatement. Are there any other proven methods (besides chemicals) to control algae? I don't want to keep my blinds closed all of the time. Nor do I want to spend a lot of time cleaning algae.

I'm putting black poster board on the back of my tank. Something like that could help with algae. My tank is about 2' from my window but no direct sunlight though. No plants for me as my tank will have cichlids that will most likely destroy plants. Lol. IME a scrubber is the best tool to fight algae. With every WC my algae will be scrubbed off (it only takes a few minutes). Algae is a pain to deal with either way. GL

 

[Backfromthedead]

Let the algae grow! Leave the windows open, the back glass will eventually grow a thick layer of nitrate consuming algae that plays host to a multitude of beneficial microorganisms and also looks cool.

 

[Jexnell]

In this tank I didn't fight off the black beard algea that rode in on a plant possibly. Now I have this beautiful flowing carpet over everything.

 

[Cich Mind]

I've never seen algae like that before. It's very unique looking to say the least. It kind of looks like carpet.

 

[Cichlid savage II]

Let the algae grow! Leave the windows open, the back glass will eventually grow a thick layer of nitrate consuming algae that plays host to a multitude of beneficial microorganisms and also looks cool.

I guess to each his own. I don't want a thick layer of any algae in my tank.

 

[Krismo962]

Rachel O'eary's bichir tank used to have a ton of that stuff on the back , looked pretty neat.

 

[Cichlid savage II]

Rachel O'eary's bichir tank used to have a ton of that stuff on the back , looked pretty neat.

This isn't my cup of tea.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Plecos aren't necessarily good for eliminating algae. But if them all, I believe bristlenose would work the best.

 

[Cichlid savage II]

Plecos aren't necessarily good for eliminating algae. But if them all, I believe bristlenose would work the best.

Not necessarily for the elimination of the algae, but for the hard to reach areas, and a lot of them look cool.

 

[The Morning]

I have found that a handful of nerite snails in my 150 along with frequent water changes have kept the algae in check.