gone solar

[sfsuphysics]

Not true, it drops down to about 1000W/m^2 near the surface of the Earth

Anyways, great job on the pictures, I don't know if you properly white balanced but your full sun shot looks absolutely sweet, and the cloud passing by has a very nice effect of the bluer bulbs becoming more dominant.

Sucks about the redbugs, found them myself in a very similar way, taking pictures close ups of some frags, top down shot.... nice macro zoom... and OY! Went back to look with my eye, and I could barely see anything. Cameras are great!

 

[hobogato]

i try to keep taking the pic and adjusting so it looks right in the camera - i dont like adjusting anything on the computer except crop and size. i am no where near as good as i should be with the camera, but im learning.....

the problem i am having taking pics is that almost everything looks washed out when it is really sunny. that first coral in the second batch for example has very vivid bright green everywhere except the tips which are yellowish with those nice purple coralites.

i still take about 10 times as many pics as i keep - thank goodness for digital cameras!

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13263259#post13263259 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sfsuphysics


Anyways, great job on the pictures, I don't know if you properly white balanced but your full sun shot looks absolutely sweet, and the cloud passing by has a very nice effect of the bluer bulbs becoming more dominant.

 

[salty joe]

Thanks for all the pics. The series at different times with & without the actinics is outstanding. Ditto for the corals as they adjust to the sun. Keep 'em coming!

Someone mentioned the possibility of putting a blue film on the inside lens of the solar tube & maybe lose the actinics. Is that a viable option?

Thanks again.
Joe

 

[jdhuyvetter]

I've been going back and forth about changing out my lights on my 300. I'm sold. Priced out HD this morning and will check out Solatube and Sun Dome later this week. Thanks for helping push me over the edge (like I really needed it!!)

What are the dimensions of your tank. I'm debating between 3 or 4 tubes ove an 8 feet long tank.

 

[hobogato]

i think a blue film would eliminate or decrease some of the other parts of the spectrum like red and yellow. part of the reason i did this was to get those wavelengths of light in the tank as well.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13263662#post13263662 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by salty joe

Someone mentioned the possibility of putting a blue film on the inside lens of the solar tube & maybe lose the actinics. Is that a viable option?

glad i could get someone else in trouble with their significant other....

my tank is 8'x2', but my overflows are in the ends. that means the usable length of the tank is about 7'

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13264189#post13264189 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jdhuyvetter
I've been going back and forth about changing out my lights on my 300. I'm sold. Priced out HD this morning and will check out Solatube and Sun Dome later this week. Thanks for helping push me over the edge (like I really needed it!!)

What are the dimensions of your tank. I'm debating between 3 or 4 tubes ove an 8 feet long tank.

 

[melev]

Ace, during the times that you are trying to take pictures in full light intensity, adjust your "exposure compensation" down a couple of notches. That will reduce some of the glare. On most cameras, it will be a button that looks like this: +/-

 

[hobogato]

thanks, i have been doing that lately and checking the histogram to make sure nothing is over-exposed, but the colors of some corals still seem washed out. maybe it is something with the white balance?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13264310#post13264310 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
Ace, during the times that you are trying to take pictures in full light intensity, adjust your "exposure compensation" down a couple of notches. That will reduce some of the glare. On most cameras, it will be a button that looks like this: +/-

 

[Elliott]

nice job hobogato and thanks for taking the time to document and share your findings

 

[hobogato]

this weeks pics - not much change from last week.

ultimate frags best stag ever 8-10-08

supposed to be tyree lime in the sky 8-10-08

texreefer green with stag 8-10-08

texreefer A. chesterfieldensis 8-10-08

texreefer blue tip stag 8-10-08

seaworld sa blue tip teal stag 8-10-08

pink jade 8-10-08

 

[hobogato]

paletta A. loveli 8-10-08

greenmako A. meridiana 8-10-08

cpreefguy A. florida 8-10-08

b&b shiny A. sp. 8-10-08

b&B A. efflorescens 8-10-08

atl tulip A. millepora 8-10-08

akm yellow A. sp.

 

[fishdoc11]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13263259#post13263259 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sfsuphysics
Not true, it drops down to about 1000W/m^2 near the surface of the Earth

Good point but I figured he was asking about the bulb itself

Enjoying the thread Ace. Thanks for documenting so well

Chris

 

[spleify]

Amazing thread!!

Thanks so much for sharing you're experiences with us.

Keep up the great work.

Spleify

 

[sfsuphysics]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13264992#post13264992 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishdoc11
Good point but I figured he was asking about the bulb itself

Well if you want to get technical about that too..about 4x10^26 watts divided by whatever the surface area of the sun happens to be... sorry I finished teaching an astronomy class in summer school

 

[fishdoc11]

Well I plagiarized my info from a fellow reefer that also happens to be a planetary scientist and professor here at UT.

I personally have no idea how many watts the sun generates.

At any rate it was just a joke and we have sidetracked the thread enough

Chris

 

[detect007]

Great setup!!! Just to let everyone know there is plenty of light up here in the North. Im from MIchigan and My vet has a 1500gallon reef tank that was part of a new renovation here in Canton Michigan (Canton Center Animal Hospital) great vets by the way! they could put your fish under for surgery istnt that amazing! Anyhow back to the tank, it is an amazing setup and he too opted for the solar tubes or something comprable as I not sure of the name of the tubes. He has 8 tubes i believe on his setup as well as some supplemental's. The tank is phenominal!!!!
Canton center and Ford Rd for any locals that care to take a look. I would do it in a heart beat, but my condo association would have my a** in a sling!!LOL!! Light up here may not be intense everyday but there is plenty, even on cloudy day's!

 

[hobogato]

could you snap a few pics and post em for us detect007?

 

[Elliott]

here is another natural sunlight tank, I believe he had difficulty with coral burning from intense summer sunlight following the winter months of lower intensity


http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=408084&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

 

[Elliott]

woops, that link above is a previous build of his, Herpervet is his user name, I'll try to find his natural sunlight tank, it's over 1000g I believe

 

[hobogato]

i was just looking back thru the comparison pic and noticed something else - the cyano that was on the rocks has disappeared as well (along with the previously noted bryopsis). i wonder if this has potential applications in all tanks that have cyano or bryopsis issues. a friend of mine and i are currently testing some of this idea with his bryopsis, so i will report back with further findings.

up to this point, a reptile full spectrum bulb was able to kill off some bryopsis high in his tank but was not effective on a patch at the bottom. more as this test progresses, ill see if he will post pics or let me post em for him......

 

[matona]

Ace,

Thanks for sharing your experience... I've been thinking about this for quite a while, and you completely sold me on it.

So today I installed my two 10" sun tunnels over my 90 gal tank. I started this afternoon and am nearly complete. I just need to finish the interior, and I'll have to go back through your installation to see what modifications you made above the tank. I'm excited to see it in the morning with some light.

-Matt