SolaTubes for reef tanks

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actually its HerpERvet. Reptile vet. and Emergency room vet. So duel meaning.

I do a couple of days a week at the Zoo. Reptile medicine and surgery (and breeding etc) have been a passion for almost as long as African cichlids and marine aquaria.

I am a full time Emergency Vet also.
 
Herpervet, that company you listed is located in Arizona and you live in Texas.

Are they coming out there to do the install? Just wondering since I noticed they weren't local to you.

But they are local to me :) and I was thinking of doing something like this for my new tank.
 
Yea, they are coming out to do it. We are in El Paso so it isn't that big a deal. (only 4 1/2 hours from Tucson)

It will be a month or two before the construction starts. Let me know if you do your project before ours.
 
Herpervet said:
Yea, they are coming out to do it. We are in El Paso so it isn't that big a deal. (only 4 1/2 hours from Tucson)

It will be a month or two before the construction starts. Let me know if you do your project before ours.
Click to expand...

Mine will probably be at least 2-3 months out. We just started looking for a new house last night
 
Two things:
1. Anyone thought about replacing the lower diffuser on the tube with a more focues lens? To keep the light more reef bound?

2. I remeber on Discovery several years ago a product in japan that used fiber bundles to bring sunlight down to the first store of high-rises. They used it for skin treaments and such. Probably really expensive I'm sure.

Sorry if these have been brought up, I didn't get to read the entire thread.

Murdock
 
I talked to a lighting engineer about a technology I think is called "light pipe". I think it is fiber optic light bundles that can be used with a sunlight collector. There is a parabolic dish that focuses the light and the fiberoptics transmit the light.
The technology is too expensive at this point but who knows in 5 years perhaps.
 
Has anyone else tried out a light tube setup on there tanks yet?

I'm getting ready to build my inwall 325 gallon setup, and a trio of light tubes would might just be the ticket.

Anyone?
 
Next year for me, after I see how much light I'm getting thru the 14" tube I just installed (still have to finish up the inside)
-not for a tank (well not yet) :D
 
Ill tell you one thing this really would be great for cutting energy costs! However it just is not practical for all areas. Here in the northern states we get a fraction of the amount of sunlight you folks in Arizona get.

Also a Aquarium is a closed system and even with the utmost care for nutrient quality you could get a massive algae outbreak if you have too much light. It is absurd to compare the natural reefs of fiji and australia to ones tanks, they have billions of gallons of sea water dilluting even the slightest pollution, hence very little algae.
 
Mike,

I only intended to point out that these things are not for all and they are not perfect for newbies who dont have a lot of patience and will run out and buy these thinking they are the ultimate end all solution.
 
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