Fey
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hi All,
I have a quick question about the location of my tank currently with regards to lighting.
Long story short: I was forced to move back in June from a large house I lived in alone to moving back in with my parents in my childhood home. You know, life happens yada yada. In my old house this same 52 gallon tank was located in a room with one large window but situated far enough away from the window that it didn't pose any problems to algae growth. The tank then had live plants, always has been planted, and was doing very well. All levels were normal.
After the move I was forced to find a location for my tank in a single room in which the only real place I could put it was directly in front of a window. I keep the blinds shut on the window that is right behind the tank and the window adjacent has the blinds lifted maybe 10 inches for my cats to see out of into the garden just outside. Now, I've noticed a slight increase of scum build up on the tank walls (which I clean nearly daily) and on the silk and live plants within the tank. The tank has two lighting fixtures which are kept on during the day and turned off just before full dark/after evening feeding is done. I'm wondering if I should leave the lights off for longer during the day as there is some light that comes in through the tank through the backdrop. It seems the backdrop is dense enough that when the lights are off during the day it appears silhouetted but not fully dark. I'm new to this layout so the help is much appreciated.
here is the tank during the day with the lights on:
and here is the tank during the day with the lights off:
Sorry for the long-winded explanation, I just don't want to have any problems with this current tank set up!
I have a quick question about the location of my tank currently with regards to lighting.
Long story short: I was forced to move back in June from a large house I lived in alone to moving back in with my parents in my childhood home. You know, life happens yada yada. In my old house this same 52 gallon tank was located in a room with one large window but situated far enough away from the window that it didn't pose any problems to algae growth. The tank then had live plants, always has been planted, and was doing very well. All levels were normal.
After the move I was forced to find a location for my tank in a single room in which the only real place I could put it was directly in front of a window. I keep the blinds shut on the window that is right behind the tank and the window adjacent has the blinds lifted maybe 10 inches for my cats to see out of into the garden just outside. Now, I've noticed a slight increase of scum build up on the tank walls (which I clean nearly daily) and on the silk and live plants within the tank. The tank has two lighting fixtures which are kept on during the day and turned off just before full dark/after evening feeding is done. I'm wondering if I should leave the lights off for longer during the day as there is some light that comes in through the tank through the backdrop. It seems the backdrop is dense enough that when the lights are off during the day it appears silhouetted but not fully dark. I'm new to this layout so the help is much appreciated.
here is the tank during the day with the lights on:
and here is the tank during the day with the lights off:
Sorry for the long-winded explanation, I just don't want to have any problems with this current tank set up!
