how to stop algae with a south facing tank

[Friendly]

hey all, I work in an office where the whole area is floor to ceiling south facing windows.

 

is there a way to setup a small reef aquarium and fight algae successfully?

 

I have seen what happens to a south facing fresh water tropical tank and I do NOT want anything like that to happen if I set up something here.

 

thinking a 10 - 20 gal reef with a couple of clowns, an anemone and a few bottom feeders.

[Tamberav]

Ive never had an issue with algae and windows as long as parameters were kept their appropriate levels. I actually open my windows on purpose to give them some sun. Natural lit tanks is actually a thing if you live in the right climate or have a sun roof.

 

http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/current-issue/article/110-tank-of-the-month

hey all, I work in an office where the whole area is floor to ceiling south facing windows.

 

is there a way to setup a small reef aquarium and fight algae successfully?

 

I have seen what happens to a south facing fresh water tropical tank and I do NOT want anything like that to happen if I set up something here.

 

thinking a 10 - 20 gal reef with a couple of clowns, an anemone and a few bottom feeders.

[BulkRate]

Decorative macroalgae (and lots of it) or a fuge full of more utility-grade stuff can help with this - the gist is that there's only so much nutrients to go around, so have it be taken up by something easy to control/desireable.

 

I've only had rare issues in my little 9 gallon tank (fugeless), and the room it's in gets moderately bright sunlight for at least half the day for most of the year. Macroalgae + an aggressive clean-up crew has worked wonders for the past three years. I do have to run a nimble nano over the tank every 2-3 days or it starts getting green dust buildup, and if I let it go longer than about a week I have to bust out the Tunze Care scraper to deal with the hardened spots of starting coraline, though.

[Friendly]

hmmm. perhaps my water was too rich in nutrients then.

 

changes things for me.