painting the back glass black hurts par value?

Ive heard that is it does because it doesnt reflect the light. So how mich does it hurt it and has anyone scraped it off? I have some window tint off a job I did and ive also heard that helps reflection. But im not sure if its worth it

 

never heard that....but it doesnt really matter because unless u have a walk-around aquarium (which in case you wouldnt be painting a side anyway), the side u would be painting is gonna be covered in Coralline algae in about 6 months from start

 

I clean the glass every day or so I dont like the look of the algea

 

I've never heard of black paint affecting the par readings either. If true it's so minimal that it's of no consequences to the health of the corals. Not in my tank anyways

 

If anything i would assume painting would increase PAR, i mean with a painted back, thats one less side the light has to escape the tank. and glass, when full of water acts weird when reflecting light ( notice when you look at your tank you cant see things as when it was empty). I would like to see an actual study done on this, but im not convinced until otherwise.

 

Even if clean back glass does reflect better, any PAR that may be adding to the tank is a secondary effect. Meaning taking that away from the equation is a negligible difference.

PAR is primarily delivered in a direct path from the fixture to surfaces in the tank.

 

Put a sheet of mirror glass against the back of your tank. It'll reflect the light and your tank will look 50% bigger.

 

And stess your fish to death