700g+ T5 & Sunlit Reef System

[blue seastar]

Wow, what an amazing tank. Good work. Hope to see some new pics later. :bigeyes:

 

[tom obrecht]

I just happened upon your thread. Nice build! You have some unique ideas and the system is different which I love. I haven't been a big fan of solar tubes in the past but yours I like. Good Job!

 

[advaquatics]

What an amazing build-up! I can't wait to see additional picks as this tanks ages and begins to blossom......Kudos

 

[hatfielj]

WOW!!! That is very cool. Please keep sharing pics!

 

[r0cksteady]

lol matt, see there are benefits to having an extra tank journal. none of the baggage to carry accross

Everything looks great mate. How do you going with noise from your setup considering your skimmer\equipment area doesn't have a top on it?

 

[lucidheights]

man when those corals grow up this tank is gonna be the shiznit. Definitely digging the short stacked scape

 

[StripestheEel]

Nice Tank, I have a few questions if you do not mind. I am planning a 700-800 gal. & you have some great ideas here.

1. What size sola tubes are you using. I am sure the light in person is different than in a photograph, but do you wish that you had used a 4th tube, or is there pleanty of light?

2. Do you have any side views of the sump showing compartments & how the water enters the sump?

3. How do your panels come off the stand for maintenance?

4. How much is your chiller running?

5. I like the idea of using Vortecs to keep heat out of the water. By looking at the videos it looks like pleanty of water movement. Are you getting good movement at the bottom half of the tank?

6. What do you wish you would have done different?

Thanks

Andy

Hi Andy,

1. Solatubes are 250mm in diameter, I'll try and get some pics from outside to show you how they look from the roof on the house too.

2. I do, I'll see if I can find them, if not I will take some for you.

3. The panels are attached with tamco catchers (unsure of the equivalent in the states) I'll take some pics too but essentially they are what we use for kitchens cupboards etc.

4. Chiller has never turned on :celeb1:

5. Yeah there seems to be good flow all around the tank. I am probably going to run the return all the way to the opposite side of the tank for that little bit more though.

6. Unsure at the moment; its early days. The only issue at the moment is the ATI powermodules which cut out some of the sunlight because they are too big. I am actually going to downgrade to the 8 bulb unit in 3-4 months time so I can get the best out of the solatubes.

i would love to see a night time solatubes only pic....natural moon cycles could do wonders for your inhabitants...

You'd actually be surprised, I don't really get much of a natural moonlight aura.

lol matt, see there are benefits to having an extra tank journal. none of the baggage to carry accross

Everything looks great mate. How do you going with noise from your setup considering your skimmer\equipment area doesn't have a top on it?

Pretty quiet Jase, I've been pretty lazy and still need to put the access door on though

man when those corals grow up this tank is gonna be the shiznit. Definitely digging the short stacked scape

That's exactly why it is so low :beer:

Thanks for all the other comments everybody.

 

[Mainframe562]

Awesome tank, lots of hard but well worth it!

 

[erics3000]

I really love solar power. Where do you gather your water from, any PICS? Using natural water and light really cuts down on the cost.

 

[El Diablo]

Very nice set up.

 

[dave.m]

Yet more SolaTube questions, if you don't mind:

o I notice you are using them without any lens on the lower end. Did the lenses reduce or change the light too much to be useful over the tank?

o Do you find the SolaTubes transfer heat/cold down over your tank?

o Is condensation from the tank's humidity an issue up inside the open SolaTubes? Any rust on the tubes?

Thx muchly

 

[TandN]

Tank looks great love the solatubes

 

[StripestheEel]

I really love solar power. Where do you gather your water from, any PICS? Using natural water and light really cuts down on the cost.

I live around 20mins from the ocean so its a godsend. I usually get it delivered in 1000L bundles.

Yet more SolaTube questions, if you don't mind:

o I notice you are using them without any lens on the lower end. Did the lenses reduce or change the light too much to be useful over the tank?

o Do you find the SolaTubes transfer heat/cold down over your tank?

o Is condensation from the tank's humidity an issue up inside the open SolaTubes? Any rust on the tubes?

Thx muchly

1. I believe they are called diffusers. They cut down the light; so why would you use them? Do you have to use them in the states?

2. No real heat issues; my chiller has never turned on

3. Not that I have seen. The tubes are around 280mm off the surface so I guess that helps. Only time will tell though.

 

[dave.m]

Do you have to use them in the states?

I wouldn't know about the States. I am well north of that, and though I am very interested in using SolaTubes, I am concerned about heat and cold from the roof coming down onto the tank.

Thx

 

[StripestheEel]

Sorry didn't see that you were from Canada.

I don't see how the cold would come down the tubes though, heat is a little different but my T5's generate more than the solatubes do.

 

[maikoa02]

Absolutely beautiful tank and build. Thanks for sharing.

 

[dave.m]

I don't see how the cold would come down the tubes though, heat is a little different but my T5's generate more than the solatubes do.

That's good to know. Here it is +35°C in summer and -25°C in winter. On a solatube there is only one layer of glass in the top end. Usually a thin layer of glass in a window will allow a lot of heat to escape from the house (very expensive on the heating bill) and you can feel the cold falling off it.

So, if you are not feeling heat through conductivity in your sunny location (Queensland) there's a good chance it won't be a major concern here.

Thx again.

 

[cbort]

WOW! great looking tank!

 

[ctrl+f]

This is really amazing.

 

[dragonfish_!]

amazing man !!!!