# Tint or film on tank to filter out ambient natural light?



## TekWarren (Oct 6, 2013)

I have the proper tool to eradicate my ongoing green water battle now (UV) but I don't plan to keep it in use full time.

I am wondering if there is, or anyone has tried using something similar to window tint/film on a tank to block out natural day light? My tank is situated in a great spot viewable from the living room, dining room, kitchen, and as you walk in the front door...yet is not in the way of any foot traffic so also conveniently located.

However, there is a kitchen window to one side and the front door with glass in it on the other. I didn't have any issues for some months (crossing fingers I won't after UV for a week) but being home during the day some over the holidays I can see where some light is really getting to the tank even with the heavy snow we have been getting.

I set this up in the fall so I can only imagine the battle that could come in the summer months. I wouldn't even know where to look and ideally I don't want to black out the side facing the windows as we really do observe from all angles. I also am not educated enough to know if it just a certain spectrum I could filter out but window tinting came to mind when thinking of ways to prevent GW from coming back.

I got the big green killing machine which cleared things up in my 40 in like 2 days or less. Planning to run it until Sunday water change (put it in on Tuesday) and see what happens next week without it.


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

do you have a local tint shop? Might see if they have any cuttings you can have.


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## lochaber (Jan 23, 2012)

Is there any way you can tell if the seasonal angle change will expose your aquarium to more/less sunlight? During the winter, the sun tends to come at a much lower angle, while during the summer, it's a bit more overhead.

If you window/door is facing south, this might just be a winter thing, but if it's facing east/west, it might be year round.

Is putting up curtains/blinds an option? You may not even need to get the whole window, depending on the layout.

Otherwise, maybe you can look into one of those DIY window tints for automobiles?


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

another option would be cloth on velcro. That way you could attach it to the side of the tank when the sun is hitting it, yet remove it when you want to view. My wife is putting together since I can't use the sewing machine to save my life, some tank size curtains to velcro on. My light cycle starts when I get home, so I have no need for the sun to hit the tanks during the day. Throw the velcro curtains up before I leave and take them off when I get home. They make "blackout" fabric that's easy to use.


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## Zapins (Jan 7, 2006)

TekWarren said:


> I have the proper tool to eradicate my ongoing green water battle now (UV) but I don't plan to keep it in use full time.


I am curious why don't you plan on using it 24/7?

I'm not sure if you could use tinted glass to effectively stop green water. You might be able to run the UV filter once a week as a preventative measure and prevent green water from taking hold. Though I've found that after removing greenwater with a UV it usually doesn't come back even if direct sunlight hits the tank.


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## TekWarren (Oct 6, 2013)

My main reason is I don't want extra gear in the tank. I could have went inline but I'm hoping when it's gone, it's gone  I got the big unit and it's BIG lol I can't even stand it up straight in my 40B and it cleared the water in 2 days. Maybe this won't be an issue after it's cleared up. 

Zappins, you know a little of my tank history. I got cloudy water then green water after a bunch of plant die off, before I started using ferts. And before that I had no issues with cloudy water for months.


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## Zapins (Jan 7, 2006)

Yup, that's why I think you should be fine once it has been killed off. Just an ammonia spike that triggered it initially.


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