Natural Sunlight tanks

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The1poolman

New Member
I have been to an outdoor aquarium in Oahu, I believe the name was the Oahu ocean aquarium. The entire place is all outdoors, no lights, all sunlight. If you are on or close to the equator, the sun is plenty strong enough. For all the rest of us we will stick to technology. BTY the place was absolutely beautiful.
Ed
 
PhilOlsen

PhilOlsen

Has been struck by the ban stick
No way i could have one in Chicago, unless it was a penguin tank, but.... I have been doing some reading about the UV light that comes only from natural sunlight and we are not able to reproduce in our indoor tanks safely as of yet and it made perfect sense, the corals are subjected to a fair amount of UV in nature.
 
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ussubs

New Member
I've had good luck with an indoor reef aquarium near a large Southwest facing glass door. The tank gets about 4 hours of natural sunlight a day that compliments its usual dose of relatively intense artificial light.

I live in Northern Idaho and so temperatures are not much of an issue in Winter, being that the tank is indoors and in summer the room is kept at 68 degrees. The tank maintains a 75 degree temp all year around.

The inverts really react positively to the intense natural light. I keep nutrient levels low and so algae is not a problem.
 
DrBCool

DrBCool

Member
Ok I gotta jump in here . :)
I am fixing to set up a 54 gallon corner bow front and have been researching Sola-Tube as my primary lighting source . I currently run a 2X65 watt pc lighting fixture over my 36 gallon bow and plan on keeping it around to add some night vewing blue atinics to the tank .
I know you can grow corals with sucess in a green house in Ohio as I buy some of my corals from one . They don't seem to have much of an issue with algae in their systems .
I like the idea of saving money on electricity , never having to change a bulb , And in that the color of my bulb will always stay the same where as a MH loses its ummmph after awhile . If the sun loses it's ummmph we are all in trouble .. lol
Glad to see there are others out there looking at a green alternative to lighting their reefs :)

Actually I was looking into taking my reef off grid , but darn that is expensive to do . You would think by now in an age where we can fly to the moon they would have figured out an economical way to use the sun for energy . Just to run a 130Watt light fixture would cost me over 6 grand to do with solar and batteries :-( So the solar-tube is my only option for a green reef . No I am not talking algae...lol

I will be sure to take some pictures of my install as it will be unique in it's self . I have to run the sola-tube out an existing window on the southwest side of the house . RENTAL House .. Will also take pictures of coral growth and such .
 
SubRosa

SubRosa

Well-Known Member
The biggest problem I would forsee with a naturally lit tank is the difficulty in controlling the photoperiod.Days are just too long in the summer this far north( or south) as opposed to tropical and subtropical areas like Hawaii.Algae would be a bear when the tank is lit for 15 or 16 hours a day.Now for a refugium it would be great.I have a similar plan in mind for growing mangroves hydroponically in natural sunlight.
 
DrBCool

DrBCool

Member
I will keep you posted on how it goes . If nothing else the way I am looking at this is : Experimentation :) If it doesn't work out for the reef I will use it to make a grow area for my house plants :) Only have 1 south facing window in this silly house .

I am hoping that it makes everything grow . I don't mind some algae , there is algae in a natural reef . You can't be natural without some algae . :) I just hope my corals explode in growth . I want to make some money back if I can . lol

I am in contact with sun pipe now to get measurements and they are goinna help me with the layout and such . :)
 
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Opsanus tau

Member
Hello all!,
It's been awhile,I must "chime in here" and warn of "sloa-tubes" "yellowing" over a short period of time,(two years), ....my friend in AZ has had to replace his with a different brand,(I'm not sure what brand).The yellow was projected down into his tank.
I am using a 21"tube by "Sun-Dome"( of Florida).
It is amazing!(they guarantee it will not yellow)...and it only took me a half a day to install myself.
I have a PAR meter with a 100' cable and have been able to take readings in the feild,.. and then use the SAME EXACT LIGHT METER in my tanks!
Most of the corals in the sun-lit tank are from the same nursery at 36'.
The corals in the tank (at mid day) recive as much as 5X the light they did in the wild.-Opsanus tau
 
DrBCool

DrBCool

Member
Opsanus Tau , Hey thanks for the heads up on the yellowing problem of Sola-Tube . Sun-Dome was the other brand I was looking at for the experiement . I have only found 3 companies making the solar tubes and the third is Velux

Wow .. that is a lot of light . So do you have a tank lit with the solar tube ? and if so do you control how much light is coming in and how long they stay open etc.. Right now I am using a mirror to reflect light into my 36 gallon tank . My Anemone , leather , kenya tree and rics all seem to love the extra light . :)
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Velux makes a VERY nice Solar Tube. They are a quality product and the name Velux carries a lot of Industry Weight!! :)
 
DrBCool

DrBCool

Member
Opsanus , so do you like the solar tube over your tank ? Do you have any problems with algae and such ? Really interested in this adventure and if I can learn the do's and dont's before trying that would be awsome :)
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
My pleasure DBC. I try to help when I can.

I'm in the "Construction Industry" and yeah I've seen several. That's actually my "Brand of Choice" for such items. I've never seen one used to a TANK though but have thought about it on several occasions. Just not sure that I'm willing to get into the "logistics" of light control. Maybe when I get my next power bill I'll change my mind :)
 
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Opsanus tau

Member
IMG_4110.JPG

This is my 115 Gallon Atlantic Reef Bowl,lit with 1-21" Sun-Dome tube.
It sits in a 24" schedule 40 slip fitting-O.tau
 

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Opsanus tau

Member
IMG_3858.JPG
 
BEELZEBOB

BEELZEBOB

Well-Known Member
sooooo, i can figure that all the junks underneath, but like, where does flow come from?

is it like, greenroom lit, or like, that light in the ceiling?
 
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