Natural sunlight?

[WarrenG]

Here's the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfOBqEPX6GM

The guy shows a handful of sps that are not brown, but what you see in the acres of coral at/near the surface is that the dominant color among those sps is brown. I've seen this exposed coral in several other parts of the world and the coloring doesn't change very much until you get below 10 feet deep.

You can search youtube on the terms (Fiji coral reef) and see videos that were shot in deeper water where the sps are much more colorful.

FWIW, my business is making underwater video equipment.

 

[B.C.theReefer]

Thank you for your input Warren. But I think you missed my point. This thread is about sunlight on the reef aquarium. I was just using the Fiji clip to illustrate the hardiness of SPS corals. I didn't say they're the most colorful specimens in the world. My apologies for the misunderstanding.

 

[WarrenG]

Ah, well, to your point, Calfo does 80% water changes and he thinks having the corals out of water during the changes does less harm than the good of such massive water changes.

If it weren't for corals growing right out of the water, collecting sand, and then grasses and trees there would be a lot fewer islands around the reefs.

OTH, my point is that trying to light our reef aquariums like the surface of the ocean on a reef is perhaps a bit off target unless you are working with the (mostly brown) corals commonly found near the surface of the ocean.

I think it is probably better to try to simulate the light spectrum and intensity found down at 15-45 feet deep since that's where I have observed the most abundant growths of colorful corals, and according to some retailers like Dr F & S, they collect the colorful corals that we buy from this depth. Your blue T5's have an output that is very similar to the light found at those depths.

At the surface there is many times the amount of red light found at 15+ feet deep, and too much red light has been shown to cause photoinhibition of the zoox in many corals, so they may not grow as well, and/or they would require more feedings to thrive.

But I have not tested this yet. I have only read studies about it.

 

[fishdoc11]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11682516#post11682516 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WarrenG
Calfo does 80% water changes

Kind of off the subject and I respect Calfo...... I know he used to do 100% water changes. IMO anything over 50% (as a general rule assuming it's mixed at least 24 hours etc....) can be harmfull IMO. I've seen lots of people crash their tank with huge water changes.
FWIW, Chris

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

FWIW, parts of my tank can get a few minutes of direct sunlight each day, and during that period it often looks more attractive than the remainder of the day.

 

[B.C.theReefer]

Warren, wait until you've seen me corals. I have two specimens of A. Teuis, one A. Chesterfieldensis, one Blue Tortusa, one Pink Millipora, and one Bali Green Acro. Trust me on this one, they love the sunlight. They are not turning brown as you suggest. One thing I think you're not taking into account is the fact that the sun light has to go through three panes of glass before it reaches the water. I will have pics up soon of the different stages of light that the aquarium goes through each day. You might just change your mind after seeing them. It's definately working for me.

 

[WarrenG]

The three panes of glass won't change the light spectrum, except the UV.

If you're happy with the colors of the corals and their growth then that's all that matters, really.

I think it would be interesting to compare frags from the same parent in one tank with natural sunlight and another tank that was lit with a spectrum that is very close to the spectrum seen where the corals normally live on a reef.

 

[B.C.theReefer]

Fishdoc, I 've read the same thing about 50% or more water changes. 15 to 20% every two weeks works great for me. BTW, most of what I've learned about reef-keeping I learned from Calfo. Not only is he brilliant, but he writes and speaks in a way that is easy to understand. The rest of what I've learned has come from here and GARF.

 

[B.C.theReefer]

Warren, the corals look better now than they did under 14,000k halides. And yes, I am happy with the way they look. Also, I got the A. Tenuis from a huge colony at my LFS. And it has more color now in the sun. Trust me on this. But if you still don't believe me, I will be posting pics of the aquarium soon. Then you will be able to see for yourself.

 

[tinyreef]

i agree with yrema, ime fully sunlit tanks will encounter high temperatures as the main difficulty. i didn't experience any issue with UV on my 2.5g pico tank when i had it up.

sorry for the poor res. this was one of the last pics of it i took.

this is actually a composite shot iirc. half and half right down the middle to eliminate a lot of glare. one thing about sunlit tanks, your viewing time and angle is very limited.

growth was pretty good and i've attributed that to phyto being produced. my current tank is partially lit and somewhat self-sustaining (fed 3~4 year). not so much a temperature issue on that because of its location (basement) and it's only partially lit (narrow endside for about 3-hrs/day).

otoh, my pico was only fully/directly lit for about 4-hours each day. sometimes less. and then indirect sunlight before and afterwards.

but temperature was the paramount issue even in the winter months. only normal maintenance on the tank otherwise, i.e. weekly waterchange of about 3~4%, couple of drops of kalk, and carbon/Poly-Filter changes.

sunlits can definitely be done. it's an interesting exercise i'd like to try again but i think i really need a sunroom to get the full-effect. the sola-tubes are too diffuse for my pers prefs.

 

[WarrenG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11685838#post11685838 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by B.C.theReefer
Warren, the corals look better now than they did under 14,000k halides.

Is there a graphic available that shows the spectral output of the 14k lamp you were using?

 

[B.C.theReefer]

Warren, you seem to be looking to start an argument. I am no longer going to respond to you.

 

[B.C.theReefer]

Tinyreef, my tank is quite a bit bigger(total water volume 115g)so the temp. doesn't fluctuate very much. Only about one degree from morning until late afternoon. I also have a large fan directed at the tank. There is a lot of evaporation though. I have to add about a gallon of fresh water every two days. But temp. has not become a problem, yet. We'll see what happens as we get more into the warmer months. But I live in Washinton(the state) so it doesn't get that hot up here anyway. I plan on adding a chiller just in case though. The only draw back I've come across so far is that in the direct sun you can see every particle floating in the water and every scratch on the tank. Luckily for me my water is very clear and there are only a few minor scratches in the glass.

 

[tinyreef]

i'm sorry i should've said it's relative to the size. in nanos and smaller, temps are an issue no matter what. under sunlight it can go catstrophic very quickly. the larger traditional/macros have more thermal cushion obviously, so that's good.

but i still see a slight uptick in temp on my 75g even with the muted sunlight it's getting. nothing big, 1~2F tops. i guess it depends on how the room's ventilated too. tropicorium's in michigan and his setup is hot even in the winter.

1-gal./2-days for a 115g setup ain't too bad. i go thru about that for a 75g without fans (i run open top).

 

[WarrenG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11686432#post11686432 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by B.C.theReefer
Warren, you seem to be looking to start an argument. I am no longer going to respond to you.

Your choice, but my question was so that a person could more accurately compare what you had before, with what you have now (that is working better). A lamp called 14k doesn't tell much about the intensities of various wavelengths of light (spectrum) that are used to call a lamp 14k.

Sanjay Joshi has measured the spectrum of many MH lamps and published the information online so perhaps the spectrum of the lamp you used is available online. If you'll say the brand name, model and wattage I could look for the information.

If we could compare the spectrum of light that you had before with the spectrum of sunlight before it is filtered by water (what you have now) then maybe we could understand what differences between those two light sources have provided the improvements that you have mentioned.

 

[B.C.theReefer]

OK, gotcha. From the pic it looked alot smaller. The last week here has been clear and sunny and the largets increase in temp. has been like 1.2 degrees. Oh yeah, I also keep the window open that it sits next to. I also have the top of my tank open to allow for more evaporation

 

[tinyreef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11688695#post11688695 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by B.C.theReefer
OK, gotcha. From the pic it looked alot smaller.

sorry, i'm probably confusing you. the pic above was of my 2.5g pico. the 75g gallon is my current tank.

the pico was 100% sunlight driven. all the corals you see in the pic were essentially single polyp frags i used to start the contest with 6-months prior to the pic.

the 75g i currently keep is really more mh driven (2x250W with acts supps). sunlight hits it from the end pane side for 3~4 hrs of indirect sun.

sorry if i confused things. in essence, i'm just supporting your comment that using sunlight is beneficial and definitely doable.

 

[KafudaFish]

Tiny,
I just wanted to say that your 2.5g pico has always been a great tank. Thanks to you I am starting a 5.5g kitchen tank. It will use natural sunlight only (I hope).

 

[Lordhelmet]

where did the thread about solatubes go. there were a large # of tanks that were illuminated with just sunlight.

 

[fast94m]

WarrenG,

Going back to your blue t5 comment, is this why many reefers are leaning towards powerful 20k halides to light their tanks and bring the colors out? This is the natural spectrum those corals would normally recieve at those depths? Or is it closer to 14k or 10k? Just curious.