The power of natural sunlight

[kevinpo]

Here is a picture of a frag of A. microphthalma. It is located in one of my 200 gal cubes. It is lit by a 400W halide driven by a HQI ballast and it is only 16" to the top of the sand. In the summer months the morning sun shines into the front 18" of the tank from the side window. The sun is at a low angle and in a couple of hours is blocked by the roof overhang. Although it isn't as noticeable in the picture as it is in person, look at the perfect line where the coral has lightened on one side. That is the side where the natural sunlight hits it for just a couple of hours a day. And we think halides are bright

Regards,
Kevin

 

[morgan]

im having a coral sun room built in my back yard once i get it running we can all see the effects of the might sun i expect the spftys to go spastic and to have very healthy gonis

 

[Scooterman]

I have a small pool in the back yard & when the sun is out I'm stunned at how super clear everything is & crisp, 4 ft deep! I don't see any blues at these dept's but it is amazing!

 

[morgan]

scooterman does that have coral in it how can u not see blue at 4 feet i saw blue acros and montis at 10 feet bright blue?

 

[Scooterman]

LOL talking swimming Pool here & The water is dead Clear at this dept, being so clear any color would pop out. Sorry thought i was clear on that

 

[servo]

I'm kicking around the idea of installing solatubes on my roof and dropping the source into the fish room above the tank. The location is perfect. I don't know if they will put out the kind of par equivalent to a 400-1000 W MH.

I wish that more hobbiests had these over their tanks.

http://www.solatube.com/homeowner/

 

[jeffnewt]

I have been thinking about this for over a year. Install fiber optics on the roof and bend them all down to the tank throught the ceiling. Perhaps in time..

Also, that website above is a joke, look at the bathroom before and after- thats just photoshop.

 

[Scooterman]

You can't beat the Power of the Sun, somewhere here we have a tank that in a sum room, he compares the sun to the 400 MH above it, you can't tell that there is a light over it comparing.

 

[krisfal]

I have been thinking about how to get more natural sunlight to my tank ever since I read this thread:

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7669&page=4

Check out the pictures on post #46, in the picture the 400w MH are on but sunlight is hitting half of the tank which makes it appear that the other half has no light!

I have been toying with the solartube idea also, my sister has one and it brings a lot of light into the room. My problem is that my tank is on the first floor in the part of the house that has a second story.

 

[ReefferMan]

Very interesting! With some powerfull saws, plexi-glass, duct-tape, glue, bublegum, and some hard work we can achieve the light of the sun. Lol Lets get to it! for those who can, its a must. My tank is 2 levels down, im bummed! but theres alwayse a way!

They do make solar tubes that can go down pretty far, as to make it a couple levels down.

 

[knowcrap]

My problem is that my tank is on the first floor in the part of the house that has a second story.

Have you considered a Roman theme upstairs? I hear columns are making a comeback and would surround the solar tubes nicely.

 

[krisfal]

Very interesting! With some powerfull saws, plexi-glass, duct-tape, glue, bublegum, and some hard work we can achieve the light of the sun.

My husband likes to stick with duct tape and baling wire:lol: Actually he is a contractor, he is the one trying to conince me that it is OK to knock holes in the wall to put a bigger sump in the room behind my tank:shock:. We built this house and I am not sure about putting holes in the wall that we would have to repair before selling the place

 

[krisfal]

Have you considered a Roman theme upstairs? I hear columns are making a comeback and would surround the solar tubes nicely.

Columns in the bar??? The room above is our bar/game room. HMMM

 

[kevinpo]

One of the problems with using natural sunlight only is the color. It washes out the coral colors and is not very appealing. IR heating can also be an issue.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[servo]

One of the problems with using natural sunlight only is the color. It washes out the coral colors and is not very appealing. IR heating can also be an issue.

Regards,
Kevin

Kevin, I respectfully disagree about color. The colors of the corals in Delbeek's outdoor tanks are out of this world! Additionally, I've seen some amazing acros in shallow water in the Cook Islands and Fiji that blew my retinas. However, I would tell you that if I set up a tank with solatubes, I would also likely use T5's to suppliment.

 

[logiktest]

Kevin, really cool pic! Do you think the natural lite degrades or promotes algal growth in your aquarium? Also, It looks like some of your coral in that picture are growing in the direction of the natural lite. Could they be reaching for the sun?

 

[kevinpo]

I didn't mean the coral color but the overall color of the tank. My home tank receives natural sunlight twice a year for a few hours in the morning as the sun traverses between the seasons. The corals do not change color in any way but the overall tank appears too yellow/white (not enough blue) for my tastes. Reminds me of the old Iwasaki 6500K bulbs.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[kevinpo]

Do you think the natural lite degrades or promotes algal growth in your aquarium?

Neither. Algae growth is mostly governed by controlling nutrient levels. No nutrients no algae, is a pretty simple concept but can be quite the challenge sometimes

Cheers,
Kevin

 

[krisfal]

I didn't mean the coral color but the overall color of the tank. My home tank receives natural sunlight twice a year for a few hours in the morning as the sun traverses between the seasons. The corals do not change color in any way but the overall tank appears too yellow/white (not enough blue) for my tastes. Reminds me of the old Iwasaki 6500K bulbs.

Regards,
Kevin

Thanks for clarifying that. I was wondering how sunlight would be detrimental to the color of the coral itself, as sunlight is the light they get in nature.

:idea:If solar tubes came down into a canopy you could add attanics to bring in the blue

 

[logiktest]

OOOPS, the first time I read the post I thought the color was caused by the sun(picture being taken under halide light only), I did not realize the picture was of sun shining on the corals.

Thanks for answering the algae question...

I think the light color could be nice for a while each year, it gives the tank seasons.