my natural sunlight tanks

[marc49127]

Nice tanks! I like the idea!

 

[kayaking2]

It's nice you don't need to power hogging lights. I never thought about using the sun to light the tank.

 

[huig]

Indeed power hogging lights are not always needed, I used to have a deepwater/cave biotope tank, that is another way of limiting the power consumption.

Resising some pics and I' ll post some ASAP.

Also took some pics from the things I collected for my coldwater tanks.

 

[huig]

Also released a pair of bangai I raised, so nice to see these grow.

 

[Chris Lakies]

Nice tanks!! Love bangaii's

 

[huig]

And as you can see there are now 2 Chaetodon xanthurus in the tank..

 

[fatoldsun]

Wow "“ great set-up I'm trying the same thing "“ except I am running lights "“ I was afraid the UV coating on the glass would affect the light spectrum and I would be limited in what I can keep "“ Your success has put those concerns at bay as I doubt the PVC doesn't limit the light spectrum. My other concern is nuisance algae and I agree that it's all about the nutrients - how are you able to control that feeding up to 8 times a day?

Here's my room:

And here's a shot of the tank with just the natural light "“ I feel your pain with the glare for photos

 

[joeyvu]

wow, keep it up guys...those are amzing....I love the natural look...

 

[aleonn]

Very cool look, and a lot cheaper! Any "natural moon light" shots?

 

[huig]

Thanks!

Well your light fixtures might actually block sunlight, but that is a really nice sun room you' ve got there!

I feed the fish a lot but always make sure everything is eaten.

For phosphate control I use a DIY GFO reactor and plan on building a 'reactor/filter' with lanthanum chloride.

 

[fatoldsun]

thanks - hopefully fixture is not impacting things too much - you cant really see from the pics but there is a slight overhand from the main part of the house - about 2' (little less than a meter) and the house casts a shadow. That fixture is on the short list for replacement with something LED that hangs and blocks less. it will be a suppliment that I hope will boost PAR values a little deeper in the tank

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

i am very intrigued by this...you are considerably further north then me, yet i have never thought of a sunlit tank being an option..well done this may become an option should i chose to get into a bigger tank..thankyou for the pics...

huh just did a little more research on the climate of brussles compared to that of toronto, and for poops and giggles to that of dominican republic...we have about 500 more hours of available sunshine here the you do and only about 200 less than the domincan..thoug your average temps are a little nicer...the amount of sun we get really makes me want to try this now too..LOL

kudos

 

[huig]

Well here in Belgium we have happy farmers with all that rain.

 

[sirbatta]

i need help..i am very new to salt water tanks..i just started building ma second tank which is a 90 gal tank..i live in srilanka as u know it is right above the equator..my problem is the lights if i try to bye mh in srilanka itsgoing to cost me around 1000usd so i am thinking use the sunlight but my knowledge about this field is very low...can u guys plez help me out..if i keep the tank outside what are the problems i am going to face..if i use a uv sterilizer will that keep the algae away???

 

[huig]

Hi sirbatta,

Algae only come if too much nutrients are present in the water.
I don't know about temperatures where you live but keeping a tank outside there are some considerations.
First no rain should enter the tank, second you must be able to keep tehe temperatures in a what is considered optimal range. (between 23-27°C)
Also have to have outdoor electrical circuit.

I also have a temperate North sea aquarium of 1200 l outside, in my case living in Belgium I have to take measures in summer against the heat and in winter so the water doesn' t freeze.