Natural Sunlight question

[travis32]

Well, as spring and summer come, it will be my first time having a tank directly in front of a window.

I have a backing on the 125g 6ft tank glass, but the window is taller than the tank so Sunlight occasionally comes directly in the top of the tank.

I was wondering if I can save on energy costs by running the halides less during the summer.

I have 2 X 250 W SE Halides and 1 X 400W SE halide.

I run the 400W middle bulb for 4 hours, and the 2 X 250Ws for around 5-6 hours.

I also have two 6ft VHO bulbs for actinics running for 10-11 hours.

My question is, given all my lighting, if I were to take the backing off during the summer. Could I reduce my halide lighting to 3-4 hours a day (say the 2 X 250W bulbs in the evening whent he sun starts to go down.)

The 3-4 windows cover the entire length of the tank and heighth wise rise about 6" to 1 ft above the tank, so Sunlight comes directly in throughout the morning and mid day. (These windows face south.)

Thoughts?

 

[jimmy frag]

sun light

sun light

2 things come to mind right off the bat. first would be keeping the temperature down. 2nd you would have a green tank in no time. algea would take over. i remember reading about one guy useing screening to filter out some of the sun light and running a u v unit but still had problems. im sure it could be done with a chiller, u v unit and some sort of filtering of sun light.

 

[huig]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1966946

My tanks are not even in front of a window but in a greenhouse.

Sunlight doesn' t produce algae, high nutrient levels on the other hand pose a problem.

 

[SWINGRRRR]

Sunlight doesn' t produce algae, high nutrient levels on the other hand pose a problem.

X2. If that were true people that run suntubes/skylights would have major problems. Also most major coral farmers use greenhouses. Search for greenhouses on here and you will find some awesome builds.

 

[jeff@zina.com]

Sunlight from windows will not affect your tanks.

Jeff

 

[SpencerG]

Sounds like you could experiment a little. This will warm your heart - down here it's already Spring and temps hit the 80s last week. I had some a/c issues and had to vary the lighting. To my surprise, the corals loved it and look better than usual (coloration a bit more intense, great polyp extension, etc.). The tank does get some sunlight for a bit throughout the day. I guess what I'm getting at is that some lighting variation may be a good thing. I'm sure some of the more experienced salts on here could weigh in on this.

The only downside I could see to this is you may have seasonal light coming in that would cause coral growth in areas that may later suffer when the light diminishes/disappears when we go back into Fall & Winter, unless it is supported by your tank lighting.

 

[travis32]

With an average of 400 - 500 watts of halide lighting I would think that would support any growth the sun causes. Im most worried about heat. I think I can offset that by adding a sump fan to my temp controller. Ill try it while im home on a warm summer day. Also the primary ac intake for my house is right above the tank.. that should help draw the heat off as well and its near a central ac vent.

 

[marfuerte]

I've been running a 55 gallon which receives direct sunlight 7-8 hours a day here in Los Angeles. I have a Remora pro skimmer and a small ATS, 1 tang, 2 chromis, assorted mushrooms, half a dozen ric's, zoo's, acans and 1 small frag of cats paw. Yuma's split, zoa's growing, cat's paw growing with absoutely no supplemental lighting. No serious growth like under my old halides but growing. This "experiment" is now 8 months old. I cool the tank with 1 clip on fan--I did have temp issues earlier on but easy to fix. No algae issues compared to my other two tanks. I'll be adding some more hardy sps this month. There are a few sun powered systems most notably Steve Garretts' "acropolis" out here in Cali.

 

[Mr. Winters]

this guys 2300 gallon tank is at least partially sunpowered.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1431387&page=28

and this guys.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1946061

and heres an interesting vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug45-hbxz38

 

[jimmy frag]

I've been running a 55 gallon which receives direct sunlight 7-8 hours a day here in Los Angeles. I have a Remora pro skimmer and a small ATS, 1 tang, 2 chromis, assorted mushrooms, half a dozen ric's, zoo's, acans and 1 small frag of cats paw. Yuma's split, zoa's growing, cat's paw growing with absoutely no supplemental lighting. No serious growth like under my old halides but growing. This "experiment" is now 8 months old. I cool the tank with 1 clip on fan--I did have temp issues earlier on but easy to fix. No algae issues compared to my other two tanks. I'll be adding some more hardy sps this month. There are a few sun powered systems most notably Steve Garretts' "acropolis" out here in Cali.

 

[jdhuyvetter]

I've got 4 solar tubes on my tank. Only time I have algae problems is when I get too lazy to change the filter socks and clean the skimmer (happens at least once a year!)

 

[tmz]

Lot's of folks supplement tank sighting with sunlight. I have a coupe of tanks positioned near sunny windows and skylights. It will not induce nuisance algae growth anymore than artificial lighting ,ime.