I have a tank with a mirror on the back so it looks like there are loads of fish and looks deeper.

Anyway it kinda steamed up and looks like a bathroom mirror after the hot waters been running (even though it's actually underwater)

Do I need to keep cleaning it with the magnet thingy or is there something that can be put in the water to keep the tank clean without hurting the fish?

Also the plastic covering on the tank light has got a layer of hard dried up water over it where it has been splashed when warm. I'm tempted to leave it so it's not as bright because I cant see how having a bright light right above the tank doesn't hurt the fishes eyes? I hope thats not a lame thing to say but if i stared at a light bulb all day I'd be pretty blind by now and probably have a stonking head ache?

Any ideas please guys/gals?

You can buy a cloth inpregnated with a chemical to stop car windscreens from misting up.
I don't know wether that would work but worth a try.
However I would make sure first that it would not be harmful to your fishies.
Seems very strange though that the mirror should steem up underwater.

PS
Not quite sure of the set up.
Does the mirror form the actual back panel of the tank or is it a seperate panel behind: Therefor it is the glass of the tank that is steaming up rather than the mirror.
I have a few thoughts but need to know more.

??? I dont know actually? The mirror is part of the tank I didn't get it seperately.

This is it..

http://www.aquarian.com/cgi-bin/trans.pl/e...axi_light.shtml

I've been informed by other members that I have too many fish in this tank :-

2 x pearlscale
3 x telescopes.

They are all pretty small at the moment (between 4 and 5cm (about 2 inches))and appear happy and not over crowded and generally healthy, but maybe water is being affected? I've tested Ph which is norm and still need to test for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. The tank has been set up for 3 to 4 weeks now.

Apparently the rule is: 10 Gals per fish.
So check the volume of your tank. As far as I can work out at 30Ltrs it's only about 7 Gals. and therefore I'm sorry to say you are indeed well overstocked.
I understand your fish are very small now but they need room to grow. Also they will produce a lot of poo, wich convers to amonia, and that is lethal to the fish.
Look at the info about Cycling on this site.
Sorry if all this sounds rather negative but I speak from very resent experience.
I'm no expert but have had to learn verry quickly from this site. So don't be put off keeping fish. Once you get the hang of it you will get so much enjoyment.

ive seen those tanks in my lfs.. the mirror is in place of the back pannel of glass is it not? soo its still the back pannel of glass which is misty? could it be some sort of algae growth?

ooor is the mirror behind the back glass so there is a small gap between the mirrors glass and the back glass.. so it would easily be able to steam up..?
i spose u need to figure out the source of the steaming.. a radiator? tank temp to warm?
then fix that.. or you could look around in car accessories shops and see if you can find anything that stops misting like bigphil said?

Yeh.
Misting is all to do with temperature. That's why I needed to know if there was a gap beween the back of the tank and the mirror. As the mirror forms the back of the tank then there isn't: or if there is it should be sealed ( Like double glazing)
If the outside temp is colder than inside then the panel will mist (Just as in winter you windows at home will mist up)
Is your tank heated? If so drop the temp by a couple of degrees and that may solve the problem.
If not then maybe (Assuming you have central heating in your house!) you could increase the temp of the room by a couple of degrees.

You could still try a demister cloth or spray on the outside surface of the glass.
Hope your sort the problem out. The idea of a back mirror sounds great.

Thanks for the help guys, I'll take a look when I get home. I'm just a bit worried about putting cloths in the water incase bits come off of it, and chemicals that arent fish friendly? I'm pretty sure there is no gap though.

The house is warm (not too anywhere near hot), and the window is generally open through the day. The tank is nowhere near a radiator and it is not heated?

Thanks again for the help.

The smaller tanks usually have incandescent bulbs for lighting and they put off a lot of heat, so that may be your heat source. Worth a check anyway.
edit: I don't know where you live, but here at Walmart (in the fish section) they carry a smaller flourescent screw in bulb shaped just like the incandescents that you could replace it with. They are little more costly (all flourescents are) but they will last longer.

I found this on another website about compact flourescents (CF):


Extra Tip Already have an incandescent bulb hoods but the lights are hot and not bright enough? Thinking of replacing it with flourescent. DONT BUY A NEW HOOD! Remove your yellow incandescent bulbs and put in screw in CFs for $10 each. This should double your light output and cut the electricity bill on your light in half, and you dont need a new hood.

Bonus CF bulbs last 8 times as long as regular incandescent bulbs so you wont have to replace them as often as regular bulbs - it turns out that the cost of the CF bulbs are cheaper than regular bulbs in the long run!


He said he found them at Home Depot.

I cleaned my tank yesterday. I've been advised to leave it, but considering I'm over stocked and considering that it was really not looking too clean I couldn't resist incase ammonia or something built up too quickly due to fish numbers.

Anyways the mirror IS the back panel by the looks of things, so no gap. I cleaned it with cotton wool which I got wet and squeezed first so bits didn't come off. When I wiped the mirror it was still kinda misty but the steaming up turned out to be brown and slimey once on the cotton wool. some kind of algea I suppose.

Anyway I cleaned the gravel, moved the plants and ornaments back to give the fish more room and changed 25% of the water which I treated with stress treatment. chloring treatment etc. I also put in an air stone at the back. It LOOKS much better but my fish were at the top looking for air this morning. I THINK this is something to do with Nitrites so I'm taking a sample to the pet shop in a hour. I'll let you know what happens.