Habitat - Indoor :: Sunlight and Tank Position

[chigga24]

Hey all, another question. Can I put my tank against a wall near a window? I get a lot of sunlight from that window, esp. during the day. Could that be a bad thing on a hot summer day? Or is that actually good b/c of the UV rays the sun provides??? Thanks!!

[cam722]

It can be a bad thing any time of the year. First of all the sun does provided UVB rays but it does little good when it's filtered through glass. It also could be very dangerous because the sun can heat the water to dangerous temperatures. Secondly, if the window creates a draft it could make your turtle ill. Another reason, although not a dangerous one is that the sunlight will help the forming of algae. So, it's highly recommended that you keep your turtles away from a window.

[CountryGirl68]

Algae ... boy do I have stories to tell about that!!! I had a tank next to a window (years ago) where I only had simple see-through curtains. Within a week, my tank looked like it was filled with lime jello. Not pretty!!! And no matter how often I cleaned it after that, the algae was back within a few days. The only fix was moving the tank far from the window. Learned my lesson!!!

A friend of mine had a small fish tank in front of the window and one hot summer day, she came home to find cooked fish!! A window is definitely not the place for a tank.

[marisa]

I have a stock tank that's to one side of a window with a southern exposure, and a 20-gallon tank that's in line with the window but further into the room. Both do get sunlight exposure during the afternoon. In the winter, there is no problem with the temp getting too warm---the water temps stay at 71-72F even with the sunlight shining on the tanks. (In the summer, it would be a different story.)

The lighting is beautiful, and my turtles seem to really like it, but they get no UVB benefits from the sun through the window. They still have UVB lights.

The tanks do get algae. The algae only forms on the sides of the tanks and objects in it, but the water remains clear. I just leave the algae in the stock tank, since it looks really nice and natural. I clean the algae from the walls of the regular tank when it gets bad, but this is because it doesn't look very nice on glass.

[VelvetAlley]

I have a corner that's in the sun for maybe an hour a day. Sputnik likes it, and it's his favorite time to bask. It doesn't get hot, maybe 86 degrees. It also makes those awesome light-through-water effects on the carpet.

Because of the short duration that it's in the sun, I don't have any algea problems.

[marisa]

The light-through-water effect on the floor of the stock tank is beautiful to see as well.