Becki Posted September 5, 2010 Report Share Posted September 5, 2010 (edited) Ive been tossing around the idea in my head to create a kind of railing on my window sill so that in warm weather I can place jarred fish ont he sill so they can benefit from the filtered light and also the warmth. My window has a large variegated maple big tree in front of it and from mid/late spring it is screened from direct sunlight so I though this would be a perfect place to put the jars in fine weather. I do have a lot of cats however and needed a way to ensure that my jars were secure on this window sill so that I didn't have to be watching them constantly. I solved the problem today and trialled it and it appears to work excellently. I used two curtain rods and and a curtain rod holder that is designed so that you can pop the rod out when you dont need it, but for safety sake (fishy safety and cat) it cant be removed without first removing the jars. It can hold 18 jars when I stack the top jars off center as they are in the photo. So now I'm prepared and waiting for the arrival of more warm weather. IN case anyone is worried about fishing cats or suicidal bettas, the jars do have lids, I was just re drilling the hole in the lids and making it larger. Edited September 5, 2010 by Becki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted September 5, 2010 Report Share Posted September 5, 2010 Looks good Becki... the railing idea is a good one! Watch out for algae growth though - with that amount of light the water will easily go green.... or at least that happened to some small tanks of mine on a window sill until I stuck some cardboard behind them..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becki Posted September 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2010 they will only be on the windows maybe once or twice a week so algae shouldn't be to much of a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anasfire Posted September 5, 2010 Report Share Posted September 5, 2010 I'd also be worried about the variation in temperature from the direct sunlight. Bettas like consistent temps and being in direct sunlight would vary it, clouds crossing as an example and as the sun progresses across the sky. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delyall Posted September 5, 2010 Report Share Posted September 5, 2010 I agree with fighters4U, its a great idea, but Id worry about temp. fluctuations :blush: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted September 5, 2010 Report Share Posted September 5, 2010 I wouldn't worry too much about temp fluctuations unless they were in direct sun... mine didn't have any probs on the window sill with morning sun only (had window open by about 4 inches so room temps didn't rise at all that much either... algae was my only prob but they were there 24/7 not just a couple of times a week like you're going to do Becki.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becki Posted September 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2010 (edited) Its not a permanent thing it would be mainly for an hour, two at most while I do water changes and such. The fish wont be staying there 24/7 Its not direct sunlight either, my room doesn't face the sun but also from late spring when the sun is stronger the tree is in full leaf and you can not see anything but green out my window. Sometimes I wish I could get some more sunlight into my room. Edited September 5, 2010 by Becki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhong89 Posted September 5, 2010 Report Share Posted September 5, 2010 I have a tank/barracks next to the window. There is some direct sunlight though, but only about 1 or 2 hours before the sun sets. So not so hot, but I did have a small algae problem. I didn't have any green water, I think due to I have quite a few java ferns in the tank, but I did have some algae growing on the glass. But I put in some snails (you know the ones that won't stop reproducing? They kind of keep the algae under control and leave my java fern alone, so I didn't see it as a big problem and I keep it next to the window 24/7 Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted September 5, 2010 Report Share Posted September 5, 2010 I think giving them a bask in the daylight would do a lot of good. Vitamin D, stronger rays, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becki Posted September 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2010 Lisa, That was my thinking on it as well, its a not permanat spot just a brief holiday in the filtered sun. I'm planning on giving my tank boys their own jars as wells so they can have holidays as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted September 5, 2010 Report Share Posted September 5, 2010 I think the rods are a great idea Becki! I had mine by a window for a while (until they died, some lived 5yrs), and they were happy. Not really any direct sunlight, but a bit when the sun was rising. They were there 24/7 and I never had any algae problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhong89 Posted September 6, 2010 Report Share Posted September 6, 2010 My reasoning to put it next to the window is not so sophisticated. I just thought it's free lighting with a inbuilt timer that has the best spectrum light possible (better than the ones we buy) for plant growth and able to promote plant growth to increase better water quality and it's a good indication of water quality for me. If there's a lot of algae growth it means that my tank it not as clean as I can make it (excess nutrients), and the some UV light is also good for killing bad bacteria or parasites which will reduce disease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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