DanSReef
Member
Hi Everyone. I thought I would ask a quick question on Direct Sunlight for Reef Tanks!
In the past I thought the rule of thumb has been that direct sunlight is generally not a good thing for fish tanks….it encourages nuisance algae. I am curious how many folks on the board here get direct sunlight to their tanks….and the potential pitfalls.
When I set up my tank initially, I thought that direct, yet filtered light would be really the exception and not the norm for my tank. I have come to find out that there currently is a 45 min time slot where the light is just at the right place to bathe my reef tank in sunlight. I noticed this yesterday while I was working from home. Here are a couple of pictures of the tank.
What is interesting….it seemed the tank just exploded in activity...and came to life during that time.... I noticed more “bugs”, I noticed incredible color of corals, I noticed that the fish got into…. almost a mode of soaking up the sun. I have a cleaner wrasse that seemed to kick his maintenance of the tank inhabitants into high gear…. It was pretty interesting to watch.
Anyway, I am curious of other thoughts, feedback and direction here. Should I eliminate the direct sunlight? Should I limit it? Should I allow it to continue?
FYI..... for lighting in the tank... I am running T-5 HO lighting…. Daylights and Actinics.
In the past I thought the rule of thumb has been that direct sunlight is generally not a good thing for fish tanks….it encourages nuisance algae. I am curious how many folks on the board here get direct sunlight to their tanks….and the potential pitfalls.
When I set up my tank initially, I thought that direct, yet filtered light would be really the exception and not the norm for my tank. I have come to find out that there currently is a 45 min time slot where the light is just at the right place to bathe my reef tank in sunlight. I noticed this yesterday while I was working from home. Here are a couple of pictures of the tank.
What is interesting….it seemed the tank just exploded in activity...and came to life during that time.... I noticed more “bugs”, I noticed incredible color of corals, I noticed that the fish got into…. almost a mode of soaking up the sun. I have a cleaner wrasse that seemed to kick his maintenance of the tank inhabitants into high gear…. It was pretty interesting to watch.
Anyway, I am curious of other thoughts, feedback and direction here. Should I eliminate the direct sunlight? Should I limit it? Should I allow it to continue?
FYI..... for lighting in the tank... I am running T-5 HO lighting…. Daylights and Actinics.